First Friday Holy Hour - February 2024 - O Luminous Eucharist

 Forty days have passed since we celebrated the joyful Feast of the Nativity of the Lord. The Liturgy itself tells us that today, the Feast of the Presentation, we celebrate that blessed day when Jesus was presented in the Temple by Mary and Joseph. Outwardly he was fulfilling the law, but in reality he was coming to meet his believing people. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna came to the temple. Enlightened by the same Spirit, they recognized the Lord and confessed him with exultation. 

Light. This feast has many references to light. The Gospel reading speaks of light. Jesus is the light of revelation—revealing to the nations of the world—that God has come to save all of us.

Candles are blessed and lit at the beginning of mass for the presentation, they are signal flares to the world, that all those who are looking for salvation can find it, in Christ. 

What a fitting day for us to kneel in the light of the Eucharist. Devotees of the rosary know that the institution of the Eucharist—the eucharist which we kneel before this evening—is the fifth and final mystery of light. When Pope St. John Paul II gave us the luminous mysteries of the rosary—he wrote how the Eucharist is a light—it reveals, it testifies, it sheds light that Christ is with us till the end. He is with his Church. And he loves his church. 

The Eucharist reveals the heart of Christ which is given in love to us, to save us, to separate us from sin and unite us to God. We kneel before the Eucharist to bask in the glow of the light of Christ’s love. And we do so, that when we present ourselves to receive the Eucharist, we may be filled with that same light, that his light may be detected in us, and radiate from us.

St. Peter Julian Eymard, that great saint of the Eucharist writes: “The Eucharist is the sacrament of love par excellence. Certainly the other sacraments are proofs of God’s love for us; they are gifts of God. But in the Eucharist, we receive the Author of every gift, God Himself. So it is in Communion especially that we learn to know the law of love that our Lord came to reveal. There we receive the special grace of love. There, finally, more than anywhere else, we acquire the practice, the virtue, of love.”

“O lumunious Euharist, may this time with you truly enlighten us, in the way of God’s love, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.”

First Friday Holy Hour - August 2021 - Luminous Eucharist

 

Liturgically, we celebrate today the feast of the Transfiguration. This morning, I recalled how it’s been almost 20 years since Pope St. John Paul II gave us the luminous mysteries. So, in addition to the 15 joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries, now, we would add meditation upon Jesus Baptism in the Jordan, his self-manifestation at the wedding at Cana, his call to conversion through the preaching of the Kingdom, his Transfiguration, and the institution of the Eucharist

Of the five luminous mysteries he called the Transfiguration the mystery of light par excellence as it reveals to us the face of Christ shining with the light of divine glory. The transfiguration sheds light upon who Jesus is, what he has come to do: he has come to lead us out of darkness, he’s come to show us that in the darkest hour, even in the agony of his passion, the light of God still shines. He sheds light on the very darkness of death itself, that for faithful Christians, death is not the end. Bearing the cross with Jesus, dying in union with Him as Lord will lead to the luminous glory of the resurrection. 

Each of the luminous mysteries shed light upon who Jesus is and what he has comes to do. This includes of course, the fifth luminous mystery, the institution of the Eucharist—the Eucharist before which we kneel and pray this evening at this holy hour.

The Eucharist sheds light upon the nature of Jesus, the nature of God, that God gives us what we need in order to live—that he loves us so much that he gives his body and blood for us. Even though he had to endure ineffable suffering, even though many would turn their back on him, even though many would continue to engage in sacrilege upon sacrilege, he still wishes to give of himself that we might live.

The Eucharist sheds light upon the nature of God, that God is love, and gives and gives and gives us what we need in order to participate in that love for all eternity. “I am the Bread of Life, the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Let us drink deeply of God’s great love for us as we contemplate and worship the Lord in the Eucharist this evening. May his love fill us with his light and love for others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

August 6 2021 - Transfiguration - Luminous Mystery Par Excellence

 

In the Year of the Rosary 2002, Pope St. John Paul II made history.  He proposed five new mysteries to the devotion of the Holy Rosary, the five luminous mysteries.  So, in addition to the 15 joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries, now, we would add meditation upon Jesus Baptism in the Jordan, his self-manifestation at the wedding at Cana, his call to conversion through the preaching of the Kingdom, his Transfiguration, and the institution of the Eucharist.  

Pope St. John Paul explained that each of these luminous mysteries “is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus,” and that “The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to "listen to him" and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus’ face radiating his majesty as the Son of God was burned into the minds of Peter, James, and John, who would play such important roles in the early Church. This event shed its light upon who Jesus was, his mission, and also who his followers were called to be and how they were called to follow in his footsteps.

“To look upon the face of Christ,” the saintly Pope said, “to recognize its mystery amid the daily events and the sufferings of His human life, and then to grasp the divine splendor definitively revealed in the Risen Lord...is the task of every follower of Christ" 

Why is this our task?  Because we need the light of Christ to guide us through the trials of life, just like they guided Peter, James and John in the trials of the early Church.  We need to remember who He is, so that we remember who we are called to be. When we contemplate the glorious divinity of the Lord, we are filled with his light, and become ready to face the trials of our life and the difficult task of witnessing to the Gospel and building up the Church in our own dark age.  

