SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT
GOSPEL: Matt. xvii. 1-13. At that time: Jesus taketh unto Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart; and He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun; and His garments became as white as snow. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him. Then Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here; if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a white cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their faces, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said unto them: Arise, and fear not. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of Man shall be risen from the dead.
HOMILY BY POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT
HOMILY ON THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS
I. The Gospel you have just heard, and which demands your whole attention, invites you to the knowledge of a great mystery. We shall attain this purpose more surely and with less trouble, if we consider what is written in Holy Scripture just before this event (Matt. xvi.). Indeed, our Lord, the Redeemer of all men, when He began to introduce His doctrine into the world, namely, His Divine doctrine, which gives life to the dead and leads the wicked to justice, instructed His disciples no less by the wonders of His Almighty power than by the words of His eternal wisdom and truth. He wished to convince them that He was both the Son of God and the Son of Man; for one without the other of these prerogatives could not save the world. It would have been as dangerous to believe that Jesus was only God, as to think that He was only man. It was necessary to believe that He was at the same time the one and the other, since the real humanity was in God, as the real Divinity was in man. Therefore, in order to confirm His disciples in the necessary knowledge of and faith in this mystery, our Lord asked them what they thought of Him, and what were the opinions of men concerning Him. St. Peter, one of the Apostles, enlightened by God the Almighty, rose above all that which was human and sensual, and recognised in Jesus the Son of the living God. With a loud voice he confessed the glory of His Divinity, revealed to the eyes of his soul, whilst the eyes of his body only saw the corporeal presence of his Divine Redeemer. And this testimony of the Apostle to truth was so pleasing to our Saviour, that, to reward his faith, He called him blessed, and at the same time appointed him a firm rock, upon which He would build His Church, against which the gates of hell should never prevail. Jesus Christ even promised Peter that, whatever sentence he pronounced on earth, it would be ratified in heaven.
II. This sublime knowledge of the Divinity of Jesus was also to be united with that of the mystery of His humanity, so that the Apostles, after confessing their belief in the Divinity of the Saviour, should not think it unbecoming to God, unable to suffer, to unite Himself with our weak human nature. Again, they should not cherish the belief that His humanity was so glorified, as to be unable either to be subject to death or even to suffer torments. Indeed, we know that our Lord said to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again (Matt. xvi. 21). We see also that Peter, filled with love after proclaiming the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and certainly animated by a true zeal for the honour of his Divine Teacher, rebuked Him, saying: Lord, be it far from Thee; this shall not be unto Thee (Matt. xvi. 22). But our Lord, by a gentle reproof, changed the aversion of the Apostle to the ignominy of His sufferings, into a generous desire to take part in these very sufferings. This was also the motive and the effect of the advice given by Jesus to all of His disciples: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. And He continued: He that will save his life, shall lose it, and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it (Matt. xvi. 24, 25). And the more to strengthen them in this unmovable firmness, by which they were prompted to embrace without fear even the sharpest crosses; to prevent them from being ashamed of the capital sentence He was to undergo; and lastly, to instruct them not to be scandalized at the patience He was going to show during His Passion, when the brilliant signs of His almighty power would be hidden, He took Peter and James, and John his brother, and brought them up into an exceeding high mountain apart, and there made manifest the brightness of His glory.
Hitherto, though they understood that there was in Him the majesty of God, they knew not the power of that body which veiled the Godhead; and therefore He had individually and expressly promised to some of His disciples, who had stood with Him, that they should not taste death, till they saw the Son of Man coining in His kingdom (Matt. xvi. 28); that is, in the kingly splendour which is the right of the humanity taken into God, and which He desired to make visible to those three men. This is what they saw, for the unspeakable and inaccessible vision of the Godhead Himself, which will be the everlasting life of the pure of heart (Matt. v. 8), no man, who is still burdened with a mortal body, can see and live. Our Lord, therefore, manifested His glory before the witnesses He had chosen, and allowed His body, which is like to ours, to appear in such brilliant light, that His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as white as snow. However, the principal reason for this transfiguration was to banish the scandal of the cross from the hearts and minds of His disciples; also, after showing them the perfection and dignity hidden in His person, He wished to prevent their faith from being weakened by the sight of the humiliations He would so willingly endure. This mystery was also to be the foundation of His Church. For the Church, being the mystic body of Jesus Christ, recognised in this glory surrounding Him, the promise of that glory which she expects to be adorned with when, united to the Head in the happy dwellings, she will participate in His own everlasting felicity. Our Lord Himself said so, when speaking of His coming: Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. xiii. 43). And this is confirmed by St. Paul, saying: I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us (Rom. viii. 18). And again: You are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, Who is your life, then you also shall appear with Him in glory (Col. iii. 3, 4).
