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Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael Feast Day September 29

Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Feasts of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

September 29

“Amen, Amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  John 1:51

Yes, angels are real.  And they are mighty glorious, beautiful and magnificent in every way.  Today we honor three of the multitude of angels in Heaven:  Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

These angels are “archangels”.  An archangel is the second order of angels just above the guardian angels.  In all, there are nine orders of celestial beings that we commonly refer to as angels and all nine of these orders are traditionally organized into three spheres.  The entire hierarchy is traditionally organized this way:

Highest Sphere:  Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.

Middle Sphere:  Dominions, Virtues and Powers.

Lower Sphere:  Principalities, Archangels and Angels (Guardian Angels).

The hierarchy of these celestial beings is ordered in accord with their function and purpose.  The highest of the beings, the Seraphim, were created solely for the purpose of surrounding the Throne of God in perpetual worship and adoration.  The lowest of the beings, the Guardian Angels, were created for the purpose of caring for humans and communicating God’s messages.  The Archangels, whom we honor today, were created for the purpose of bringing messages of great importance to us and to accomplish tasks of the highest importance in our lives.

Michael is well known as the archangel who was empowered by God to cast Lucifer our of Heaven.  Lucifer is traditionally thought to be of the highest sphere of celestial beings and, thus, being cast out by a lowly archangel was quite a humiliation.

Gabriel is well known for being the archangel who brought the message of the Incarnation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

And Raphael, whose name means “God heals” is referred to in the Old Testament Book of Tobit as is said to have been sent to bring healing to Tobit’s eyes.

Though not much is known of these archangels, its important to believe in them, honor them and to pray to them.  We pray to them because we believe God has entrusted them with a mission to help us bring healing, fight evil and proclaim the Word of God.  Their power comes from God, but God has chosen to use the archangels, and all celestial beings, to accomplish His plan and purpose.

Reflect, today, upon your knowledge of the angels.  Do you believe in them?  Do you honor them?  Do you rely upon their powerful intercession and mediation in your life?  God wants to use them, so you should truly seek their help in your life.

Lord, thank You for the gift of the Archangels whom we honor today.  Thank you for their powerful working in our lives. Help us to rely upon them and to love them for their service.  Archangels, pray for us, heal us, teach us and protect us.  Jesus, I Trust in You.

Above taken from the book “Daily Reflections for Ordinary Time: Weeks 18-34”  Feast of the Archangels, September 29 by John Paul Thomas

Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Archangels

The Word ‘Angel’ denotes a Function rather than a Nature

From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the great, pope

You should be aware that the word ‘angel’ denotes a function rather than a nature.  Those holy spirits of Heaven have indeed always been spirits.  They can only be called angels when they deliver some message.  Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called Archangels.

And so it was that not merely an angels but the Archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary.  It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of all messages.

Some angels are give proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform.  In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of Almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known.  But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they come among us.  

Thus, Michael means 

“Who is like God?”; 

Gabriel is 

“strength of God”; 

and Raphael is 

“God’s Remedy”.

Who is like unto God!  St. Michael the Archangel

Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by His superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to be like God, saying: “I will ascend into Heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of Heaven; I will be like the Most High.”   He will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment.  Then, he will fight the Archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought with Michael the archangel.

Blessed Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel

So too, Gabriel, who is called God’s strength, was sent to Mary.  He came to announce  the One Who appeared as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers.  Thus God’s strength announced the coming of the Lord of the Heavenly powers, mighty in battle.

Raphael means, as I have said, God’s Remedy, for when he touched Tobit’s eyes in order to cure him, he banished the darkness of his blindness.  Thus, since he is to heal, he is rightly called God’s Remedy.

Above taken from the Liturgy of the Hours Ordinary Time Weeks 18-34, September 29 Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

Death and Resurrection - St. Basil, bishop

Christ Crucified

By One Death and Resurrection the World was Saved

From the book On the Holy Spirit by Saint Basil, bishop

When mankind was estranged from him by disobedience, God our Savior made a plan for raising us from our fall and restoring us to friendship with himself.  According to this plan Christ came in the flesh, he showed us the gospel way of life, he suffered, died on the cross, was buried and rose from the dead.  He did this so that we could be saved by imitation of him, and recover our original status as sons of God by adoption.

