Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
GospelMatthew 17:1-9 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)
After six days Jesus took with him Peter and
James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.And he
was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun,
and his clothes became white as light.And behold, there appeared to them Moses and
Elijah, talking with him.And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and
one for Elijah.”He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased; listen to him.”When the disciples heard this, they fell on their
faces and were terrified.But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus
only.
And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus
commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from
the dead.”
Like Peter, James and John, I caught a glimpse of something of the Purity of God on a hill. Tradition tells us that Jesus was transfigured on Mount Tabor, Israel. My 'Mount Tabor' was a hotel at the top of a hill in Lourdes, France.
During Holy Week 2001 I took part in the international pilgrimage of Faith and Light to Lourdes which takes place every ten years. Faith and Light was born of a desire to help people with an intellectual disability and their families find their place within the Church and society. This was the main purpose of the organized pilgrimage to Lourdes at Easter of 1971.
I was based in Britain at the time and travelled with a group from the north of England. However, before I left the Philippines for Britain in 2000 I had been invited to be chaplain to the small contingent from the Philippines, as I had been involved with Faith and Light in the Philippines, mostly on the fringes, between 1992 and 2000.
The Filipinos were staying in a hotel at a distance from the shrine and at the top of a hill. There was also a group of Faith and Light pilgrims from Hong Kong, including Fr Giosue Bonzi PIME, an Italian, in the same hotel. (I was with the English pilgrims in a hotel close to the shrine.)
One of those from Hong Kong was Dorothy, a girl of about eleven with Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21). Her father died suddenly when she was very young. Dorothy's face had the delicate beauty of Chinese ceramics. But she had an extraordinary inner beauty, a purity that could have come only from God. Though I had no Cantonese and she had no English, we were able to communicate simply by looking at one another. She showed complete trust in me. She had a vulnerability that called forth the deepest respect.
Fr Giosue Bonzi PIME with Dorothy, now an adult, in Hong Kong
In Irish there's an expression used for a person with a severe mental or learning disability, duine le Dia, 'a person with God'. Dorothy was such for me, in a very full sense of that phrase: she was a clear expression of the beauty and of the purity of God to me.
The Opening Prayerof today's Mass reads: O God, who have commanded us to listen to your beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word, that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory. Through . . . When Peter, James and John went up Mount Tabor with Jesus they had no idea that would see the divinity of Jesus there. They had no idea they would hear God the Father say This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.The Entrance Antiphon, taken from Psalm 26 [27], prays, It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face from me. I have no doubt that I saw the face of the Lord in that young girl with Down Syndrome from Hong Kong whom I met in Lourdes in Holy Week 2001. Jesus may speak to us at any time, unexpectedly, as he revealed his presence to me in that hotel at the top of a hill in Lourdes. May we make the Opening Prayer our own so that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory.
Immaculate Mary (The Lourdes Hymn)
Traditional Pyrenean melody arranged by James Doig
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river and the glory of
the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon
her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will
comfort you; you shall be
comforted in Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:12-13, First Reading).
Readings(Jerusalem Bible:
Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
GospelLuke 10:1-12, 17-20 [or 10:1-9] (English
Standard Version Anglicised: India)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where
he himself was about to go.And he said to them, “The
harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly
to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.Go your way; behold, I am sending
you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals,
and greet no one on the road.Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to
this house!’And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest
upon him. But if not, it will return to you.And remain in the same house, eating and
drinking what they provide, for the labourer deserves his wages. Do not go
from house to house.Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what
is set before you.Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom
of God has come near to you.’
["But whenever you
enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we
wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has
come near.’I tell you, it will be more bearable on that
day for Sodom than for that town.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”And he said to them, “I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven.Behold, I have given you authority to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy,
and nothing shall hurt you.Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits
are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."]
I have just returned from a week in Lourdes, my first visit in twenty years. I was chaplain to pilgrims mostly from Ireland. They included a mother and daughter from Nigeria living in Dublin and three women originally from Hong Kong where they were at school together and were also members of the Legion of Mary there. Two of them live in England and the other in the USA. They have Zoom meetings regularly where they pray the prayers of the Legion of Mary.
I paid a couple of visits to the baths while in Lourdes. Due to government regulations it is now a different experience from what it used to be. Before, an individual was immersed in a bath, the water flowing from the spring that our Blessed Mother had asked St Bernadette to drink from, a spring that the young girl located only by digging the ground with her hands. There were volunteers from different countries, working in teams, helping those who had difficulties in immersing themselves.
Now there are two volunteers at each bath, only one pilgrim at a time going in. Pilgrims pray silently, then wash their hands with the spring water, drink from their cupped hands and wash their face, praying again before leaving.
While in the baths I recalled a pilgrimage I was on during Easter Week 1971. Our group, all from Ireland, included a number of persons with physical disabilities. One, Tony, also had brain damage, all his injuries the result of a car accident. I accompanied Tony to the baths. I still vividly remember one young Italian man who was part of the team on duty that day in the men's section. He had a smile that conveyed utter joy coming from within his very being, an expression of what Jesus had said to the Apostles the night before he died: These things I
have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). The Italian and his companions showed the greatest respect to Tony as they lowered him into the water.