III. Now, the more to strengthen the faith of His Apostles, and to instruct them in a more perfect manner, our Lord, at the miracle of the Transfiguration, let Moses and Elias appear, talking with Him and representing the Law and the Prophets respectively. The presence of these two personalities was to justify what is prescribed by the law: In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand (Deut. xix. 15). Can there be anything more certain and credible than the word of truth confirmed by the testimony of both the Old and the New Testament? The doctrine of the Gospel, preached by Jesus Christ, perfectly agrees with the prophecies of the old law, and He, Who was foreshadowed by the types and figures of the Old Testament, is manifested in the glory of His Transfiguration. The law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John i. 17). By His coming He fulfilled all promisors made by the Almighty to His people, and in His person were verified the commands and legal ceremonies by which He was announced. Lastly, He gave us to understand by His coming into this world that the prophecies concerning Him were true, and, by means of the grace He gives us, He makes the fulfilling of the commandments very easy to us. Through the knowledge of this truth St. Peter felt in himself new life, and began to despise the things of this world; he was disgusted with earthly things, and all his desires were then directed to heaven. In the excess of his joy at this beatific vision of our Redeemer's glory, he cried out: Lord, it is good for its to be here. If Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. Our Lord did not answer these words; He wished the Apostle to understand that his request, though not sinful in itself, was untimely, since the world was to be redeemed by the death of the Saviour. Again, our Redeemer wished to teach all the faithful that, though it be unlawful to doubt the promise of eternal happiness, they should ask Him for the necessary patience to bear the trials of this life, rather than for the happiness that is to be their reward; for the time of reigning with Him in heaven cannot precede the time of fighting and suffering.
IV. Peter was yet speaking, when a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. They plainly heard Him say: This is My Son, Whose it is to be of Me, and with Me without all time. For neither is He that begets before Him that is begotten, nor He that is begotten after Him that begets. This is My Son, between Whom and Me, to be God is not a point of difference, to be Almighty, a point of separation; nor to be Eternal, a point of distinction. This is My Son, not by adoption, but My very own; not created from, or of another substance, or out of nothing, but begotten of Me; not of another nature, and made like to Me, but of My own Being, born of Me, equal to Me. This is My Son, by Whom all things are made, and without Whom was made nothing that was made; Who makes likewise all things whatsoever I make; and whatsoever things I do He does likewise, inseparably and indifferently. This is My Son, Who thought it not robbery, nor took it by violence, to be equal with Me, but, abiding still in the form of My glory, that He may fulfill the common decree for the restoration of mankind, bowed the unchangeable Godhead even to the form of a servant (Phil. ii. 6, 7).
V. Instantly, therefore, hear ye Him, in Whom I am in all things well pleased, by Whose preaching I am manifested, and by Whose lowliness I am glorified. For He is the Truth and the Life (John xiv. 6), My Power and My Wisdom (i Cor. i. 24). Hear ye Him, Whom the Law prefigured, Whom the prophets constantly announced; Him, Who redeemed the world by the merit of His Blood, Who subdued the power of the devils, and rendered their efforts and assaults useless; Who destroyed the sentence pronounced against man, who by his disobedience was truly guilty. Hear ye Him, Who opened to you the road to heaven, and Who by the punishment on the Cross erected the steps leading you up to Me. Why are you afraid of Him, since He offers you salvation? Why do you distrust Him? See, He offers Himself to deliver you from your miseries! Do, then, the will of My Anointed, which agrees with My own. Get rid of that fear, with which the weakened nature fills you, and arm yourselves with that courage, which ought to be awakened in you by faith. For it would' be unbecoming in you to feel depressed at the sight of our Redeemer's sufferings, which, by His help, you will share one day, when it will be necessary to give your life for His sake.
VI. It was not only for the benefit of the witnesses of these events that these truths were declared, but the whole Church received them in the person of the three disciples, to whom they were revealed by God. We must, therefore, ground our faith upon the teaching of the Gospel, so that no one may be scandalized by the Cross on which Jesus deigned to redeem the world. Let no one among you be afraid of suffering for justice' sake; let no one doubt the revelations promising an eternal reward; for through labour we are made sure of rest, and through death we come to life. Since our Saviour willed to take upon Himself our weakness, we, on our side, being faithful to Him, and persevering in His love, shall surely overcome our enemies, and infallibly receive the crown prepared for us, specially if we listen to the voice of the Father, Who, to arm us against all adversities, and encourage us to observe His commandments, says: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. The same He is Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost reigneth forever and ever. Amen.
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