Transfiguration Sunday
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. —Psalm 95:1
In the upper part of the canvas, painted entirely by Raphael, Christ appears in ecstatic prayer, his hands lifted in the ancient gesture, which here also alludes to the Cross announced eight days earlier; face and robes transfigured, he appears between Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the Law and the prophets. The Savior changes aspect—is “transfigured,” that is—because, as he interrogates the ancient Jewish law and prophetic tradition of Israel, Jesus grasps that the Messiah must truly suffer and die; Luke’s account of the event specifies that the subject of the conversation among the three was “his passing, which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem”—Jesus’s death, that is. His prayer consisted of an act of inner acceptance, and it was then that the Father’s voice resonated, recognizing Jesus as his Son, the Chosen One. —Timothy Verdon, Art and Prayer
Prayer of the Day for Eucharist
Dear Jesus, when you were transfigured on the mountain it was glorious and the disciples were amazed. I want to be transfigured by your love, but I worry about the process of getting there. Your Father said “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” Jesus, help me to trust and listen to you so that I may be transfigured by your love into all you have created me to be.
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