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1st Reading: Gn 12:1-4a
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22.
2nd Reading: 2 Tm 1:8b-10
Gospel: Mt 17:1-9OPENING PRAYER
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
LECTIO
Take some time to intentionally read the readings, specifically the Gospel. Reading it twice, even three times, going slower each time.
MEDITATIO
Meditate on the passage and see if any words or phrases stand out to you. Focus on them and try to see what the Lord is trying to tell you through them. After you spend some time doing this, feel free to supplement your meditation with the following reflection:
In today's Gospel, we read an account of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to the mountaintop and gives them a foretaste of Heaven. Jesus begins to shine brightly and then Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the prophets) appear beside Him. This "sneak preview" is so powerful and captivating, that Peter asks Jesus if he should make camp to remain there.
Whenever we have a mountaintop experience, it is tempting to want to remain there and to forsake the world. However, Jesus and the apostles did not remain at the top of the mountain. They eventually descended and marched forth to continue their mission here on earth.
When we experience these deep moments of consolation (which some call "Jesus-highs"), we can't just stay there. We have to internalize the consolation and carry it with us down the mountain and bring it to those we are called to love and serve. After all, we are not called to chase emotional or spiritual highs but to enter deep communion with God.
It is scary to descend the comfort and warmth of such experiences into the often cold reality of life, but the Lord speaks to us through the Gospel: "Rise, and do not be afraid." He sees us, loves us, and calls us to greatness. Let us seek to spend some "Face Time" with Him, especially in Adoration.ORATIO
What do you want to tell the Lord?
What is it that you desire to bring to Him?
What have these meditations stirred in your heart?CONTEMPLATIO
What have been the "mountaintop" experiences in my own life?
Do I listen to Jesus? Do I spend enough time with Him in prayer to hear Him?
Am I afraid to go out n mission?OPERATIO
How can I spend some more face-to-face time with the Lord this week?
How am I opening the ear of my heart more to listen to His Voice?
How can the Lord console my heart in the midst of the anxieties of life?CLOSING PRAYER
O God, who have commanded us
to listen to your beloved Son,
be pleased, we pray,
to nourish us inwardly by your word,
that, with spiritual sight made pure,
we may rejoice to behold your glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
