Transfiguration of the Lord
Solemnity
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
An Advance Glimpse of Glory
Greeting
Today God our Father tells us:
This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him.
May the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ
resound in your hearts and in your lives.
May the Lord be with you always. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
According to St. Luke, when Jesus is about to depart for Jerusalem to make his “exodus” for his passion and death, the light of his resurrection is already projected on him at his transfiguration. It comes as an encouraging foretaste of his glory, strengthening him on the road to suffering. Shortly before the Passion, when the apostles’ faith will be sorely tested, Jesus shows them his true face, transfigured by God’s light. Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, also bear witness to him. This is God’s beloved Son: listen to him, look beyond appearances. This vision and message is also given to us in the eucharist of today.
Penitential Act
Do we too try to understand Jesus better
and see his presence in our life as real and strong?
Do we listen to him? Let us examine ourselves.
(pause)
Lord, you showed your glorious face
to strengthen the faith of the apostles.
Show yourself to us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you were strengthened
on your way to suffering and death.
Be with us when we suffer,
and inspire us to stand by the side of those who suffer:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, your Father told us to listen to you.
Open our ears and hearts to your message:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us more aware of your nearness
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God
who has made us his sons and daughters
in Jesus, his beloved Son
(pause)
Lord our God,
at the transfiguration of Jesus
You gave eyes of faith to the apostles
to see beyond appearances,
and to recognise Jesus as your beloved Son.
Strengthen our faith, too,
in the person and message of your Son.
Help us to recognise something of his face
in our brothers and sisters
and to encounter him in one another,
that we may journey with him
and share in his glory forever. R/ Amen.
First Reading
I looked and saw the following: Some thrones were in place, and One of Great Age took his seat: His robe was as white as snow, and his hair was as white as washed wool. His throne was made of flames of fire with wheels of blazing fire.
A river of fire sprang forth and flowed before him. Thousands upon thousands served him, and a countless multitude stood before him. Those in the tribunal took their seats and opened the book.
I kept watching the night vision: One like a son of man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into his presence.
Dominion, honor, and kingship were granted to him, and all peoples and nations of every language served him. His dominion is eternal and will never pass away; his kingdom will never be destroyed.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Second Reading
Witness to the Glory of Christ
Indeed, what we taught you about the power and the return of Christ Jesus our Lord was not based on myths or mere theories. We ourselves were eyewitnesses of his majesty
when he received glory and honor from God the Father. From his magnificent glory, this extraordinary voice came upon him: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
We personally heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
Therefore, we strongly believe in the message of the prophets. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The transfiguration of Jesus
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John with him, and led them up a tall mountain where they were alone.
Jesus’ appearance changed before them: his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as snow.
Then suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.
Peter spoke up and said to Jesus:
“Master, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Peter was still speaking when a bright cloud covered them with its shadow, and a voice from the cloud said:
“This is my Son, the Beloved, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”
Hearing the voice, the disciples fell to the ground full of fear.
But Jesus came, touched them, and said:
“Stand up, do not be afraid!”
When they looked up, they saw no one else except Jesus.
And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to God in all confidence, for he has accepted us as his sons and daughters in his beloved Son Jesus Christ. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That the face of the Church may always reflect the light of the glorious Christ; that the Church's glory may not be wealth or power but the quiet glow of the living gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That the spirituality of the Orthodox Churches, which is marked by the Transfiguration, may also inspire the Catholic Church more and bring us all closer to unity, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That artists may keep revealing to us the splendours of God’s creation; that scientists may discover the secrets of the universe and use them to develop people and their world, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That we may brighten with words of encouragement and hope the faces of those who suffer; that we may learn from Christ to encounter one another without masks or screens, and that we may seek together the light of truth and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That we may be men and women liberated in Christ, committed to transfigure this world with justice and freedom for all, and learning to love one another the way God loves us in Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
God, your glory brightened the face of Jesus, your Son. Let his light dawn on us like a new sunrise full of promise. Create us and the world anew in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
all we see before us
is a piece of bread and a cup with wine.