To attain holiness, then, we must not only pattern our lives on Christ’s by being gentle, humble and patient, we must also imitate him in his death.  

Taking Christ for his model, Paul said that he wanted to become like him in his death in the hope that he too would be raised from death to life.

We imitate Christ’s death by being buried with him in baptism.  

If we ask what this kind of burial means and what benefit we may hope to derive from it, it means first of all making a complete break with our former way of life, and our Lord himself said that this cannot be done unless a man is born again.  

In other words, we have to begin a new life, 

and we cannot do so until our previous life 

has been brought to an end.  

When runners reach the turning point on a racecourse, they have to pause briefly before they can go back in the opposite direction.  So also when we wish to reverse the direction of our lives there must be a pause, or a death, to make the end of one life and the beginning of another.

Our descent into hell takes place 

when we imitate the burial of Christ by our baptism.  

The bodies of the baptized are in a sense buried in the water as a symbol of their renunciation of the sins of their unregenerate nature.  As the Apostle says: The circumcision you have undergone is not an operation performed by human hands, but the complete stripping away of your unregenerate nature.  This is the circumcision that Christ gave us, and it is accomplished by our burial with him in baptism.  Baptism cleanses the soul from the pollution of worldly thoughts and inclinations: You will wash me, says the psalmist, and I shall be whiter than snow.  

We receive this saving baptism only once 

because there was only one death and one resurrection 

for the salvation of the world, and baptism is its symbol.

Mary Magdalene meets the Risen Christ

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict, 

“Gender Theory” 

and the Threat to Civilization

Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2012 Christmas address to the Roman Curia, warned against what is called “Gender theory.”  This theory, which coincides with the rise of homosexuality in society, claims there is no such thing as a God-given masculine nature or a feminine nature.  Individuals are free to choose and remake their gender.

The acceptance of such theories 

not only defies God and nature, 

but give rise to the persecution of Christians, 

and of anyone who opposes the pro-homosexual program, 

as will be later explained.

NATURE DEFINED

Pope Benedict warned regarding gender theory, “According to this philosophy, gender is no longer a given element of nature that a man has to accept and personally makes sense of it; [rather] it is a social role that we choose for ourselves, while in the past it was chosen for us by society.”

In other others, those who promote gender theory falsely claim there was never any such thing as a masculine nature or a feminine nature that defines us since conception.  Rather society chose these gender roles for us.  Gender is not something that is found inside of man as part of his essence, but rather, is imposed from the outside.  We are now at the point where the individual decides these gender roles for himself.

“The profound falsehood of this theory, and of the anthropological revolution contained within it  is obvious,” says Benedict. “People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being.  They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but they make for themselves.”

The Pope then appeals to Genesis.

“According to the biblical creation account, being created by God as male and female pertains to the essence of the human creature.  This duality [male and female] is an essential aspect of what being human is all about, as ordained by God.  This very duality as something given is what is now disputed.”

Benedict goes on to lament: “The words of the creation account: ‘male and female he created them’ (Gen 1:27) no long apply.  No, what applies now is this: it was not God who created them male and female – hitherto society did this, now we decided for ourselves.  Man and woman as created realities no longer exist.  Man calls his nature into question.  From now on he is merely spirit an will.”

This is a key point.  Truth and reality are no longer centered on man’s nature.  Rather, truth and reality are now centered on man’s will.  

If man wills to choose his gender, or act contrary to his gender, he must be free to do so.  Man chooses  his own false “reality”.

Benedict notes there is a general repugnance toward the misuse of nature when it comes to the world around us, yet many are willing to believe man may restructure his own nature.

“The manipulation of nature”, he writes, “which we deplore today where the environment is concerned, now becomes man’s fundamental choice where he himself is concerned.

From now on there is only the abstract human being, who chooses for himself what his nature is to be.  Man and woman in their created state as complementary versions of what it means to be human are disputed.”

THE FAMILY THREATENED

Pope Benedict then explains the disastrous  effects wrought on the family.

“But if there is no pre-ordained duality of man and woman in creation, then neither is the family any longer a reality established by creation.”