That young Italian's joy has remained with me for 31 years now, an abiding blessing or grace from God, as so many apparently insignificant events in our lives are.
The First Reading today is also used on the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes (11 February) and that of St Thérèse
of Lisieux (1 October). Discovering that after returning from Lourdes was for me a reminder of what I call the thoughtfulness of God. That reading speaks of joy: Rejoice with
Jerusalem, and be glad for her,all you who love her;rejoice with her in joy,all you who mourn over her . .
. You shall see, and your heart
shall rejoice. The Responsorial Psalm echoes this in its first line, which is also the response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth. And in the Opening Prayer we pray, fill your faithful with holy joy.
In the longer form of the Gospel we read: The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even
the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them . . . ‘Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this,
that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are
written in heaven.’
Three years ago the June or July issue of Magnificat, a
pocket-sized monthly magazine that is a prayer book and Missal that I highly
recommend, has this story of St Justin Martyr who died c.165. He was a
philosopher who attached himself to philosophical schools in different
places.
One day, while walking along the
beach in Ephesus, Justin met an old man who told him of the teachings of the
Hebrew prophets and their fufilment in the person of Jesus Christ. 'My spirit
was immediately set on fire,' Justin wrote later.
That young Italian in the baths in Lourdes was to me as the old man St Justin met was to him. But we don't have to go on a pilgrimage to meet such persons. We may meet them on the bus, in the supermarket, while walking in the park. If our hearts are attuned to God's will, especially by walking with our Blessed Mother. She was totally attuned to God's will and was chosen by God from all eternity to bring his Son to the world and to bring all of us to his Son. Guided by her we may find many occasions when we can say, My spirit was immediately set on fire.
+++
Just today, Thursday, The Catholic Thing published an article by Francis X. Maier that shows how someone can be a great blessing to others without being aware of it: Homage to a Good Man.
This Welsh hymn is sung on many occasions, including international Rugby matches in Wales. This video was made by BBC Cymru/Wales in the context of the 2014 Six Nations Championship.
And I think that only a pure heart can really Cry out to God with joy.
Traditional Latin Mass
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 7-3-2022 if necessary).
Six days
later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up
a high mountain, by themselves.And he was transfigured before them, and his
face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.Suddenly
there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.Then Peter
said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, Iwill make three dwellingshere, one for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah.’While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright
cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the
Beloved;with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’When the
disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.But Jesus
came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’And when
they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
As they were coming down the
mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son
of Man has been raised from the dead.’
Like Peter, James and John, I caught a glimpse of something of the Purity of God on a hill. Tradition tells us that Jesus was transfigured on Mount Tabor, Israel. My 'Mount Tabor' was a hotel at the top of a hill in Lourdes, France.
During Holy Week 2001 I took part in the international pilgrimage ofFaith and Lightto Lourdes which takes place every ten years. Faith and Lightwas born of a desireto help people with an intellectual disability and their families find their place within the Church and society. This was the main purpose of the organized pilgrimage to Lourdes at Easter of 1971. The founders of the movement were Jean Vanier and Marie-Hélène Mathieu. Jean Vanier is also the founder of L'Arche. In the video below he speaks about the beginnings of that, not as a project or movement but as a covenant with two individuals with learning disabilities and their own dreams, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux.
Jean Vanier speaks about the early days of L'Arche and finding God in others
I was based in Britain at the time and travelled with a group from the north of England. However, before I left the Philippines for Britain in 2000 I had been invited to be chaplain to the small contingent from the Philippines, as I had been on the fringes of Faith and Light in the Philippines between 1992 and 2000.
The Filipinos were staying in a hotel at a distance from the shrine and at the top of a hill. There was also a group of Faith and Light pilgrims from Hong Kong, including Fr Giosue Bonzi PIME, an Italian, in the same hotel. (I was with the English pilgrims in a hotel close to the shrine.)
One of those from Hong Kong was Dorothy, a girl of about eleven with Down Syndrome(Trisomy 21). Her father died suddenly when she was very young. Dorothy's face had the delicate beauty of Chinese ceramics. But she had an extraordinary inner beauty, a purity that could have come only from God. Though I had no Cantonese and she had no English, we were able to communicate simply by looking at one another. She showed complete trust in me. She had a vulnerability that called forth the deepest respect.
