Through it all, Rocky never pitied himself. \u00a0He never gave way to anger. \u00a0He never blamed God for his problems. \u00a0Though he felt bad about his appearance, he accepted it as a special challenge \u2013 a part of life that he just had to make the best of.\u00a0 One day Rocky and some of his friends were visiting an amusement park. \u00a0They went into the place there During his Transfiguration, Jesus\u2019 disciples saw him in a whole new way. \u00a0For the first time, they saw from the outside what he really was on the inside: the glorious and beautiful Son of God.\u00a0 This event occurred right after Jesus told his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and there be handed over to the Romans to suffer and die. \u00a0When Peter heard this is cried out, \u201cGod forbid. \u00a0Nothing like that is ever going to happen to you.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus then said to Peter, \u201cGet behind me, Satan! \u00a0You are an obstacle to me. \u00a0You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Matthew 16:22-23) \u00a0Peter, James and John needed a spiritual shot in the arm to strengthen them after that shocking experience.<\/p>\n If we persevere on our spiritual adventure and listen carefully with the ears of faith, the day will come \u2013 either here or in heaven \u2013 when we too will hear a voice. \u00a0It will say to us what the voice on the mountain said of Jesus: \u201cThis is my own dear son or daughter, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 17:5) During the Season of Lent, we are especially encouraged to re-visit our priorities, the way we spend our time, and we are promised holy transfigurations when we devote ourselves to God in prayer.<\/p>\n After the Resurrection, Jesus again climbed up the mountain with the disciples and again He was transfigured. \u00a0He anointed the disciples with his power and authority, and before Jesus departed, he commanded them to return to the world and to share his Gospel of love.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t get it in that Transfiguration mountain-top moment. \u00a0They didn\u2019t even get it when the resurrected Jesus ascended into heaven.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t get it until one fearful day they gathered desperately wanting to know what to do, now that Jesus was gone. Seeking to discern who they were to be, they came together to pray.<\/p>\n On that Pentecost day, the disciples finally understood that all along Jesus was teaching them to pray together. \u00a0That day they prayed together, and the very power of God came down and filled them with divine glory, light and purpose. \u00a0When we pray together, God\u2019s Spirit comes down from the heaven and fills us with the prophetic energy of Jesus.\u00a0 All of us need the vision of the mountaintop. \u00a0All of us need transfiguration experiences, where our entire perspective is changed, where the fog is lifted and we see more clearly. \u00a0If we stop and reflect upon our lives, it\u2019s likely that we\u2019ve all already had such experiences.<\/p>\n We can identify with Peter, when he attempts to capture and prolong the moment by asking to make three dwellings for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. \u00a0However, like Peter, James and John, we come to realize that we cannot live on the mountaintop forever.\u00a0 The valleys beckon us to come down and live our lives as servants with other people, just as Jesus and the three apostles did. \u00a0The mountaintop had prepared them for the loving service of others, and the same is true of us.\u00a0 The three disciples needed this mountaintop experience to uplift, encourage and inspire them, to teach them the importance of prayer, and to strengthen them for the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n The Transfiguration reminds us that when we climb with Jesus, pray with Jesus and listen for God\u2019s Word with Jesus, God\u2019s glory will surround us and we will be guided down the mountaintops into the world, there to be Christ\u2019s healing people.\u00a0 Jesus descended the mountain into a crowd of people who sought a new humanity, and he immediately proclaimed the reign of God by preaching good news to the poor, teaching by word and deed, healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe in the gospel.\u00a0 He wanted his disciples (and now us) to do the same things. \u00a0Like Moses and Jesus, we are called to be a light in the darkness of our world. \u00a0Lent is a time for asking ourselves how well we are living out our calling.<\/p>\n Lent is a time for asking ourselves how well we are letting our light shine before others, so that they may see it and give glory to our Father in heaven. \u00a0If we aren\u2019t doing as well as we could, Lent is a time for repenting and beginning anew to live out our calling.\u00a0 Let us realize that there is, indeed, more beyond what we can see on the outside. \u00a0Let us be transformed and changed as we resolve to do better this Lent.<\/p>\n Deacon Greg Ollick<\/strong> teaches sacred scripture for Saint Joseph’s College Online<\/a>. He is a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and runs The Epiphany Initiative<\/a>\u00a0website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a movie called Mask that\u2019s based on a true story about a 16-year-old boy named Rocky Dennis. \u00a0Rocky had a very rare disease that caused his skull and the bones in his face to grow much larger than … Continue reading ![\"Mask\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2016\/02\/Mask-300x210.jpg\")
<\/a>called \u201cthe house of mirrors.\u201d \u00a0They all began to laugh at how distorted their bodies and their faces looked in the mirrors.\u00a0 Suddenly Rocky saw something that startled him. One of the mirrors distorted his misshapen face in such a way that it appeared normal \u2013 even strikingly handsome.\u00a0 For the first time, Rocky\u2019s friends saw him in a whole new way. They saw from the outside what he really was on the inside: a truly beautiful person. \u00a0Something like this happened to Jesus at the Transfiguration.<\/p>\n![\"The-Transfiguration-Of-Christ-300x210\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2016\/02\/The-Transfiguration-Of-Christ-300x210-300x210.jpg\")
<\/a>In the Transfiguration experience, the three disciples were given a glimpse of Christ\u2019s glory. It was designed to help them understand who Jesus really is, and to strengthen them in their faith so that they would have what to takes to live out their vocation and become what they were called to be.\u00a0 Peter, James and John were given a moment of grace. Moments of grace are gifts from God. \u00a0They can\u2019t be merited. \u00a0They can\u2019t be won. They can\u2019t be manufactured. \u00a0All we can do is dispose ourselves to receive them.<\/p>\n