Thus the family as God established, which is father, mother and children, can also be changed by human will.  Man will believe he can define the family any way he wants: two men and a son, tow women and a canary, three men, three women (as is already happening,) and almost any other aberration.

Benedict then warns of the consequences regarding children.  

“Likewise, the child has lost the place 

he had occupied hitherto and the dignity 

pertaining to him the child 

has become an object to which people 

have a right and which they have a right to obtain.”

This is an indirect reference to same-sex couples demanding the “right” to adopt children.

Pope Benedict then drives home the point: Gender theory is ultimately a revolt against God and man.  “When the freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God . . . 

When God is denied, human dignity also disappears.”

NORMAL PEOPLE BULLIED

The dignity of man is thus “stripped” when transgenderism becomes an accepted component of society. In the United States and elsewhere, there are parents who encourage young children to choose their own gender, encourage boys to adopt girl’s clothes and mannerisms, and vice versa.  Our children are also exposed to transgender men using girls’ bathrooms, and worse.

One of many examples: At Hillsboro High School in Missouri, early September 2015, a homosexual male student started to wear a wig and skirt, claimed to be female, called himself “Lila” and insisted on using the girls’ locker room.

The girls were rightly horrified.  Hundreds of students walked out in protest.  The boy’s response was to accuse these normal girls of bigotry.

“They are claiming that they’re uncomfortable,” said “Lila” to a local TV station, “I don’t believe for a second that they are.  I think this is pure and simple bigotry, I wasn’t hurting anyone and I didn’t want to feel segregated out.”

Predictably, the politically correct School Administration sided with the homosexual boy, who eventually dropped gym class, but continues to use the girl’s bathroom.

Worse, liberals across the United States defend “Lila” and denounce his classmates’ natural reaction.

Columnist Matt Walsh reports that hundreds of pro-homosexual activists are “organizing a counter protest . . . hoping to finally intimidate and silence any girl who might have the audacity to defy the transgender narrative that our culture just invented out of whole cloth about 14 seconds ago.  Indeed, approximately yesterday, “transgenderism” was a fringe, radical notion way out in the peripherals of left wing quackery, but now, in the blink of an eye, it is ‘doctrine.’  Yesterday, boys could be expelled for walking into the girls’ locker room, but now we throw them parades and squeal about their ‘bravery.’

Pope Benedict’s observation is correct.  When we defy nature, the Maker is necessarily denied, and man too is ultimately “stripped of his dignity as a creature of God.”

PERSECUTION AND  PUNISHMENT

The rise of homosexuality and transgenderism disorients society away from Our Lord Jesus Christ. It also leads to the persecution of those who want no part of the ever-growing homosexual ascendancy.

Why has this happened?  

Primarily due to the fact 

that over the past fifty years, 

too few of our Church leaders 

clearly reiterated the Divine warnings 

against this vice as expressed in Scripture and Magisterium.

It is rare to hear priests and prelates denounce this vice as a mortal sin that sends the soul to hell if not repented.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider

It is rare to hear a prelate speak clearly as does Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who explained that acceptance of homosexuality “contradicts directly the words of God, which says that homosexual acts and the homosexual lifestyle are a grievous offense against the will of God. (cf. Gen 18:20; Lev 18:22;20-13; Is 3:9; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:10,  1 Tim 1:10; Jud 7)”

By approving this vice, we open the door to persecution against Christianity.  If homosexual unions, same-sex marriage and ‘transgenderism’ are declared basic human rights, then opposing these sins will be considered a crime by modern godless states.  Those who hold the truths of Our Lord can be fined or imprisoned.  Already in some places, quoting the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality is denounced as “hate speech”.

In March 2015, Tim Sweeney, a leader in pro-homosexual grant-making, told U.S. business leaders that he wants to shut down the political fight for [contra-homosexual] religious freedom exemptions in the U.S. within three years.

A Catholic News Agency examination 

of public grant listings and tax forms 

“has found at least six foundations and funds 

have made grants totaling about $4.8 million 

to target religious freedom, 

especially as it is exercised by objectors to gay marriage.”

The pro-homosexual lobby wants Christianity silenced, and spends millions to crush the Christian’s right to resist the public acceptance of the sin of Sodom.

This is but a glimpse of the massive anti-Christian revolution on the rise with recognition of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.