Like the apostle, each of us has to walk through dark valleys at times, sharing in the agony of the Passion, and yet this luminous mystery is a light in the darkness, a foreshadowing of the resurrection for Christ’s faithful ones. 

So, by the Transfiguration of the Lord may we be filled with the light of Christian Hope, and radiate that light for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Holy Church may radiate the light of the transfigured Jesus through her preaching, teaching, works of mercy, and suffering for the sake of the Gospel.

That the Holy Father and all the ordained may find in the Transfiguration the strength and courage needed to bear the crosses which their mission entails.

For those who doubt or deny the divinity of Christ: May the Transfiguration help them believe that Jesus is true God and true man. 

That those whose lives have been disfigured by vice may find in the transfiguration the inspiration they need to begin a new life. 

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation or illness: that the glory of the Transfiguration may bring them hope and consolation.

For the deceased members of our families and parish, for all deceased priests and religious, and all the souls in purgatory, that they may come to the destiny revealed in the Transfiguration of the Lord, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered.

Heavenly Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrimage Church, and grant us what we truly need that we may follow your Son in His Passion and Death and become heirs of his glorious Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord.

August 6, 2017 - Feast of the Transfiguration - Mystery of Light Par Excellence

Every year during Lent, the Church reads the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. And every few years, the actual liturgical Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, falls on a Sunday. So we get to proclaim and reflect upon this wonderful reading, this event in the Life of Christ, twice. And, if you are devotee of the rosary, which every Catholic really should be, we reflect on this great event even more often, as the 4th Luminous Mystery.

In the Year of the Rosary 2002, Pope St. John Paul II made history.  He proposed five new mysteries to the devotion of the Holy Rosary, the five luminous mysteries.  For nearly 800 years, the rosary had been comprised of the 15 joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries. With the Luminous mysteries, we would now meditate upon Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan, his presence at the wedding at Cana, his preaching of the Kingdom and calling sinners to repentance, his Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and the institution of the Sacrament of Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Pope St. John Paul explained that each of these luminous mysteries “is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus.” In each of those events, the baptism of Jesus, the wedding at Cana, his preaching and miracle working throughout the Holy Land, his transfiguration, and the Eucharist, the veil that separates earth and heaven is drawn back, we in this earthly life catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven, the reality of God. In these events we see God at work, ushering in something new in human history: the revelation that God is Three-in-One, the revelation that he has come to destroy the works of the devil, the inauguration of a ministry of mercy.

And Pope St. John Paul called the Transfiguration “the mystery of light par excellence.” Listen to his words: “The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to "listen to him" and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit.”

So what does the Transfiguration reveal about God? It reveals that the light of Christ will guide us through trials of life, IF, we listen to Him. And IF, we are faithful during the sufferings and trials of life, IF we listen to Him, our earthly journey will lead to everlasting life with God, where we will gaze upon the face of Christ in the eternal kingdom.

In the document in which St. John Paul instituted the Luminous mysteries, he used the phrase “the face of Christ” nine times. Praying the rosary is so powerful because it helps us contemplate the face of Christ: the face of Christ which radiated the light of God on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus’ face—radiating his majesty as the Son of God—was burned into the minds of Peter, James, and John, who would play such important roles in the early Church. His luminous and glorious face would support them as they were arrested, tortured, and faced their own crosses.

The Pope said, “To look upon the face of Christ, to recognize its mystery amid the daily events and the sufferings of His human life, and then to grasp the divine splendor definitively revealed in the Risen Lord...is the task of every follower of Christ" What is our task? To look upon the face of Christ and recognize it in the events of our own life.

Do you believe that God wants to show you the face of Christ in your daily life? In your marriage? In your financial struggles? In the joys of parenthood? In times of doubt and sadness?

IF we are to recognize his face in the daily events of life, we must grow more familiar with his face through prayer. The Pope wrote this document on the Rosary, because the rosary helps us to do just that. At the heart of the rosary, is not simply the repetition of all those rote prayers, but quieting down the mind and heart so that we can gaze upon the face of Christ. We meditate on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, so that we can discover Jesus with us through our earthly journey.

When we contemplate the face of Christ we are filled with his light, and become ready to face the trials of our life and the difficult task of witnessing to the Gospel and building up the Church in our own dark age.  We receive a guiding light for this earthly pilgrimage through our own dark valleys. Many people complain that God remains hidden to them, but they never engage in the sort of prayer life that exposes them to His light. But again, in order to receive this light, you must climb Mt. Tabor yourself. No one can make that journey for you. I can tell about the face of Jesus. I can celebrate a reverent liturgy. But each of us must make that effort ourselves, to seek out the face of Christ through daily prayer, reflection upon the sacred scriptures, and the Holy Rosary.

Padre Pio said, “The Rosary is the weapon for these times.” Concerned about the darkness in the world, in your life, in the lives of your family and friends? Pray the rosary. Expose the darkness to the light.

St. John Paul quoted in his document on the rosary, Blessed Bartolomeo Longo, a great and saintly devotee of the rosary. He wrote, “Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”

Pray the rosary. Seek the face of Christ. Conform yourself to Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.