Fr Giosue Bonzi PIME with Dorothy, now an adult, in Hong Kong
In Irish there's an expression used for a person with a severe mental or learning disability, duine le Dia, 'a person with God'. Dorothy was such for me, in a very full sense of that phrase: she was a clear expression of the beauty and of the purity of God for me. The Opening Prayer of today's Mass reads: O God, who have commanded us to listen to your beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word, that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory. Through . . . When Peter, James and John went up Mount Tabor with Jesus they had no idea that would see the divinity of Jesus there. They had no idea they would hear God the Father say This is my Son, the Beloved;with him I am well pleased; listen to him!The Entrance Antiphon [below], taken from Psalm 26 [27], prays, It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face from me. I have no doubt that I saw the face of the Lord in that young girl with Down Syndrome from Hong Kong whom I met in Lourdes in Holy Week 2001. Jesus may speak to us at any time, unexpectedly, as he revealed his presence to me in that hotel at the top of a hill in Lourdes. May we make the Opening Prayer our own so that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory.
Antiphona ad introitum Cf. Ps 26[27]:8-9; [1]
Tibi dixit cor meum: quæsívi vultum tuum, vultum tuum, Dómine, requíram: ne avértas fáciem tuam a me.
[Dóminus illuminátio mea, et salus mea: quem timébo?
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Tibi dixit cor meum: quæsívi vultum tuum, vultum tuum, Dómine, requíram: ne avértas fáciem tuam a me.]
Entrance Antiphon
Of you my heart has spoken:
Seek his face.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face from me.
[The Lord is my light,
and my salvation. Whom should I fear?
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy spirit.
As it was, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Of you my heart has spoken:
Seek his face.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face from me.]
The text in bold is used in the Ordinary Form of the Mass and the longer text in the Extraordinary Form, though it may also be used in the Ordinary Form if chanted.
Six days later, Jesus took
with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain,
by themselves.And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the
sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.Suddenly
there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.Then Peter
said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, Iwill make three dwellingshere,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”While
he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the
cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”When the
disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.But Jesus
came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”And when
they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
As they were
coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision
until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Like Peter, James and John, I caught a glimpse of something of the Purity of God on a hill. Tradition tells us that Jesus was transfigured on Mount Tabor, Israel. My 'Mount Tabor' was a hotel at the top of a hill in Lourdes, France. During Holy Week 2001 I took part in the international pilgrimage of Faith and Light to Lourdes which takes place every ten years. Faith and Light was born of a desire to help people with an intellectual disability and their families find their place within the Church and society. This was the main purpose of the organized pilgrimage to Lourdes at Easter of 1971. The founders of the movement were Jean Vanier and Marie-Hélène Mathieu.
A message from Jean Vanier to an international meeting of Faith and Light, 2013
I was based in Britain at the time and travelled with a group from the north of England. However, I had been invited to be chaplain to the small contingent from the Philippines, as I had been on the fringes of Faith and Light in the Philippines between 1992 and 2000.
The Filipinos were staying in a hotel at a distance from the shrine and at the top of a hill. There was also a group of Faith and Light pilgrims from Hong Kong in the same hotel. (I was with the English pilgrims in a hotel close to the shrine.)
One of those from Hong Kong was a girl of about eleven with Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21). Her face had the delicate beauty of Chinese ceramics. But she had an extraordinary inner beauty, a purity that could have come only from God. Though I had no Cantonese and she had no English, we were able to communicate simply by looking at one another. She showed complete trust in me. She had a vulnerability that called forth the deepest respect. In Irish there's an expression used for a person with a severe mental or learning disability, duine le Dia, 'a person with God'. This young girl was such for me, in a very full sense of that phrase: she was a clear expression of the beauty and of the purity of God for me. The Opening Prayer of today's Mass reads: O God, who have commanded us to listen to your beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word, that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory. Through . . . When Peter, James and John went up Mount Tabor with Jesus they had no idea that would see the divinity of Jesus there. They had no idea they would hear God the Father say This is my Son, the Beloved;with him I am well pleased; listen to him!The Entrance Antiphon [below], taken from Psalm 26 [27], prays, It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face from me. I have no doubt that I saw the face of the Lord in that young girl with Down Syndrome from Hong Kong whom I met in Lourdes in Holy Week 2001. Jesus may speak to us at any time, unexpectedly, as he revealed his presence to me in that hotel in Lourdes. May we make the Opening Prayer our own so that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory.
)
Antiphona ad introitum Cf. Ps 26[27]:8-9; [1]
Tibi dixit cor meum: quæsívi vultum tuum, vultum tuum, Dómine, requíram: ne avértas fáciem tuam a me.
[Dóminus illuminátio mea, et salus mea: quem timébo?
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Tibi dixit cor meum: quæsívi vultum tuum, vultum tuum, Dómine, requíram: ne avértas fáciem tuam a me.]
Entrance Antiphon
Of you my heart has spoken:
Seek his face.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face from me.
[The Lord is my light,
and my salvation. Whom should I fear?
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy spirit.
As it was, is now, and will be for ever.Amen.
Of you my heart has spoken:
Seek his face.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face from me.]
A younger Jean Vanier speaking about the early days of L'Arche
L'Arche and Faith & Light are sister movements where the VIPs are persons with learning disabilities.
Responsorial Psalm [New American Bible Lectionary]
Transfiguration
Chinese ceramic plate, circa 1680 
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Transfiguration (Cell 6)