Yet we believe that soon these will be
your Son living among us.
Let him come alive in us
and guide us by his Holy Spirit,
that with him we may hear your call,
and go through the hardships and joys of life
with faces brightened by hope
and by the certainty
that you have prepared for us
a glory and a happiness
that will last forever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With Jesus our Lord, God’s own beloved Son, we now give thanks and praise to the Father, sure that the Father will accept our offering.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray to our Father in heaven
who told us to listen to his beloved Son.
We have listened, and with Jesus
we pray the prayer of the children of God: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
Keep us from indifference and anxiety
and help us see, beyond the events of life,
the deeper reality of things and persons.
Help us to see your guiding hand and your love,
and to hear your call,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is the body of Jesus Christ,
the beloved Son of the Father in heaven.
His glory is hidden from us,
yet he is light in our darkness
and the transfiguration of our lives.
Happy are we who have not seen his glory,
yet believe that he is our Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
by the power of Jesus, our transfigured Lord,
you call us to transform this world
into the image of Jesus, your Son.
Rip off our masks,
that we may meet and accept one another as we are
and that together we may try to be
what you have called us to be.
Commit us to justice and love,
that we may change this harsh and cold world
into a sign and token
that you are with us
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In his transfiguration
Jesus revealed his deepest self.
May we believe in him
as the source of all transfiguration
of ourselves, of our mentality, of this earth.
And may Christ be our strength
to work toward this transfiguration,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace
and let your face be bright
with the radiance of Christ’s light. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Matthew 17:1-9
Listen to Him
In Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus does or says something important, he goes up on a mountain: The Last Temptation takes place on the Mount (Mt 4:8); the beatitudes are spoken on the Mount (Mt 5:1); he multiplied the loaves on the Mount (Mt 15:29) and, at the end of the Gospel, when the disciples encounter the risen Christ and are sent into the world, they were “on the mountain that had been indicated to them” (Mt28:16).
In the Old Testament, mountains were sites of encounter with God. Moses had the manifestation of God and received the Law on Mount Sinai. Matthew, the evangelist, aims to present Jesus as the new Moses, who delivers the new law to the new people, represented by the three disciples.
The shining face and bright robes also often recur in the Bible. The Lord is “covered with majesty and splendour, wrapped in light as with a garment,” says the Psalmist (Ps 104:1-2). The luminous cloud that enveloped the people was a sign of God’s presence among his people while the Israelites were in exodus through the desert. When Moses received the law, a cloud enveloped the mountain. He also came down with a shining face. Cloud and luminous face are, therefore, a reflection of God’s presence.
Using these images, Matthew says that Peter, James, and John have been introduced to the world of God, which made them understand the true identity of the Master and the destination of his journey. He would not be the glorious messiah they expected but a Messiah who would be opposed, persecuted and killed.
In the previous chapter, to the question: “Who do you say that the Son of Man is?” Peter represented the Apostles and voiced their conviction that Jesus is the long-awaited messiah. Now, in the transfiguration scene, the voice from the sky attests to the disciples’ conviction that Jesus is the beloved Son, in whom God is well pleased. The voice adds a command: “Listen to him.”
In the Bible, the word “to listen” means “to obey” (Éx 6:12; Mt 18:15-16). The Father’s recommendation to Peter, James, and John, and through them, to all the disciples, is to obey - “to put into practice” what Jesus teaches. It is the invitation to focus one’s life on the proposal of the beatitude.
Moses gave the Law to his people, and Elijah was considered the first of the prophets. For the Israelites, these two characters represented the Holy Scriptures. The manifestation of the face of God is understood only through the Scriptures. On Easter day, to clarify the meaning of his death and resurrection to his disciples, Jesus will resort to the Old Testament: “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning himself” (Lk 24:27).
Without Jesus, the Old Testament is incomprehensible, and without the Old Testament, Jesus remains a mystery.