Our Lady, Mother of the Holy Eucharist and so Mother of our Hope, help us to be people of hope, by seeing all things through the eyes of faith

Matthew 17; 1-9. Second Sunday in Lent. March 16th, 2014

As you know our readings for Sunday Mass are on a three year cycle, so every three years the same readings come around. In preparing for this homily today I decided to take a look back three years ago to the homily I gave during this Second Sunday of Lent in Cycle A and again for this particular Gospel. There I found out that the homily I gave was given just after the incomprehensible tragedy of the Earthquake and Tsunami that occurred in Japan back in March 11, of 2011. I began my homily back then by mentioning this terrible event, the tens of thousand killed or missing; that it was an humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, one that sent shock waves around the world, affect the entire world, even the global markets; and that it almost brought the collapse of the country Japan.

After this I took a look at the Homily I gave three years prior to that; the second Sunday of Lent Cycle A, 2008. There I found that in the homily I gave then, I began by addressing the horrible shooting, that resulted in the terrible loss of human lives along with many serious injuries and so much resulting suffering, that occurred February 14, 2008, right here in DeKalb at Northern Illinois University. And along with Bishop Doran, I prayed for the victims and for their families.

After addressing both of these terrible tragedies and the terrible suffering that resulted, I began both of these homilies by reminding everyone that for us as Christians, who are people of Hope, we must see all things through the eyes of faith. This same reminder goes for us today that have been witness to so many other terrible tragedies during these last three years including the loss of the Malaysian airplane with 239 souls on board, we have yet to hear what happen to them-crash-hijacking?. So today, this is also the message I want to begin with again today; it is the message of today’s Gospel. Again the message is this; for us as Christians, who are people of Hope, we must see all things through the eyes of faith.

Today, we hear Peter, James and John witness the great moment of the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. The disciples hear God the Father Himself proclaim, with thunderous power, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” By these words we have God the Father Himself witnessing that Jesus is God the Son. And since we have the testimony of the Father, who is God who can neither deceive nor be deceived, we should never doubt the divinity of Jesus and so never doubt the divine power of Jesus and His divine love.

At the same time they hear the voice of the Father, the disciples see a hint, just a tiny hint of the glory of Jesus’ Divinity shining through His humanity. Yet even that tiny glimpse made the disciples speechless. They had seen a peek at that which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it even enter into the mind of man… Is it any wonder that Peter did not want this moment to end—he was content to stay on that mountain forever? I am sure he felt he was in heaven itself; no wonder, for he had peered into heaven itself, the Heart of Jesus; they had gotten a glimpse of the unveiled face of God.

But Peter and the other disciples had to eventually come down from that mountain—led by Jesus they descended to what was waiting for them—a time when their faith would be tested as never before; a time when their hearts would be pulled asunder, a tragedy, greater and more horrible than any the world had ever seen, or will ever see—they would witness the terrible passion and death of Christ— deicide-the killing of God. And if that wasn’t enough they would experience their own weakness and sinfulness in their failure to remain faithful to Jesus even, even when they now knew Him to be the true and living God made visible in the flesh.

For His part, by His divine foreknowledge, Jesus knew only too well, how badly His disciples’ faith was about to be tested and their hope shaken as Jesus embarked on His journey to Jerusalem to be condemned, mocked, scourged and crucified. Jesus knew that in their fear and weakness they would abandon Him in His hour of need. And so Jesus wanted to give them a reason not fall into despair when this happened, so they would be able to eventually repent and turn to Him for pardon and strength-this reason was the experience of the Transfiguration in which they got a chance to see a glimpse of the ultimate Goal, for when one knows the goal he can endure with hope the journey.

In their future struggles as well, and even in their own future passion and death, Jesus wanted them to know that in His love for them, He would always be with them supporting them with the power of His divinity, with the power of His divine love. And if they would but remain faithful by relying on His divine power, and not their own, they would share one day in the fullness of Jesus’ glory in heaven, that glory on which they glimpsed on that mountain. They would become one with Jesus and through Him one with the Father forever! This would help to maintain their hope throughout their life so that they could persevere to the end. And so they did persevere, in spite of their own great trials, persecutions, sufferings, in spite of their human weaknesses, and eventually even in spite their own passion and death.

The Transfiguration informs us as well, that in our own struggle, in our own battle with sin, in our own daily crosses and in our own heavy crosses, present or to come, we should never forget that the Jesus whom the three Apostles were with on Mount Tabor is the same Jesus who is daily at our side. Jesus knows how much we are going to be tested by the struggle and the crosses in our lives, the ones we may be carrying now or the crosses to come. Jesus knows how strong is our sinfulness and selfishness and how weak we are to overcome them; He knows how weak is our hope; that is, He knows how weak is our trust in Him, and how strong is our fear. In His compassion, He desires to give us grace and strengthen our hope even in the midst of sinfulness, in the midst of our profound weakness, even in the midst of our darkest fears and sorrows.

The truth is, is that we like the disciples have so many times abandon Jesus and failed to faithfully follow him; nevertheless, He doesn’t want us to fall into despair but instead to turn to Him for pardon and strength. And in our future struggles, failures and even in own future passion and death, Jesus wants us to know that in His love for us, He will always be with us to support us with the power of His divinity. And if we but call upon His help, through intimate daily prayer and the Sacraments, and remain in His love by following His Commandments, we too will come to share in the fullness of Jesus’ own glory in heaven, a glory that even now we can get a glimpse of, but only through the eyes of faith. It is a glimpse in faith which surpasses all feelings and emotions or lack there of.

