The event of the Transfiguration gives us a glimpse into Heaven. The Transfiguration allows us to see that from the suffering that we must bear in this world will come the hope of everlasting life. Christ knew that His passion upon the cross was quickly coming and thus He desired to give His apostles this glimpse into Heaven. He desired to show them that from the suffering that He would have to endure upon the wood of the cross would come the hope and the joy of the Resurrection of the body. This event was to give them comfort in what would lie ahead because without a glimpse into Heaven and the ability to see the hope and the joy of the Resurrection of the body they would of been lead into despair and would eventually loose their hope in the Gospel message. With this glimpse into Heaven they were indeed given hope in all the trials that would lie ahead in the events of the passion that would soon unfold.
We now find ourselves twelve days into the Lenten season. I am sure at this season's start that we were fired up for the sacrifices that we would make in order to draw ourselves closer to Christ. Now that we find ourselves twelve days into this season we might find the temptation to turn away from things such as fasting, praying, and almsgiving. When we have nothing that we are setting our sight upon it is very easy to be lead back into our old way of life. We must realize at times that conversion is truly painful because it requires us to change our ways and to not look back even for one glance. Therefore today we are each given this glimpse into Heaven through the Transfiguration. We are shown that in the midst of sacrifice that we are embracing the hope and joy of the life to come. This glimpse into Heaven is to make us realize that we truly have a goal that has been set before our eyes during this Lenten season. That goal is to be found worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven through our abandonment of sin because here we will encounter the joy of the resurrection of our bodies.
We can all make a list of the pains that we have been forced to endure while here on this earth. We have felt the pain of sickness, we have experienced the loss of a loved one, we have been filled with great fear when a job has been lost, and this list goes on and on with all the pains and trials that we have been forced to endure while here on this earth. Thankfully in the Transfiguration we are given a glimpse into Heaven. Here we are given a glimpse into the life that will come for all of us who find ourselves ready to be called to our Heavenly reward. In this glimpse we see the joy and the hope that will be found here where sickness, death, and fear will no longer be part of our existence. In this glimpse into Heaven we discover the joy of everlasting life and the hope of the Resurrection of the body where one day we will once again be joined to all the faithful departed who are our friends and family, we will be joined with all the angels and saints who have given us assistance along the way, we will joined by our Blessed Mother whose heart pours out with love, we will be joined by Christ who was willing to offer Himself as a sacrifice on behalf of our sins, and will finally be able to behold the splendor of God.
In the words of Saint John Vianney: "If we could go and pass a week in Heaven, we should understand the value of this moment of suffering. We should find no cross heavy enough, no trial bitter enough. . . . The Cross is the gift that God makes to His friends." With the glimpse into Heaven that the Transfiguration gives us we should see how true that these words really are. They are true because all the suffering that we endure here is forever transformed through the reality of Heaven. These words are true because in the midst of sacrifice we discover the cross of Christ and truly begin to know Him as a friend. As we continue this great season of Lent may we not allow ourselves to look back upon our sin, but instead may we look forward to the joy and hope that will await us with everlasting life. This is the glimpse that the apostles were given into Heaven which we are able to share within today through the Transfiguration.
It was at the Transfiguration that darkness encompassed the land, but from that darkness came a shining light which revealed Christ in His glory. From that moment forward these apostles would know Christ for who He truly was and they were given a glimpse into Heaven. The pains and trials that they would have to endure on behalf of the faith would be worth joining within this glimpse that they received for all time. Darkness continues to come over each of us through the many pains that we must endure and the temptation towards sin that continues to tug at us, but may we remember the shining light, that is Christ, who through this event has giving us a glimpse into Heaven. In this glimpse we can see the joy that will come with everlasting life and how each of these dark moments will be put to rest. May this glimpse into Heaven inspire us to continue this journey of Lent; because through this glimpse we will find value in the path that lies ahead because it will lead us towards everlasting life.
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