A nation that embraces this vice cannot obtain the blessing of God, but only  His condemnation  

The prophet Isaiah writes: 

“Woe to those who all good evil and evil good.” (Isaiah 5:20)

Sacred Scripture likewise threatens fearful punishment on nations that accept homosexuality.  Saint Peter warned that God “condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes, thus making an example to those in the future who should live wickedly.” (2 Peter 2:16)

Could this be a foreshadowing 

of the “annihilation of nations” 

warned by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917?

Our Lady of Fatima

Let us oppose the rise of these sins that “cry to Heaven for vengeance,” pray for the conversion of those trapped in this vice, and live the Fatima Message of prayer and daily Rosary.

Let us also beg the Pope to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, to obtain the promised period of peace, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and avert Divine chastisement.

Article from The Fatima Center, U.S.A. – 17000 State Route 30, Constable, NY 12916; Canada – 452 Kraft Road, Fort Erie, ON L2A 4M7.  www.fatima.org --- Email:  info@fatima.org Telephone 1-905-871-7607

Twisting the TRUTH

FROM THE PASTOR

Father George W. Rutler

March 19, 2017

by Fr. George W. Rutler

In an age of moral confusion, 

there are those who would suggest that the word “not” has been interpolated in several of the Commandments. 

It is easy to make words mean what one wants them to mean: in fiction, Humpty Dumpty did that in Wonderland and in fact, the Anti-Christ did that in the Wilderness. 

Satan is clever at quoting words out of context to make them mean what they do not mean. After forty days, Christ mocked that deceit. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7).

   Jesus is the Living Word because he explains the true meaning of words. He abhors hypocrisy because it twists words, and will actually crucify the Word himself: “But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth” (John 8:40).

   Recently, a befuddled theologian tried to justify his misrepresentation of doctrine by saying: “Theology is not Mathematics. 2 + 2 in Theology can make 5. Because it has to do with God and the real life of people.” 

Only in Wonderland does reality contradict the real life of people, and only in the Wilderness does the Tempter try to make God contradict himself. 

The Church is clear on that: 

"Though faith is above reason, 

there can never be any real discrepancy 

between faith and reason. 

Since the same God who reveals mysteries 

and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason 

on the human mind, 

God cannot deny himself, 

nor can truth ever contradict truth” 

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159).

   Denial of reality is the vice of superstition, which comes in various forms, abusing the virtue of religion. A religious enthusiast who says God can twist reality is as superstitious as the atheist who says there is no God at all, or the positivist who says that man is God, or the pantheist whose god is the world.

 

Professor Einstein

  Professor Einstein wrote, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” Those words have been twisted vainly by some to suggest that the theoretical physicist was a religious man. Later in life he spoke of a “cosmic religious feeling,” and that made it difficult to pigeonhole him as either an atheist or a secret believer. Challenging what seemed to be random disorder in quantum theory, he remarked in 1926 that God “does not play dice.” Other than that, he revered the objectivity of truth, and would not allow the relativity of matter to justify philosophical relativism. 2 + 2 can never equal 5. That would be a mistake in physical science, and it would be a superstition in religion.

   One Christmas in Princeton, carolers sang “Silent Night” outside Einstein’s house on Mercer Street. He did not sing their words, but he accompanied them on his violin. That was more honest than any aberrant theologian who crucifies the Living Word by wrongly conjugating him.

Father Rutler’s book, The Stories of Hymns – The History Behind 100 of Christianity’s Greatest Hymns, is available through Sophia Institute Press (Paperback or eBook) and Amazon (Paperback or Kindle).

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Lent and Repent

Repent

From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope

Let us fix our attention on the Blood of Christ and recognize how precious it is to God His father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.

Jonah preaching to the Nenevites

If we review the various ages of history, we will see that in every generation the Lord has offered the opportunity of repentance to any who were willing to turn to Him.  When Noah preached God’s message of repentance, all who listened to him were saved.  Jonah told the Nenevites they were going to be destroyed, but when they repented, their prayers gained God’s forgiveness for their sins, and they were saved, even though they were not of God’s people.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the ministers of God’s grace have spoken of repentance; indeed the Master of the whole universe Himself spoke of repentance with an oath: As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner but his repentance. He added this evidence of His goodness: House of Israel, repent of your wickedness.  Tell the sons of my people: 

If their sins should reach from earth to heaven, 

if they are brighter than scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, 

you need only turn to me with your whole heart and say, 

“Father”, and I will listen to you as to a holy people.

