S e n t i r e C u m E c c l e s i a

"To keep ourselves right in all things, we ought to hold fast to this principle: What seems to me to be white, I will believe to be black if the hierarchical Church thus determines it. For we believe that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Spouse, there is the one same Spirit who governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls..." - Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius [365]

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Make Us More like Yourself...

We listen to the account of Jesus' transfiguration at Mt. Tabor as witnessed by the apostles Peter, James, and John. And in the Gospel account, our focus is directed towards the transfigured Christ -- glistening and shining, as it were. Christ was in a way glorified by His heavenly Father.

I think it is no accident that the Church directs our attention to that in this Second Sunday of Lent. The Church, I believe, is inviting us to follow what the apostles did at Mt. Tabor -- to gaze at the transfigured Jesus. In a way, the Church invites us during this season of Lent to contemplate on the very person of Christ.

It is indeed very difficult and very challenging to contemplate Christ's person because once we do that, we are illumined to accept the fact that we are very different from Him. We become more aware of the hatred, violence, malice, and impurity that are deeply rooted in our persons. We begin to see how wounded, how fragile, how frail we all are. But I guess this is the challenge of Lent. To focus on the person of Jesus, His attributes, His attitudes vis-a-vis our attitudes and disposition in life.

So as we enter more deeply into this holy season, Let us beg the Lord for the grace of transformation. That like Jesus, we may be transfigured too, into persons very much like Him. That we may truly reflect Him to every person we meet. That in the final analysis, we become alter Christus in the world, true to our Christian identity.

2 Comments:

  • At 6:22 AM, Blogger Diego said…

    Lent sure has many challenges...

    Before, I thought that lent is a season to repent and believe in the gospel... but as I read through blogs of people who has more wisdom than me, it made me realize that the simple words of "repent and believe in the Gospel" has much more deeper meanings...

    It's like I only saw the surface of the ocean, but as I dive deeper, I saw the greatness of the things below...

    Your posts and the posts of other Jesuits enlighten me... Keep it up!!!

    God Bless!!! :)

     
  • At 6:51 AM, Blogger SSS said…

    Amen! I too reflected on this past Sunday's Gospel in my blog, using Vita Consecrata as my guide.

    All the best!

     

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