Think for a moment about one of your heroes. Someone who you have looked up to for a long time and who in one way or another has influenced your life. For me, Jon Foreman from the band Switchfoot would be on the list. I grew up with their music and love their message and sound. I have seen them in concert many times and have even paid way too much money to get backstage passes and meet the band. In my mind this was going to be a life changing event, and while it was cool, it turns out hundreds of other people get the same passes and you have about 30 seconds to take a picture with them. The classic saying comes to mind, “you should never meet your heroes.” Not that it’s a bad thing, but the hyped-up experience we have in our minds will probably never measure up to reality.
Not so with the reading today. The Jewish people had been waiting and waiting for the Messiah. Finally, a select number of the apostles get a private audience to the Transfiguration where the Father reveals that Jesus truly is the Son of God. Peter is dumbfounded by this fact and can’t find the proper words to explain it. He proclaims, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here!” This meeting lived up to the hype.
As profound as this moment was, however, they were told to keep it to themselves until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to keep their joy in? The Messiah had been revealed in one of the most profound ways possible and they had to keep their excitement bottled up!
We may never have a chance to meet our earthly heroes in person, but we can meet the transfigured Christ every time we go to Mass. Jesus was not only showing his power and love in today’s reading, he was also preparing this select few for the other miracles he was going to perform. One of these miracles is the fact that Jesus remains with us in the Blessed Sacrament. We have a chance every day and at every Mass to have a private audience with our Hero.
How much money would you pay to meet your heroes? How much time and effort would you put into getting backstage passes? Something to think about during this year where we are focusing on the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is that we don’t need a VIP pass. We have front row seats to the Son of God every single day. All we need to do is enter a church and be ready to receive. Let’s make that our priority this year.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Daily Reading
Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Ez 1:2-5, 24-28c On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year,that is, of King Jehoiachin’s exile,The word of the LORD came to the priest…
Saint of the Day
Saint Euplius
Saint Euplius is venerated as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. With Saint Agatha, he is a co-patron of Catania in Sicily.
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