It is here at the Holy Mass that we, like the apostles, are able to get our own glimpse into that which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it even enter into the mind of man. And so, we need to desperately ask for the grace to be like St. Peter and not want this incredible moment to end, being content to stay on this mountain of the Holy Mass forever, even if feelings and emotions are lacking. We need an increase of faith to realize that time as no place at the Holy Mass, just as time as no place in heaven. We need an increase of faith as well to convince us, whose lives are so often dominated by feelings, that faith has nothing whatever to do with emotion. That “…it doesn’t have anything to do with "feeling good," because very often faith recommends something that is very difficult, such as taking up a cross." - (Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen)

At the transfiguration, Peter only got a tiny glimpse of heaven; but, at the holy Mass where heaven and earth unite, we get more than glimpse, for we are actually more in heaven than we are on earth. Jesus’ gift of allowing the apostles to be present at the transfiguration doesn’t compare to His gift to us of allowing us to be able to present at Holy Mass—Our gift is much greater, infinitely greater. Here at Mass, Jesus transforms in front of our eyes with a greater glory than even at the transfiguration. This is why we can’t see look upon Him with our human eyes but must see Him with our eyes of faith, for no one can see the face of God and live. However, by seeing Jesus’ glory through the eyes of faith, we can be strengthened just as were the disciples, even more so because “blessed are those who believe without seeing.” (John 20;29)

The transfigured, glorified Jesus in all of His glory and with all of the power of His divinity becomes present to us in the Holy Eucharist as the priest pronounces the words of consecration. His sacrifice on Calvary becomes present as well along with its power to save us and save the world. This power is offered to us and we can receive it into our lives if we but in thanksgiving offer our lives in return, by dying to sin and selfishness and turning to and living totally for Jesus. The Eucharist is our strength, because it is our goal, it is heaven on Earth already, because it is the Human Heart of Jesus, God Himself still on Earth; and where Jesus is there is heaven too.

As the priest raises Jesus up for us to adore, we too, if we listen, can hear the words of the Father, “Behold this is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” Like the apostles, if we look at the Jesus in the Holy Eucharist with the eyes of faith, we too can get a glimpse of the face of God. Like the apostles, this is what gives us the strength we need to face our own trials and sufferings that await us; this what will help us to get back up when we fail in our efforts to follow Jesus; this is what will help us see that the struggle and what ever we have to sacrifice or endure in this life for love of Jesus, to console His Heart, is worth it, by far.

The glory of Jesus in the Eucharist has the power to renew us, if we let it by turning our lives to Him and offer our lives to Him. It is good for us to be here at this Holy Mass and every Mass where we can ourselves come to Mt Tabor. It is good for us to be able to come anytime to sit before the glory of Jesus hidden in the little white host contained in the "Tabor-nacle". The more we behold Jesus in the Eucharist and the more we believe, adore, hope and love Him there, the more our faith is strengthened, our hope renewed and our charity increased. It is in the Eucharist that Jesus comes to us, touches us and say, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” (Matthew 17;7)

In a few moments, we come to the altar to receive Christ, not only transfigured, but also truly risen and glorified. Like the apostles had to eventually come down from that Mountain of Tabor, we too will have to come down from the mountain of this Holy Mass and so go out and face the events and crosses of our daily lives; but, as the remembrance of the Transfiguration strengthened the apostles to face the struggles and fears of the rest of their lives, the Holy Mass is that principle source of divine grace that will provide us what we need to face the struggles and fears that lie ahead in our own lives.

In the Holy Mass alone…in it, and present at it alone, we discover that the sufferings of this present life are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us, and so the Mass also strengthens us in the midst of all the horrors and fears found in our world today. The Holy Mass is very the source of our hope and all hope in this valley of tears, for it alone, through the Holy Spirit working through the Sacred Priesthood, makes present Jesus Who is our Hope; and Jesus is the Hope that never disappoints.

As we continue with our Lenten disciplines, hopefully we have discovered more deeply our deep sinfulness and our profound weakness. If we have haven’t discovered our great misery, maybe we are looking at our neighbor ‘s misery and sinfulness more than our own. In light of our profound sinfulness, weakness, misery, suffering, let us not despair nor become despondent but with great confidence confess our sins in the Sacrament of confession, so our spiritual view can be purified in order to be able to look in faith, hope and trust to the Transfigured and Resurrected Jesus, who with all the Glory and power of His Divinity shining through His humanity is truly and really present in the Holy Eucharist. The strength of His divinity will shine then through the weakness of our own humanity so that we may be transformed by His love and His Mercy and bring this same love and mercy to others so they too can be transformed by them.

Let us then, acknowledge and confess our sins, but not become fixated on them, but instead look at Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, He who is the Divine Mercy of the Father in Person. Let us do this practically by placing everything on the paten at this Holy mass through the hands of the Virgin, everything, even our sins, fear and weakness, so that along with the bread and the wine they, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Sacred Priesthood, they may be transformed into Love, the most powerful force on this earth.

Our Lady, Mother of the Holy Eucharist and so Mother of our Hope, help us to be people of hope, by seeing all things through the eyes of faith; And to do so help us to see that this begins by seeing Jesus in the Holy Eucharist through the eyes of Faith—we long to see God’s face. Help us to “see” Jesus transfigured, risen and glorified in the Holy Mass, in the Holy Eucharist so that we may share in His glory both now and at the hour of our death and so through thy powerful intercession, preserve to the very end and help others to do the same. This is our hope! Amen! St. Joseph pray for us.