Transfiguration of Christ
Paolo Veronese [Web Gallery of Art]
And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:30; Gospel).
Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)
Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Luke 9:28-36 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah’ — not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
The line in today's Gospel, as [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face was altered reminded me of an incident late in 1988 or early in 1989 in the Philippines involving two Columban priests in their late 80s, Fr Edward Allen and Fr Aedan McGrath. They were both born in Dublin in 1906, Father Aedan early in the year and Father Eddie, as he was known to us, later in the year. Father Aedan was ordained in December 1929 and Father Eddie twelve months later. Each had two brother who were priests. Father Aedan's were both Columbans. One of Father Eddie's was a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, the other a Vincentian. Another, a Discalced Carmelite, died not long before he was to be ordained priest. Both these two great friends were small in stature and both, in different ways, were what we Irish call 'mighty men'.
Father Aedan had spent most of the early years of his priesthood in China where the Cofounder of the Columbans, Bishop Edward Galvin, asked him to get involved with the Legion of Mary which had been introduced there by another Columban from Dublin, Fr Joseph Hogan, ordained in 1925. Archbishop (Later Cardinal) Antonio Riberi, then the Apostolic Nuncio to China, asked Father Aedan in the late 194os to spread the Legion of Mary throughout the country. The Chinese Communist government put him in prison in 1951 and he spent nearly three years there, mostly in solitary confinement in a tiny cell. I remember his homecoming to Ireland in 1953 when the President, the Prime Minister and thousands of people were at Dublin Airport to greet him. He once told me that when he saw the crowds from the plane he said to himself, There must be somebody important on board. He had no idea that he was the somebody important. He became a household name in Ireland and was one of God's signposts pointing me towards being a Columban priest..
Father Aedan spent the rest of his life working for the Legion of Mary, in his latter years based in Manila but travelling to most of the countries in the Pacific Rim and the Pacific island nations. He died suddenly on Christmas Day 2000 at a family gathering. I've written about his funeral in A Heavenly Farewell. (Video form of the article here).
The late Fr Niall O'Brien, who was imprisoned in the Philippines in the 1980s on a trumped-up charge of murder, wrote an article about Father Eddie after the latter's death in 2001: He Taught Us How to Love.
Father Niall wrote: There is a little mystery about Father Eddie. He never learned to drive or at least he never drove here in the Philippines; he never built any churches or organized schools; he lived a quiet life in the convento (presbytery / rectory), going out when called. But he was never into initiating any evangelizing projects or social projects. Yet, he was the most popular and sought-after Columban priest in Negros. I don’t think the word 'popular' is the right word. He was not interested in popularity; maybe I should say 'loved', the most loved Columban priest.
Father Niall gives an example of this: As an old priest in Himamaylan he was blessing a vehicle for someone; after the blessing he said to the woman who had requested it, 'And how are you yourself?' She responded by sitting down with him and pouring out her problems for a long time. And she became one of his special friends, just like that.
We read in Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. This to me means, among other things, that it is possible to see something of God in another person, just as Peter, James and John caught a glimpse of the reality that Jesus was God when as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered.
Late in 1998 Father Eddie had a major stroke in the Columban house in Batang, Himamaylan City, where both of us were living at the time. This affected his speech and he also had to be fed through a tube. This was a great deprivation for him. Though small and wiry, he had the appetite of a teenager. However, his mind was still as clear as a bell.
He didn't know that Father Aedan was coming down from Manila to see him. I met Father Aedan at Bacolod Airport, about 90 minutes away by car. We arrived at nightfall and went straight to Father Eddie's room. When he saw his friend of more than 75 years his face lit up like the rising sun - and I caught a glimpse of the joy that only God can give. My experience was similar to that of Peter, James and John on Mount Tabor.
I had a similar experience some months later when the nurse on duty in our house called me around midnight and told me that Father Eddie was very ill. I went to his room immediately to give him the Last Rites, something I had done before. He said in a very clear voice, I'm dying. We recited the prayers for the dying, sang some hymns and said our farewells. Then we realised that he wasn't ready to go just yet and I went back to bed, though I expected he would go within a few days.
The following day and for a few days after there was a tangible joy around the house, again a joy that could only come from God. The nurses on duty were even joking with Father Eddie , You were only practising last night, Father! They had a profound love and respect for him and he was giving them strength in their faith through his physical weakness. He lived on until 3 March 2001 when he died peacefully in the Columban house. I was based in Britain by then.
The Transfiguration was a moment when Peter, James and John got a glimpse of true reality, a glimpse of who Jesus really was, a glimpse of heaven to which we are all called. It was a moment that strengthened them when Jesus was crucified, that strengthened Peter and James to be martyred for Christ and John to spend the rest of his long life bringing people to Jesus Christ. It was a moment when they saw Truth in all its beauty - in all His beauty. It was a moment of truth when they knew that the love of God is stronger than any evil force.
In those two experiences with Fr Eddie Allen I experienced the truth of the words of Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). Today's Gospel tells us: A voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’ The Father's Chosen One reveals himself unexpectedly to us in so many ways.
Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear (Matthew 13:16).
Traditional Latin Mass
Second Sunday in Lent
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-16-2025 if necessary).
This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matthew 17:5; Gospel).
