Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez  Archbishop of San Antonio 
 
 
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
 
Today we have a special celebration in the midst of the Ordinary
Time in the Liturgy of the Church; we celebrate the Feast of the
Transfiguration of the Lord. This Feast was established for the
Universal Church in the XV Century. 
 
There are two times in the Liturgical Calendar that we reflect on
the Transfiguration, the 2nd Sunday of Lent to affirm the Divinity
of Christ before his Passion and Death and today, to celebrate the
exaltation of Christ to His Glory. 
 
The Compendium of the Catechism says that “Above all the
Transfiguration shows forth the Trinity: “the Father in the voice,
the Son in the man Jesus, the Spirit in the shining cloud” (Saint
Thomas Aquinas). Speaking with Moses and Elijah about his
“departure” (Luke 9:31), Jesus reveals that his glory comes by way
of the cross and he anticipates his resurrection and his glorious
coming “which will change our lowly body to be like his glorious
body” (Philippians 3:21)” n. 110.
 
The Church, then, wants us to consider the Divinity of Jesus Christ
as well as the goal of our life: Heaven, Eternal life where we’ll
contemplate, as the Apostles did, the Glory of God the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. 
 
It is interesting to remember that just before the Transfiguration,
Today’s passage of the Gospel, Jesus told his disciples that “he
was to undergo suffering in Jerusalem, that he was going to die at
the hands of the chief priests, the elders and the Scribes. The
 
Apostles had been saddened and dismayed by this announcement”
In Conversations with God, 2.12.1
 
Then, he takes Peter, James and John and “led them up a high
mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before
them” St. Mk. 9,2 
 
They couldn’t believe it. They were so happy. St. Peter tells Jesus:
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for
you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”
 
St. Leo the Great says that “The principal aim of the
Transfiguration was to banish from the disciples’ souls the scandal
of the Cross’” In Conversation with God, 2.12.1
 
To follow Jesus Christ it’s not easy; it demands that we deny
ourselves and try to know and imitate the life of Christ. His life
was not an easy life, but it had a happy ending. Jesus died on the
Cross for us and then he was risen on the third day and He’s in
Heaven, sitting at the Right Had of God the Father. 
 
Our journey of faith is challenging, but God will grant us the grace
to overcome the obstacles that we encounter. God is with us and
with Him we can do everything!
 
Among other things, let’s consider two things today. First, the fact
that Jesus is perfect God and perfect man then, the reality of the
dignity of the human person. We were created in the image and
likeness of God and we are called to eternal happiness, body and
soul, in heaven. 
 
The readings of today’s Mass talk about Jesus, who is the Son of
God, the Messiah, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who
assumes a human nature and came to earth to redeem us from our
sins, through his Passion, Death and Glorious Resurrection. 
 
Standing between Moses and the prophet Elijah, Jesus is the bridge
that joins the Law of Moses to the prophets and psalms. The
majestic voice declares Jesus to be God's own beloved Son, in
whom the Father is well pleased. God here gives us a glimpse of
His inner life. In the cloud of the Holy Spirit, the Father reveals
His love for the Son, and invites us to share in that love, as His
beloved sons and daughters.
 
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states
that: “Jesus is the Son of God in a unique and perfect way” and
that “The first Christian creeds proclaimed that the power, the
honor, and the glory that are due to God the Father also belong to
Jesus: God “has given him the name which is above every other
name” (Philippians 2:9). He is the Lord of the world and of
history, the only One to whom we must completely submit our
personal freedom” (nn. 83, 84). 
 
His life and his doctrine are not a human invention, is God himself
who comes to us and in his infinite love he becomes equal to all of
us, except in sin. His words are not just an opinion. It’s God
Himself who speaks to us in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 
 
That’s why in Jesus we have “a different goal: the Son of God, the
true man. He is the measure of true humanism ... Mature adult
faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ” 
 
Together with the Apostles we should say: “Rabbi, is good that we
are here!” and renew our commitment to dedicate our life and the
best of our time to grow in friendship with Christ. 
 
The second point is the dignity of the human person. It will be
enough if we reflect on the fact that Jesus assumed a human nature
to be convinced of the importance of the human person.
 
 
Nowadays many in our society undervalue the dignity of human
beings. There is the ‘culture of death’: abortion, euthanasia, the
death penalty, war and even family violence. There are many other
manifestations of the devaluation of the human person such as
giving more importance to the economy, money, pleasures than to
the human person.
 
Let’s not forget the words of the Compendium of the Catechism:
“The human person is created in the image of God in the sense that
he or she is capable of knowing and of loving their Creator in
freedom. Human beings are the only creatures on earth that God
has willed for their own sake and has called to share, through
knowledge and love, in his own divine life. All human beings, in
as much as they are created in the image of God, have the dignity
of a person. A person is not something but someone, capable of
self-knowledge and of freely giving himself and entering into
communion with God and with other persons” n. 66.
 
In today’s Gospel, God the Father says: “This is my beloved Son.
Listen to Him”. The word of the Lord should be like a lamp
shining in the darkness of our days, as Peter tells us in today's First
Reading. How well are we listening? Do we attend to His word
each day? 
 
Let us today rededicate ourselves to listening. Let us hear Him as
the word of life, the bright morning star of divine life waiting to
arise in our hearts.
 
May the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles that were present at
the Transfiguration intercede for us that we can set our sight on
Jesus of Nazareth, Perfect God and perfect man. Then we’ll have
the happiness that belongs to us as children of God. Amen.