During the Transfiguration of the Lord, Peter was still speaking when a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him13. How many times have we heard Him in the intimacy of our hearts!
The mystery we celebrate today was not only a sign and foretaste of Christ’s glorification, but also of our own. For, as Saint Paul teaches us, the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him14. And the Apostle adds: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us15. Any small or great suffering we endure for Christ is as nothing when measured against what awaits us.
The Lord blesses through the Cross, especially when He is prepared to grant very great gifts. If on any occasion He allows us to taste His Cross more intensely, it is a sign that He considers us His favored children. Physical pain, humiliations, failures, family conflicts may come… That is not the time to remain sad, but to turn to the Lord and experience His paternal love and consolation. We will never lack His help to turn those apparent evils into great goods for our soul and for the whole Church. *"It is no longer just any cross that is carried; the Cross of Christ is discovered, with the comfort that the Redeemer Himself takes on the burden"*16. He, our inseparable Friend, is the one who carries what is hard and difficult. Without Him, any weight overwhelms us.
If we always stay close to Jesus, nothing will truly harm us: not financial ruin, nor imprisonment, nor serious illness… much less the small daily friction that tends to steal our peace if we are not alert. Saint Peter himself reminded the early Christians: Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed17.
Let us ask Our Lady for the grace to offer with peace the pain and fatigue that each day brings, with our thoughts fixed on Jesus, who accompanies us in this life and who awaits us, glorious, at the end of the road.
HCD