Feast of the Transfiguration
Recall the prophecy of Daniel:
Daniel 7:13-14:
I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him: his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed.
Today, forty days before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we celebrate the realization of that prophecy when Moses, representing the Law, and Elias (Elijah), representing the Prophets -- two men who had special visions of God -- appear in glory with Jesus on on Mt. Tabor (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9). There, SS. Peter, James, and John see the Divine Uncreated Light shine forth from Our Lord, Who'd told them previously that He must die and be resurrected.
Matthew 17:1-8
And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him.
And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.
And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.
Christ, as the Temple Who would be raised up three days after being torn down, shows that He is, indeed, the One in Whom the glory dwells. As the Creed says, "Deum de Deo, Lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero" (God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God). Just before this amazing event, Christ heard St. Peter's profession of faith and gave him authority as the first Pope; just after this event, he revealed that He would go to Jerusalem to suffer and die.
Of significance to this Feast is what it reveals about true Judaism and its fulfillment in the Catholic Faith. From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
False Judaism had rejected the Messias, and now true Judaism, represented by Moses and Elias, the Law and the Prophets, recognized and adored Him, while for the second time God the Father proclaimed Him His only-begotten and well-loved Son.
St. John Chrysostom writes more about the appearance of Moses and Elias in his Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew:
But wherefore doth He also bring forward Moses and Elias? One might mention many reasons. And first of all this: because the multitudes said He was, some Elias, some Jeremias, some one of the old prophets, He brings the leaders of His choir, that they might see the difference even hereby between the servants and the Lord; and that Peter was rightly commended for confessing Him Son of God.
But besides that, one may mention another reason also: that because men were continually accusing Him of transgressing the law, and accounting Him to be a blasphemer, as appropriating to Himself a glory which belonged not to Him, even the Father's, and were saying, "This Man is not of God, because He keepeth not the Sabbath day;" and again, "For a good work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God:"that both the charges might be shown to spring from envy, and He be proved not liable to either; and that neither is His conduct a transgression of the law, nor His calling Himself equal to the Father an appropriation of glory not His own; He brings forward them who had shone out in each of these respects: Moses, because he gave the law, and the Jews might infer that he would not have overlooked its being trampled on, as they supposed, nor have shown respect to the transgressor of it, and the enemy of its founder: Elias too for his part was jealous for the glory of God, and were any man an adversary of God, and calling himself God, making himself equal to the Father, while he was not what he said, and had no right to do so; he was not the person to stand by, and hearken unto him.
And one may mention another reason also, with those which have been spoken of. Of what kind then is it? To inform them that He hath power both of death and life, is ruler both above and beneath. For this cause He brings forward both him that had died, and him that never yet suffered this.
But the fifth motive, (for it is a fifth, besides those that have been mentioned), even the evangelist himself hath revealed. Now what was this? To show the glory of the Cross, and to console Peter and the others in their dread of the Passion, and to raise up their minds. Since having come, they by no means held their peace, but "spake," it is said, "of the glory which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem;" that is, of the passion, and the cross; for so they call it always.
St. John Chrystom, in a continuation of the homily above, explains the deepest lesson of the Transfiguration: what it foreshadows for our own glorification at the end of time if He deigns to save us:
But if we will, we also shall behold Christ, not as they [SS. Peter, James, and John] then on the mount, but in far greater brightness. For not thus shall He come hereafter. For whereas then, to spare His disciples, He discovered so much only of His brightness as they were able to bear; hereafter He shall come in the very glory of the Father, not with Moses and Elias only, but with the infinite host of the angels, with the archangels, with the cherubim, with those infinite tribes, not having a cloud over His head, but even heaven itself being folded up.
For as it is with the judges; when they judge publicly, the attendants drawing back the curtains show them to all; even so then likewise all men shall see Him sitting, and all the human race shall stand by, and He will make answers to them by Himself; and to some He will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; "to others," Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things.
And again passing an opposite sentence, to some He will answer, "Depart into the everlasting fire, that is prepared for the devil and his angels,"and to others, "O thou wicked and slothful servants."And some He will "cut asunder," and "deliver to the tormentors;" but others He will command to "be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness? And after the axe the furnace will follow; and all out of the net, that is east away, will fall therein.
"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun; "or rather more than the sun. But so much is said, not because their light is to be so much and no more, but since we know no other star brighter than this, He chose by the known example to set forth the future brightness of the saints.
Since on the mount too, when He says, "He did shine as the sun," for the same cause did He so speak. For that the comparison did not come up to His light, the apostles showed by falling down. For had the brightness not been unalloyed, but comparable to the sun; they would not have fallen, but would easily have borne it.
The righteous therefore will shine as the sun, and more than the sun in that time; but the sinners shall suffer all extremities. Then will there be no need of records, proofs, witnesses. For He who judges is Himself all, both witness, and proof, and judge. For He knows all things exactly; "For all things are naked and opened unto His eyes."
No man will there appear rich or poor, mighty or weak, wise or unwise, bond or free; but these masks will be dashed in pieces, and the inquiry will be into their works only. For if in our courts, when any one is tried for usurpation, or murder, whatever he may be, whether governor, or consul, or what you will, all these dignities fleet away, and he that is convicted suffers the utmost penalty; much more will it be so there.
Therefore that this may not be so, let us lay aside our filthy garments, let us put on the armor of light, and the glory of God will wrap us around.
And speaking of garments, note how in the Biblical accounts of Christ's showing His glory during the Transfiguration, even His garments gave off light. God reveals His glory in created things (see The Book of Nature), and the more obvious manifestation of this fact during the Transfiguration points to the renewal of all of creation -- the new Heaven and new earth spoken of in the Apocalypse -- not just the righteous rational souls, which will happen at the end of time.