In other words, God wanted all His beloved ones to have the opportunity to repent and He confirmed this desire by His own Almighty Will.  That is why we should obey His sovereign and glorious Will and prayerfully entreat His Mercy and Kindness.  We should be suppliant before Him and turn to His compassion, rejecting empty works and quarreling and jealousy which only lead to death.

Brothers, we should be humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance, pride and foolish anger.  Rather, we should act in accordance with the Scriptures, as the Holy Spirit says: 

The wise man must not glory in his wisdom 

nor the strong man in his strength 

nor the rich man in his riches.  

Rather, let him who glories 

glory in the Lord 

by seeking Him 

and doing what is right and just.  

Recall especially what the Lord Jesus said when He taught gentleness and forebearance.  

Be merciful, He said, 

so that you may have mercy shown to you.  

Forgive, 

so that you may be forgiven.  

As you treat others, 

so you will be treated.  

As you give, 

so you will receive.  

As you judge, 

so you will be judged. 

 As you are kind to others, 

so you will be treated kindly.  

The measure of your giving 

will be the measure of your receiving.

Let these commandments and precepts strengthen us to live in humble obedience to His Sacred Words.  As Scripture asks: 

Jesus Teaching the people

Whom shall I look upon with favor 

except the humble, 

peaceful man 

who trembles at my words?

Sharing then in the heritage of so many vast and glorious achievements, let us hasten toward the goal of peace, set before us from the beginning.

Let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Father and Creator of the whole universe, and hold fast to His splendid and transcendent gifts of peace and all His blessings.

One Church, One Faith, One Lord Hymn

The Vatican, Rome

One Church One Faith One Lord

by Edward H. Plumptre

Your hand, O Lord, has guided

Your Church from age to age;

The wondrous tale is written

So clearly on each page;

Our fathers praised your goodness,

And we their deeds record;

And both to this bear witness;

One Church, One Faith, One Lord.

Your heralds brought glad tidings

To greatest and to least;

They told all men to hasten

To share the great King’s feast;

And this was all their teaching

In every deed and word,

To all alike proclaiming:

One Church, One Faith, One Lord.

Through many days of darkness,

Through many scenes of strife,

The faithful few fought bravely

To guard the Christian life;

Their gospel of redemption,

Sin pardoned, man restored,

Was all in this enfolded:

One Church, One Faith, One Lord.

Your mercy will not fail us,

Nor leave your work undone;

With all your strength to help us,

The vict’ry shall be won;

And then by men and angels

Your name shall be adored,

And this shall be their anthem:

One Church, One Faith, One Lord.

Written by Edward H. Plumptre, 1821-1891

See Youtube https://youtu.be/SCmtpyck-oQ

Performed at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Buffalo, MN

On Charity

Without Love Everything  is in Vain

By Saint Maximus the Confessor, abbot

Charity is a right attitude of mind which prefers nothing to the knowledge of God.  If a man possesses any strong attachment to the things of this earth, he cannot possess true charity.  For anyone who really loves God prefers to know and experience God rather than his creatures.  The whole set and longing of his mind is ever directed toward him.

For God is far superior to all his creation, since everything which exists has been made by God and for him.  And so, in deserting God, who is beyond compare, for the interior works of creation, a man shows that he values God, the author of creation, less than creation itself.

The Lord himself reminds us: Whoever loves me will keep my commandments.  And this is my commandment that you love one another.  So the man who does not love his neighbor does not obey God’s command.  But one who does not obey his command cannot love God.  A man is blessed if he can love all men equally.  Moreover, if he truly loves God, he must love his neighbour absolutely.  Such a man cannot hoard his wealth.  Rather, like God himself, he generously gives from his own resources to each man according to his needs.

Since he imitates God’s generosity, the only distinction he draws is the person’s need.  He does not distinguish between a good man and a bad one, a just man and one who is unjust.  Yet his own goodness of will makes him prefer the man who strives after virtue to the one who is depraved.

