EVEN NOW (On the Transfiguration of Jesus)

EVEN NOW
On the Transfiguration of Jesus

Our Lord showed His disciples a glimpse of His glory at Mt.Tabor. Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus in His divine glory, not only so that they will know that His Passion was voluntary and that in the end He will triumph, but also to give us a preview of what is in store for us in the life to come, when He "will change our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body" (Phil 3:21).

This is such a powerful message of hope that one day our destiny is to be FULLY DIVINIZED in Christ, for we shall see Him as He is (cf. 1Jn 3:2)

But EVEN NOW we are already divinized (when we are in the state of grace), that is, we share/participate in the divinity of Jesus through His Holy Spirit dwelling in our souls. This is why the Word became flesh, to make us partakers of the divine nature. Jesus unites us to himself by communicating his Spirit to us. As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense (cf. CCC 788). And again, even more when we receive our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

We may not see it visibly yet, as it was with Jesus at His Transfiguration, but the Holy Spirit (in us) will transform us from within, if we will, 'little by little' into becoming more and more like Jesus. For even now OUR LIFE IS HIDDEN WITH CHRIST IN GOD (cf. Col 3:3).

How unfortunate it is that too many people spend so much money to beautify themselves exteriorly– A multi-million dollar business in the world– but pay little attention to the development of the soul by cooperating with the Holy Spirit for our interior renewal, the basis of our future full divinization. The light that shone from Jesus' body emanated from His divine nature united to His human nature. He is the God-Man. This is the mystery of the Incarnation, the union of the divine and human natures in the one Person of the Word.

Similarly when we are in the state of grace we share/participate in Jesus' divine nature through His Holy Spirit dwelling in our souls. The Soul of the soul of Jesus becomes the Soul of our soul, too. We are literally 'god-men'. This is the guarantee of our future full divinization. We have been given the first fruits (or the first installment), the very life of God in us.

Too many Catholics do not have a lively sense of this reality– that we have within ourselves the seed of divinity. Unfortunately, for so many this divine life does not grow, and often times lost through mortal sin. That's because so many Catholics have not yet made an explicit personal commitment to always 'live in union with Jesus and live like Him' through His Holy Spirit in us. This explicit Faith-commitment is the 'spiritual password' that will activate the Holy Spirit to transform us from within, little by little, until we are fully divinized in the life to come. In other words this divine life in us will not grow magically without our cooperation. And that's because God respects our free will.

We cooperate by a regular prayer life and frequent reception of the Sacraments, which are the channels through which divine life is infused into our souls. We also cooperate by good works and acts of self denial. The more we empty ourselves of ourselves the more the Holy Spirit will work marvels in our souls. The gifts of the Holy Spirit will then 'kick in' so to speak and gradually manifest in the fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. It will also gradually manifest in our thinking, speaking, doing, and even in our affections. This is how divine life grows. This is our GRADUAL INTERIOR TRANSFIGURATION, the basis of our future full divinization (which includes our physical transfiguration) on the Last Day.

We are therefore, EVEN NOW, being transformed from 'glory to glory' (cf. 2Cor 3:18); and while our bodies maybe wasting away, the inner man is renewed day by day (cf. 2Cor 4:16-18). And so Jesus after his transfiguration admonished his disciples to 'take up their cross daily and follow him'– the daily dying to ourselves-- that renews us deeply. For the more we renounce ourselves, the more we "walk by the Spirit". (cf. Gal 5:25)

Once in a while we meet people who exude this interior holiness, and we know them to be the ones who are serious about their growth in holiness, just like the Saints. They somehow radiate an inner glow, [some kind of 'transfiguration'?]. May we imitate them and in turn be examples and inspiration to others.