Customs
Good prayers for the day include the introit and collect from the day's Mass:
Thy lightnings enlightened the world: the earth shook and trembled. How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O God, Who in the glorious Transfiguration of Thine only begotten Son didst confirm the Mysteries of the faith by the witness of the fathers, and in the voice which came down from the shining cloud, didst wondrously foreshadow the perfect adoption of sons: vouchsafe in Thy loving kindness, to make us coheirs with this King of glory, and to grant that we may be made partakers of that same glory. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
This feast has a sort of firstfruits theme -- as do other early August feasts like Lammas and the Feast of the Assumption -- and once included the blessing of grapes and wheat (this is still the case in some Eastern liturgies). So below are a couple of super simple grape recipes for you to try. You can use either green or purple grapes for either, but they should be seedless or, at least, de-seeded:
2 TBSP butter
1 pound seedless grapes, each grape cut in half
3/4 c. walnuts
2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP honey
squeeze of lemon juice
pinch of pepper
Grease an ovenproof skillet with the butter. Add the halved grapes, nuts, and sugar to the skillet and roast at 425F for around 25 minutes, stirring periodically. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon so the juices remain in the pan. Put the pan on top of the stove, add the honey, and simmer til it gets syrupy. Take off heat and add the lemon juice and pepper. Pour over the grapes. Eat on top of room temperature or warmed-up brie on crusty bread (consider slicing and toasting the bread), and have a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc to wash it down.
Grape Sorbet
6 cups seedless grapes, frozen overnight in a single layer
4 TBSP sugar or honey
2 tsp lemon zest finely grated
2 tsp lemon juice
Puree in blender or food processor until smooth.
For a trickier recipe -- one that uses not the fruit, but the leaves of grape vines, Greek Dolmades can't be beat. Here is a version that uses meat:
40 large fresh grape leaves OR 2 jars of grape leaves
2.75 lbs ground beef
1 1/4 cup long grain basmati rice, uncooked
2 eggs
9 TBSP fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 bunch dill, stems removed, then finely chopped
1 1/2 TBSP dried mint
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 TBSP butter
9 c. chicken broth (or 9 cups boiling water + 9 chicken bouillon cubes)
If using fresh grape leaves, remove stems and blanch them a few at a time in boiling water for 1-3 minutes, until whenever they go from a bright green to a more brownish-green color. When they make the color change, place them in ice water to stop the cooking process. Blot dry. If using jarred leaves, remove any stems and rinse the leaves.
In a big bowl, mix together the ground beef, 9 TBSP lemon juice, 2 eggs, mint, dill, onion, salt, and raw rice.
Prepare the dolmades: take a grape leaf and place it shiny side down/veiny side up. Take a TBSP of the meat mixture and spread it across the bottom (the stem side) of the leaf, left to right. Fold up the stem side from the bottom. Then fold the right side of the leaf over the middle. Then fold the left side over the middle. Then start rolling up from the bottom, tucking as you go, until you have a "grape leaf cigar." Repeat til your grape leaves and meat mixture are used up.
Cook the dolmades: Melt the 4 TBSP butter in a pot and pack the grape leaves tightly in layers. Cover with the broth (or bouillon), cover the pot, and cook at a low simmer for at least an hour or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Remove the dolmades and reserve the cooking broth. Serve with avgolemono sauce.
Avgolemono Sauce
1/4 cup cold water
2 1/2 TBSP cornstarch
3 cups dolmades cooking liquid
1 teaspoon sea salt
14 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (3-4 lemons)
10 egg yolks, divided
1 egg white
Mix together cold water with cornstarch until it's smooth and free of clumps.
Take the cooking liquid from the dolmades pot and add any broth (or water + bouillon) needed to it to get 3 cups of liquid. Bring this liquid to a simmer.
Meanwhile, beat 2 egg yolks and 1 egg white together til smooth. Gradually, a bit at a time, beat in the 14 TBSP lemon juice. Add in 8 egg yolks one at a time, beating as you go. Then add in the cornstarch mixture and keep beating. Slowly and carefully add in a few tablespoons of the hot broth and keep beating as you go. Repeat until the egg mixture has become very hot. Then slowly and carefully pour the egg mixture into the remaining broth, stirring the broth as you pour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a sauce for the dolmades. But tell everyone that in order to eat, they have to do that Zorba the Greek dance. The music you'll need for that:
Finally, here is something to think about: on August 6, 1945 -- the Feast of the Transfiguration -- Allied Forces dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. The blinding, murderous light of that explosion seems like a ghastly parody of what happened on Mt. Tabor! Tends of thousands of people were gone -- some literally vaporized -- in a millisecond. But at almost ground zero stood the a church named for Our Lady of the Assumption, and in it were four Jesuit priests and ten other clergy and laymen. Fr. Hubert Schiffer, one of the Jesuits, describes what happened:
Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunderstroke. An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me ’round and ’round like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind.
But none of the priests were killed, none were seriously harmed, and none became sick from radiation. The church itself withstood the bomb, one of only a very, very few buildings that remained in a sea of blocks' worth of flattened offices, stores, government buildings, and homes. The priests attributed their survival to their praying the Rosary.
Then, three days later, on August 9, Nagasaki -- the heart of Japanese Catholicism -- was bombed with the same sort of nuclear weapon, which hit about 1,500 feet north of the Urakami Cathedral. One of the few buildings to survive was the Franciscan monastery built by St. Maximilian Kolbe, who himself was martyred at Auschwitz four years earlier, after offering to die in the place of another.
See also the commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ as another event that miraculously reveals Christ as God, and in which God the Father uses the same words to describe His Son -- "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17) -- as He used when Christ appeared with SS. Moses and Elias.
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