August 6, 2026
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Gospel: Mt 17:1-9

Today is Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates today the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The recently published Roman Missal introduces this feast as follows: The Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor was intended to strengthen the faith of the disciples, because the hour of trial was at hand: the Son of Man would be delivered unto death, and what human eyes could see was only weakness, humiliation, and suffering. Yet beyond the shame of the Cross lies the light and glory of the Resurrection, which the Transfiguration reveals. It shows to the disciples, and to us, the divinity of Christ—He is Light from Light—and prefigures the glory of heaven.

Today, the passage from the Gospel of Saint Matthew presents to us the feast of Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountain. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.

First, Matthew tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. (cf. Mt 17:1-2)

Today, Jesus did not take all His disciples up the mountain, but only a part of them—certain of the disciples whom He had first called: Peter, James, and John. We know that Peter was a fisherman; when Jesus called them, they were casting nets into the sea (cf. Mt 3:18). James and his brother John, together with Peter, were the three disciples most beloved by Jesus. In several scenes of Jesus’ public life, only they were with Him. For example: the raising of the daughter of Jairus (cf. Mt 9:18-26); the Transfiguration of Jesus (cf. Mt 17:1-8); and the agony of Jesus in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane (cf. Mt 26:36-46)—they kept watch at the side of Jesus Christ. They were therefore the three most intimate disciples of Jesus, who were with Him almost at every moment.

Today, Jesus took Peter, John, and James up the mountain, not to admire its beautiful scenery, but to pray. We know that the mountain is a place of God’s presence. For God called Moses up the mountain to speak with him (cf. Ex 19:20-25), and it was upon the mountain that He gave Moses the tablets of the covenant (cf. Ex 24:12-17). Thus the mountain became a sign of God’s presence. Jesus even led them away, for a time, from this world which is passing away, into the world of God.

Next, Matthew tells us that on the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Jesus. (cf. Mt 17:3-4) Luke tells us that they appeared in glory, speaking of the departure of Jesus, which He was to fulfill in Jerusalem (cf. Lk 9:31). Peter, enraptured by such a vision, said: “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (ibid.; cf. Mt 17:3-4) This reflects our own reality, for we too often delight in those beautiful moments when God is with us, and we long to dwell with Jesus. What Peter sought to do was to erect three tents; he did not put up a tent for himself, nor for James, nor for John, but for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Clearly, he desired to be with Jesus and the ancient patriarchs; he yearned to remain in the world of God.

Today, the Church invites us, by looking upon Jesus on the holy mountain with eyes of faith as He manifests His radiant countenance to the three disciples whom He loved, to become ourselves, in every time and place, conformed to Jesus Christ, so as to manifest the loving face of God to all creation, just as Jesus Himself did. Yet, because of original sin, we frequently fall into weakness. Let us therefore, together with Peter, James, and his brother John, and united with all our brothers and sisters who celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus today, raise our prayer to God:

O God, who in the glorious Transfiguration
of your Only Begotten Son
confirmed the mysteries of faith by the witness of the Fathers
and wonderfully prefigured our full adoption to sonship,
grant, we pray, to your servants,
that, listening to the voice of your beloved Son,
we may merit to become co-heirs with him.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica