✨ The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord commemorates the event in which Jesus, on a high mountain, revealed His divine glory to three of His closest apostles: Peter, James, and John. This act was not merely a display of power but a profound pedagogical act: it aimed to strengthen the disciples' faith before the scandal of the Cross by showing them a glimpse of the glory of the Resurrection. The presence of Moses, representing the Law, and Elijah, representing the Prophets, testified that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Scriptures. The Father's voice from the cloud—"This is my beloved Son"—confirmed Christ's divine identity and mission, offering the apostles and the entire Church a foretaste of the heavenly glory promised to the faithful.
Introit (Ps 76:19 | Ps 83:2-3)Illuxérunt coruscatiónes tuæ orbi terræ... Thy lightnings enlightened the world: the earth shook and trembled. Ps. How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. ℣. Glory be to the Father…
Collect
O God, who in the glorious Transfiguration of thine only-begotten Son didst confirm the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of the fathers, and who, in the voice that came from the shining cloud, didst wondrously proclaim the perfect adoption of thy sons: mercifully grant that we be made co-heirs with this King of glory, and grant us to be partakers of that same glory. Through the same Jesus Christ.
Epistle (II Peter 1:16-19)
Dearly beloved: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ; but having been made eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory: when there came down to him from the excellent glory this voice: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And this voice we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
Gospel (Mt 17:1-9)
At that time, Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes, saw no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.
✍️ The chief reason for the Transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the disciples' hearts, so that the humiliation of the passion, voluntarily undergone, should not disturb the faith of those to whom the excellence of the hidden dignity had been revealed (St. Leo the Great, Sermon 51). Christ appeared between Moses and Elijah to signify that His glory is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, and that He Himself is the Judge of the living and the dead, for Moses had died and Elijah had not yet died (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, III, q. 45, a. 3). His garments became white as snow; what does this signify but the Church, cleansed from every spot and wrinkle? (St. Augustine, Sermon 78). The Father's voice from the cloud teaches us that while the tents we desire are being prepared, we must dwell in the tent of faith, for the cloud was a symbol of faith, which protects the faithful from the heat of worldly desires (St. Ambrose, Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, VII).
🔍 The Gospel of Luke complements Matthew's narrative with crucial details, informing us that Jesus went up the mountain "to pray" and that it was "while he was praying" that the appearance of his face was altered. Luke also specifies the topic of conversation between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah: they spoke of his "exodus," which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem, directly linking the glory of the Transfiguration to his forthcoming sacrifice. Furthermore, Luke mentions that the apostles were "heavy with sleep," but by remaining awake, they saw his glory, which emphasizes the magnitude of the revelation that nearly overwhelmed their human capacity. The Gospel of Mark, in turn, uses a more earthly and vivid image to describe the garments, saying they became whiter "than any fuller on earth could bleach them."
✉️ The writings of St. Paul, although they do not narrate the event, theologically deepen its meaning. In Philippians 3:21, Paul speaks of Christ who "will transform our humble body, to conform it to his glorious body," which echoes the promise contained in the vision of Jesus' transfigured body. The apostles' experience on the mountain is a prelude to what Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." Father' command to "listen to Him" is expanded by Paul, who states that in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3), making the Father's mandate a guide for the entire Christian life. Finally, the link between glory and suffering, implicit in the descent from the mountain, is made explicit by Paul in Romans 8:17, when he affirms that we are co-heirs with Christ, "provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."
🏛️ Church documents solidify and expand the understanding of the Transfiguration. The Roman Catechism (of the Council of Trent), in its explanation of the Creed, presents the Transfiguration as irrefutable proof of the Resurrection and a manifestation of the glory that not only belongs to Christ as the Head but is also promised to all the members of His Body. Pope Leo XIII, in the encyclical Mirae Caritatis (1902), when speaking of the Eucharist, alludes to the Transfiguration as a moment when the Apostles' faith was strengthened so they could endure the Passion, drawing a parallel to how the Eucharist strengthens our faith for the trials of life. The Bull Unigenitus Dei Filius (1343) of Pope Clement VI, in instituting the Jubilee, speaks of Christ as the "treasure of the Church," whose divinity, veiled in the flesh, was momentarily unveiled to the Apostles on the mountain to confirm their faith in the infinite richness of Christ's merits, which they would have to proclaim to the world.