A charitable mind is not displayed simply in giving money; it is manifested still more by person service as well as the communication of God’s word to others.  In fact, in a man’s service toward his brothers is genuine and if he really renounces worldly concerns, he is freed from selfish desires.  For he now shares in God’s own knowledge and love.  For he now shares in God’s own knowledge and love.  Since he does possess God’s love, he does not experience weariness as he follows the Lord his God.  Rather, following the prophet Jeremiah, he withstands every type of reproach and hardship without even harboring an evil thought toward any man.

For Jeremiah warns us:  Do not say: “We are the Lord’s temple.” Neither should you say: “Faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ can save me.”  

By itself faith accomplishes nothing.  For even the devils believe and shudder.  No, faith must be joined to an active love of God which is expressed in good works.  

The charitable man is distinguished by sincere and long-suffering service to his fellow man: it also means using things aright.

Saint Maximus the Confessor, abbot

Saint Maximus the Confessor, abbot

Feastday: August 13

Birth: 580

Death: 662

Abbot, mystic, and Doctor of the Church, called "the Theologian," who suffered persecution from Emperor Constans II and the Monothelitist heretics. He was born to a noble family in Constantinople, modern Istanbul, about 580 and served for a time as secretary to Emperor Heraclius before becoming a monk and abbot at Chrysopolis, modern Skutori, Turkey. When Emperor Constans II favored Monothelitism, Maximus defended Pope Honorius and debated and converted Pyrrhus in 645. 

He then attended the Lateran Council in 649, convened by Pope St. Martin I, and he was taken prisoner and brought to Constantinople, where he was charged with treason. Exiled from the Empire, he spent six years at Perberis and was brought back to Constantinople with two companions - both named Anastasius - to be tortured and mutilated. Their tongues and right hands were cut off and they were sent to Skhemaris on the Black Sea, where Maximus died. 

He is venerated for his mysticism and is ranked as one of the foremost theologians of his era, being especially noted for his contributions to the theology of the Incarnation. The author of some ninety works on theology, mysticism, and dogma, he is especially known for his Opuscula Theologica et Poleinica; the Ambigua on Gregory of Nazianzus, and the Mvstagogia, an examination of symbolism.

The Transfiguration of the Lord

The Transfiguration

Transfiguration of Our Lord

From a sermon by Anastasius of Sinai, bishop

It is good for us to be here

Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery.  While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of His second coming in glory, but to banish from their heart any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, He gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of His glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven.  It was as if He said to them: “As time goes by you may be in danger of losing your faith. To save you from this I tell you now that some standing here listening to me will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in the glory of His Father.”  

Moreover, in order to assure us that Christ could command such power when He wished, the evangelist continues: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone.  There, before their eyes, He was transfigured.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light.  Then the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, and they were talking to Jesus.

These are the divine wonders we celebrate today (Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6); this is the saving revelation given us upon the mountain; this is the festival of Christ that has drawn us here.  Let us listen, then, to the sacred voice of God so compellingly calling us from on high, from the summit of the mountain, so that with the Lord’s chosen disciples we may penetrate the deep meaning of these holy mysteries, so far beyond our capacity to express.  

Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and into heaven, and—I speak boldly—it is for us now to follow Him with all speed, yearning for the heavenly vision that will give us a share in His radiance, renew our spiritual nature and transform us into His own likeness, making us for ever sharers in His Godhead and raising us to heights as yet undreamed of.

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter 

the cloud like Moses and Elijah, 

or like James and John.  

Let us be caught up like Peter 

to behold the divine vision 

and to be transfigured by 

that glorious transfiguration.  

Let us retire from the world, 

stand aloof from the earth, 

rise above the body, 

detach ourselves from creatures 

and turn to the Creator, 

to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: 

Lord, it is good for us to be here.

It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever.  What greater happiness or higher honor could we have than to be with God, to be made like Him and to live in His light?

Therefore, since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into His divine image, we also should cry out with joy: It is good for us to be here—here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen.  

For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as He enters: Today salvation has come to this house.  With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of His eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in Him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the firstfruits and the whole of the world to come.

Anastasius of Sinai, bishop

d. around 700 AD

Taken from the Liturgy of the Hours