It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen his majesty for ourselves. He was honoured and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.’ We heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.
2 Peter 1:16 – 8
One of the ‘Luminous Mysteries’ appended to the Rosary of our parents and grandparents by the late Pope John Paul II was the Transfiguration of the Lord. The disciples Peter, James and John are witness to the appearance of Elijah and Moses together with a transfigured Jesus. The image that often attends this experience is that painted by Raphael between 1516 and 1520. This high altar piece now hangs in Pinacoteca Vaticana of the Vatican Museum. I was privileged to view it and meditate on its beauty and composition on our first visit to Rome.
As rich as Raphael’s expression is, it cannot contain the depth and breadth of what the disciples saw and felt, of the early Church and of our experience of the divine in our own lives, although his attempt is nothing short of majestic.
The Transfiguration, then, is not just a retelling of an event, it is the event. It incorporates the story of Israel’s salvation, the messiahship and mission of Jesus, and reveals the transformation that awaits us within the kingdom (the here and now) but which also anticipates our own exaltation at the end of time.
The Transfiguration reveals a part of the inner mystery of Jesus and part of our potential as human beings seeking divinity. Here is Jesus, alongside Moses, the redeemer of the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt, with Elijah, the great prophet who worked miracles, who ascended into heaven in a whirlwind and who would return to announce the coming of the Messiah.
The early Church was in need of this affirmation and doubtlessly co-constructed this pericope to advance their understanding of their place in this extraordinary story.
As such the Transfiguration is my story too. It is about my journey. It is about raising my consciousness and awareness of the presence of Jesus in my life and his capacity to transform me into a vehicle for his Good News. It is also your story should you choose to engage in and invest yourself in it. It needs to be retold in your own life, as a story of hope, as fulfilment of a promise.
By all means, gaze upon Raphael’s Transfiguration. Meditate upon it, pray it as part of your Rosary devotion, but most of all – live it out in hope.
Catholic Education Week 2023
While Catholic Education Week begins this Sunday with the Transfiguration of the Lord, an event in which we gain a glimpse of what awaits the faithful in the eschaton – the times to come. Catholic Education Week celebrates Catholic schooling in Tasmania and affirms the Catholic schools’ part in the saving mission of the Church. Over 16,000 students are being educated in Tasmanian Catholic schools.
Marist Regional College will again host the North West Catholic Education Week Mass. More than 500 students – plus guests and parishioners – will come together in thanksgiving on Tuesday 8 August 2023 in the Harcombe Centre. Fr John Girdauskas PP will preside. Special visitors will include the Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania, Dr Gerard Gaskin and Sister Josephine Brady RSJ, a North West coaster and former principal of St Brendan-Shaw College. Sister Jo spent many years lecturing at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra.
Students, visitors and our Year 7 cohort will enjoy a BBQ after the Mass.
Mr Peter Douglas
Director of Faith and Mission
