My Beloved Son

Each year on the Second Sunday of Lent we hear the Gospel of the Transfiguration of Jesus. In the account given in St. Matthew’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John witness the appearance of Jesus, His face shining like the sun and His clothes as white as light as He converses with Moses and Elijah. After this, Peter proposes to erect three tents for them, and a bright cloud overshadows them from which comes a voice that says, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Mt 17:5).
 
Of course, we know that this voice is that of the Father. In the wonder of the moment of the glory of the Transfiguration, which manifests the power of the divinity of Our Lord, His relationship with His heavenly Father is confirmed by the Father, who proclaims the identity of Jesus as the Beloved Son. There can be no doubt about who Jesus is. He is not simply a great prophet, or a religious leader, or a worldly messiah. No, He is the Son of the Father. He is God Himself. He is in union with the Father. As He would state, and as is recorded in St. John’s Gospel, “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30).
 
After the Father affirms who Jesus is as His beloved Son, He addresses Peter, James, and John saying, “…listen to Him.” In reality, the Father is speaking to each one of us also. After we recognize the identity of Jesus, then we must listen to His words, model our lives after His life, accept Him as the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and imitate His laying down His life for us in sacrifice. We see that the glory Jesus prefigured in the Transfiguration would be preceded by His Passion and Death. Only through the Cross did Jesus lay hold of His Resurrection.
 
So, my friends, we see that the identity of Jesus as Son of the Father and true God tells us that He is the fullness of truth and, as a result we must follow Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul, even when this means suffering for us. We will only share in His glory when we lay down our life in union with Him. The glory of the Transfiguration and Resurrection of Jesus comes to us when we offer ourselves, and even our lives, in union with the Passion of Jesus for the love of Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit and the love of our brothers and sisters. For us, the way of the Cross is truly the path of joy and love when we keep our eyes on Jesus, who walks it with us, and when we give ourselves over to Him in love.
 
What a wonderful reminder to us as we lay down our lives to establish a culture of life and a civilization of love! We walk the way of the Cross at Planned Parenthood and in all of our Pro-Life work. It may be painful and frustrating as we do all we can to save the unborn children and support their mothers. But the glory of Jesus’ Resurrection keeps us going. For, it is by His power that the victory for the unborn and all those harmed by abortion will come!
 
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh