“The Gospel story of the Transfiguration challenges all who reduce the Gospel to what is relevant or pare Jesus down to some kind of super-saint. This is because at the core of the mystery of the Transfiguration is the question of Jesus’ identity as divine. And because this is true, by extension it concerns our identity as people with whom he shares that divine life. This is the identity that our Lenten observance leads us to reclaim and to recognize in others. Christ became human so that we might become divine. He came to unite himself to me and to you. Therefore, when Jesus calls us to be ‘the light of the world’ (Matt. 5:14-16) it is his light and truth that we are called to radiate and not our own. He commissions us to be bearers of his own light into the arenas where we find ourselves – into the great spheres of culture such as education, entertainment, politics, sport, the internet, family, school, university and parish life to name but a few. In these places we are called to carry Christ’s light so that others might be attracted to that light too. With the encouraging words of St Paul, we are to ‘walk as children of light’ (Eph. 5:8).
This is what it means to be holy. Holiness is to take on the nature of Christ and to become luminous with his grace. That is why many representations of the saints in sacred art display them with a halo, or an arc of light, around their heads and bodies. At the transfiguration, Jesus’ radiance with the light of heaven entices us with its beauty and excites us with the prospect of our own transfiguration in him".
Fr Billy Swan
Travelling so far for water each day affects other parts of the lives of Malita and her children, Margaret, Patrick and Patricia. Carrying 20 litres of water leaves the children tired and some days they are not able to go to school. Farming is an important part of how the family support themselves, but a lack of water makes farming difficult. Trócaire and our partners in Malawi are working to create solutions to the water shortages, such as digging bore holes close to villages. To learn more, go to: https://www.trocaire.org/our-work/working-in-ireland/parishes/