Dear Friends in Christ,

Today’s feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord reminds us of Christ’s majesty and divine glory that lay beneath the surface of his human nature.

That human nature was both instructive and baffling.

It was instructive in that it indicated the great dignity of man.

For the very idea of the Incarnation—that a Divine Person would take on flesh in the womb of a woman and dwell among us and identify with us humans so closely—would be unfathomable for many people.

Why would God stoop down in such a mysterious way to walk and talk among mere mortals? In part, it was to show us how much we mean to him.

Then there is the baffling side.

How could divinity “squeeze” into a Babe in a manger in Bethlehem? Isn’t that like trying to squeeze the ocean into a thimble?

Yet such is the mystery of the Incarnation. The Transfiguration was but a dramatic reminder to the apostles that divinity lay within the Jesus whom they thought they knew well.

This paradox can also be applied to the mystical body of Christ: the Church.

It too shows a human side that can lead its skeptics to dismiss it.

Yet under the surface is the majesty of Christ its head and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is good to remember when the Church seems like a voice in the wilderness, defending the dignity of unborn human beings and marriage and the marginalized. Its message doesn’t depend on majority votes but on “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

To focus on Truth itself, consider praying along with our Retreat Guide Anchored in Light:  A Retreat Guide on the Transfiguration of the Lord

And remember that the same Jesus Christ who was transfigured remains with us in his mystical body the Church.

In Christ,

Father Edward McIlmail, LC Ask a Priest contributor