Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
February 28, 2021
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Reflection
The transfiguration of Jesus in the book of Mark is a pivotal one. To me, the miracle symbolizes the perfection of heaven and the love and connection that God has for us – the transfiguration shows us that Jesus is our bridge between heaven and earth.
Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The second, is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:36-40).
As I reflect on Black History Month and what it means to me, I must consider my heritage and the sacrifices made by my parents and grandparents so that I might have more, be more and strive to do more.
I must also consider intersectionality. When I think of my intersectionality, I am a Christian. I am a Black woman. I am a leader, first-generation graduate, family member, and friend.
We are resilient, brilliant, and beautiful. We are a human race. Love should be our legacy. As we close out Black History month, I encourage you to consider your personal heritage and the actions that your ancestors took to help make life better for you. As you do so, also think of the beauty of allyship and what we have been able to do as a human race in the pursuit of true diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are better and stronger together.
I close with this personal promise I made to myself in 2021 and have posted on my vision board: “Do all things in love and with purpose so that others might see God’s proverbial reflection in you.” If we do this, perhaps others might see the light of Christ in us, just as we see the light of God the Father in the Transfiguration of Jesus in today’s gospel. This is the light that has the power to transform the world. As the young Black poet and activist Amanda Gorman recently wrote: “For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it.”
Prayer
God of wisdom and truth, make yourself known to us and to all people, as the one God, living and true. Affirm your truth in our lives that we may be witnesses of your unchanging presence and shine with your glory. May the life and teachings of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, be our salvation and guide. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Hilary was pope for seven years in the fifth century and was known for safeguarding Church unity in a time of great disagreement.
He was born in Italy and served as an aide to Pope Leo I, who preceded him as pope and sent him on many official assignments. One of those assignments was to attend a council that was held in Ephesus without official approval. His task was to report on a heresy being discussed there—the denial of Christ’s humanity. This heresy was already condemned by an earlier council, and the followers of this erroneous belief physically attacked Hilary and his delegation. They barely escaped and returned to Rome.
When Pope Leo died, Hilary was elected bishop of Rome. As pope, he did much to strengthen the Church, especially in France and Spain. He was known for defending the rights of bishops, while urging them to greater faithfulness and less luxury. He established the pope, not the emperor, as the leader in spiritual matters, and rebuilt many churches in Rome, renovated the Lateran Basilica, and constructed a number of convents and libraries. He died on this date in 468.
St. Hilary, the pope who helped build the Church and fought for unity—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Hilary is available for use under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed December 6, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
