Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Sometimes we forget and sometimes we forget big time. That is how I see it when it comes to the “forgetfulness” of Peter, James and John post-Trans figuration. Our Blessed Lord, in order to lessen the trauma of His Passion upon the disciples, gave them a glimpse of the glory that is to come with His Resurrection from the dead. In the chaos that began with the arrest in Gethsemane, it seemed that there was a blacking-out on the part of the disciples who were privileged to encounter the divinity of Jesus on Tabor.  How could something as glorious as the Transfiguration slip their minds? Perhaps on a lesser scale, the same thing happens to us.  

In the midst of trials and difficulties, we too forget the glorious manifestations of God’s goodness. May be we have become too screen-occupied and fail to appreciate the real beauty of human beings and the natural world we live in. How strange it is that we have allowed the artificial world to consume our time and attention. Lent provides a great opportunity for us to re-direct and re-focus our hearts and minds.  The method for achieving this is prayer and meditation. Having recently climbed Mt. Tabor with my fellow pilgrims, I can assure you that there was plenty of time for meditation and appreciation of the natural world. Jesus very specifically chose that setting to remind us that it is His world, which He has offered to us. Certainly, that is quite contrary to the deceiver’s, i.e., Satan’s, audacity in “attempting” to offer the world to Our Lord in last Sunday’s account of the temptation in the desert. Satan tries to pull the same stunt on us in trying to make us forget the wonders of God’s love and mercy, the two things that transfigure us and the world. A solid and well-disciplined prayer life helps us to avoid the scoundrel’s attack on the serenity of our souls. Unlike the three disciples chosen to encounter the Transfigured Lord, let us happily recall the glorious moments that He has allot ted us even when things seem bleak. Why? Because Christ was victorious, and we shall be as well. 

With Blessings, 

Father Langan