Illustration: Transfiguration by Alexandr Ivanov, 1824
Pope Francis Angelus Reflection for 2nd Sunday of Lent
St Peter’s Square = Sunday, 1st March 202
Gospel Reading: Matthew 17.4-9
Jesus took Peter & James & his brother John with him and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus. ‘Lord. ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him.’ When they heard this the disciples fell on their faces overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them. He said: ‘Stand up, ‘do not be afraid.’ And when they raised up their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus. As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, ‘Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’
Pope Leo’s Angelus Reflection
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today’s Gospel paints a radiant picture for all of us, when it recounts the Transfiguration of the Lord.
The evangelist draws on the apostles’ memories to portray Christ between Moses and Elijah.
The Word made flesh (Jesus) stands between the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah)
He is Living Wisdom, who brings every Word of God to fulfillment.
Everything that God has commanded and inspired people with is fully and definitively revealed in Jesus.
Just as on the day of his Baptism in the Jordan, so too today, on the mountain, we hear the voice of the Father proclaiming, “This is my beloved Son”.
The Gospel uses this unique expression to describe how God reveals himself.
Matthew 3:16-17):”when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened[d] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; 17 and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son,[e] with whom I am well pleased.”
When the Lord makes himself visible, he shows us his uniqueness: standing before Jesus, whose face shines “like the sun” and whose garments become “white as light” (cf. v. 2), the disciples admire God’s human splendor.
Peter, James and John contemplate the humble glory, glory that does not appear as a spectacle for the crowds, but as a solemn intimacy..
The Transfiguration foreshadows the light of Easter: an event of death and resurrection, of darkness and new light, which Christ radiates on all bodies scourged by violence, on bodies crucified by pain, or on bodies abandoned in misery.
Indeed, while evil reduces our flesh to a barter commodity or an anonymous mass, it is this very body that shines with God’s glory.
In this way, the Redeemer transforms the wounds of history, illumining our minds and our hearts: his revelation is an astonishing gift of salvation!
Do we remain under its spell? Does the true face of God find in us a gaze full of wonder and love?
The Father’s reply to the despair of atheism is the gift of his Son, the Savior.
The Holy Spirit redeems us from the loneliness of agnosticism by offering us an everlasting communion of life and grace; and in response to our weak faith, the promise of the future resurrection is announced.
This is what the disciples saw in the splendor of Christ, but it took time for them to understand it.
It took a time of silence to listen to the word, a time of conversion to taste the Lord’s company.
As we experience this during Lent, let us ask Mary, Teacher of Prayer and Morning Star, to guide us in faith.
