Up a High Mountain | iPray with the Gospel (2nd Sunday of Lent)

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Matthew 17:1-9

How good it is to be with You, Lord; and to be able to talk to You as Elijah and Moses did, face-to-face! And we still listen to the echoes of the Voice of the Father giving us a commandment: listen to him!

How I would love to listen to You, Lord, as Moses did, as Elijah, and Peter and James and John…! And to Peter, who did not know what to say we can answer: “Say nothing, Peter! It is time to keep silent and contemplate”. Silence is an important part of our prayer. Because if we talk, we don’t listen. And prayer is a dialogue, not a speech.

Some people panic when there is silence. Like the boy who reluctantly accompanied his parents to a concert of classical music. In the middle of a symphony there were three (just three!) seconds of silence broken by the voice of the boy shouting: ‘Now… what?! I can’t hear anything!’ No one had explained to him that silence is an important part of music and it is also marked in the score.

Silence is an important part of prayer too and it’s also part of the ‘score’. At times, God needs us to remain silent in order to communicate what He wants us to know. Don’t panic if you spend a few minutes in silence. Mary, my Mother, teach me: That’s what you did in Bethlehem, in Nazareth many times, and specially beside the Cross. We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. (St Teresa of Calcutta)