The Transfiguration and Detachment from the World

In this second week of Lent, Brother Matthew presents a meditation on the Transfiguration of Our Lord. The Transfiguration took place on a mountain in Galilee about one year before Our Lord’s Passion and was witnessed only by Peter, James, and John. The same apostles had been present at the raising of Jairus’s daughter and would later witness the Agony in the Garden. On the mountain, Christ’s body shone with radiant light, not by a change of substance but by a manifestation of His hidden glory. Moses and Elijah appeared beside Him, showing that the Old Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in Christ. Then the voice of God the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son… hear ye Him.” The apostles fell to the ground in awe, and when they looked up, they saw Jesus alone, gently reassuring them.

Christ leads His apostles apart to a high mountain, teaching that God reveals Himself not amid worldly distractions but in interior solitude. To see and love God, the soul must be recollected and freed from the turmoil of useless thoughts and earthly attachments. Without this interior silence, God remains distant and the soul remains ignorant of itself. The high mountain signifies the need for a heart raised above earthly things. As long as the soul clings to created comforts, it cannot advance in virtue. But once it courageously breaks its chains and allows itself to be led upward by Christ, its progress in perfection begins swiftly and freely. The mystery of the Transfiguration confirms Christ’s divine dignity and invites us to seek the interior transformation that leads to glory with Him in heaven.