The Transfiguration of the Lord -

Window open to the kingdom of God

and revelation of the path that leads there

(listening to the Son of God)

“The Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor has two important aspects: (1) it is an open window to the kingdom of God; (2) it reveals the way through which we get there - listening to the Son of God - said Bishop Ioan Casian in the homily delivered at the end of the Divine Liturgy in the diocesan cathedral of Saint-Hubert.

Today's Gospel text tells us that the Savior takes three of the disciples and climbs Mount Tabor. It is Peter, James and John. We may wonder why only these three apostles are chosen by Christ the Savior to be the witnesses of this mystery?

St. John Chrysostom gives us an answer: ‘because each of the three was above the others: Peter showed his pre-eminence through his immeasurable love for Christ; John by being especially loved by Jesus; Jacob showed his superiority by the prompt answer given - we are ready to drink the cup, that is, to do His work and what Jesus says. '

The disciples see on Mount Tabor the face of the Savior shining like the sun and the garments being whiter than light. The three apostles have a double experience: the sight of the human nature of Christ, but also the radiance of His divine grace and nature. Seeing this light, they fall to the ground. Moses and Elijah appearing on the right and left show the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law in Christ. The disciples see in this miracle the stature of human nature transfigured as God ordained it from the beginning and as it will be in the kingdom of heaven. They glimpse as far as possible the human nature into the mystery of the deification of man in Christ. The Transfiguration of the Savior is an open window to the kingdom of God.

Origen, one of the great commentators of the Holy Scriptures of Christian antiquity, says that the three apostles who ascended Mount Tabor with Christ through the experience of contemplation of the Transfiguration of the Lord imagine those who ascended spiritually through faith and work and meet God in the experience of contemplation of the divine light. Those who remain at the base of the mountain also have the experience of meeting or contemplating God but in His works and words.

After the disciples fall to the ground, a cloud covers them and the voice of the Father is heard saying: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him! The Son does not speak of Himself, but the Father testifies of Him. Obedience to the Son of God is the guarantee that we will reach the Kingdom of heaven. It's the only way to get there. We try to do this in the Church, through the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Sacraments and all the sanctifying work of the Church, through the charity we do in the name of God and with the help of God.

St. Leo the Great tells us why Christ can do all this: ‘Listen to Him because He by His Blood redeems the world, chains the wicked and takes away his vessels, undoes the debts of sin and the wandering of iniquities. He opens the way to heaven, and through the suffering of the cross prepares for you the steps to ascend into His kingdom. '

In the Church we live this experience of God's presence and encounter. It leads us and transfigures our lives in the perspective of eternity - concluded the Romanian hierarch of Canada.”

At the end HG Bishop PS Casian blessed all those present.

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(Notes by Oana Calen)