I was born on August 6th, 71 years ago. This is a notable feast day for Catholics because its also the day we celebrate The Transfiguration of the Lord.

By Birth

I wanted so badly to have a popular saint share the date of my birth, like Saint Lucy, perhaps Saint Rita or even Saint Teresa of Calcutta; but it was not to be. By the providence of God I was born on the Transfiguration of the Lord. Only after I understood why we Catholics celebrate this feast day did I feel pleased to have been born on this day.

Holy Land

In the year 2000 I took my first missionary trip. This trip lasted 22 days. The schedule was grueling, leaving  little time to take a deep breath. Since I had never been to the Holy Land, this experience was like opening the pages of the Bible and walking in the footsteps of our Lord. Every day was drawing me closer and closer to understanding how and when the unfolding of these fascinating events took place over 2,000 years ago.  I had fallen in love with this land and wanted to see more.

The 2000 Tour Brochure

I have a tendency to save a lot of things, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the brochure of this  first missionary trip.

In  the year 2000, tourists were allowed to visit Gaza, which is located in the West Bank. I remember this because we had to be very careful of our surroundings. Today it is too dangerous to travel there because of terrorism, civil unrest and armed conflict. After we visited Gaza, we had a jam-packed day that included Caesarea, Haifa, Mount Carmel, the River Jordan and Tiberias. At every site we set aside special time for prayer. It was powerful!

The following day was no different. The schedule included Nazareth, Cana and Mount Tabor. Though I was in a state of awe during most of this trip, at Mount Tabor I was truly transformed.

Jesus At Mount Tabor

Our Lord traveled by foot up the rugged mountain to reach the top of Mount Tabor. He took his trusted circle of friends, Peter, James and John, to experience His transfiguration. A mountain is always a metaphor for deep prayer, but in this case Jesus was transfigured on a real mountain. The Transfiguration of the Lord is mentioned in three of the gospels: Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9: 1-8 and Luke 9:28-36. This reveals the importance of the message God had for us. He wanted us  to listen to His Son Jesus.

The Church of  The Transfiguration

You must travel to the top of Mount Tabor to reach the Church of the Transfiguration. Our tour bus was too big to make the narrow turns up to Mount Tabor, so we had to stop at the bottom of the hill to catch taxis. I will never forget the crazy Arab taxi drivers who sped up the hill like a bolt of lightning. These experienced drivers appeared to be careless, but they knew how to get us up to the Church of the Transfiguration and back safely.

The magnificent grounds of Mount Tabor are filled with unique beauty and history that date back to the Old Testament. This land is sacred  to both Jews and Christians alike. It is mentioned by name in ( 2 Peter 1:16-18).

There are different levels to this church,  designed to capture both the spirit and beauty it has to offer. The mosaic tiles and stained glass windows are beyond  description; as if  the hand of God was used to create them.  All the holy sites in Israel, including this church, are under the custodianship of the Franciscans.

As our team arrived, we would crowd into the  either chapel of Moses or Elijah, depending on which was available for a Bible lesson.

Bible Lesson

The beauty of our mission trips was that our team leader Joanne was always prepared to give us an in-depth Bible study. I was the nerd of the group who always took notes. After the lesson it was time for prayer. Then we were free to walk the grounds and climb to the second level  to a lookout point overlooking the Jezreel Valley. I will never forget the sensation of being on top of  the same mountain upon which Jesus was Transfigured. No picture could capture all the senses I was experiencing, the smell of the valley, the ear-piercing sound of the church bells as they filled the entire valley announcing to the world, “This is the spot where  our Lord Jesus was Transfigured! Come and see for yourselves!” This message of the bells rings to all the Bedouin villages surrounding this area.

The Bedouins

Mount Tabor is located in a Bedouin village, so there are no Christians in this vicinity.  The Arabs are respectful of The Church of the Transfiguration, but are indifferent to how we view this holy site. The Bedouins are friendly people who keep to themselves, but many have kept to their true traditional lifestyle of sheepherding  and live off the grid. It’s always interesting to see this contrast in person. The Bedouins in this area are Sunni Muslim.

Transfiguration In Our Lives

As I reflect on the 71 years of my life, I can offer sage advice. Serve the Lord while you can, make room for Him in you lives and you will experience a great transformation.

Have I changed? Yes, it started with my commitment to God. Because I have the desire to grow in my faith, special graces have been bestowed in many areas of my life. I am a much better listener. When you listen to others, you can’t talk at the same time. I submitt important matters through prayer and wait for the Lord’s reply. Patience is the most difficult grace for me to obtain  but again, through prayer, I’m making headway. I’m more loving and have a greater ability to empathize with others. As much as I want to add my two cents’ worth  in certain matters, the Lord has quieted my voice.

I know of many wonderful, good-hearted people who do not have a personal relationship with the Lord. I understand how much God loves them and patiently waits for them to call out to Him. The only assurance we have for them is from the Book of Acts 16:30-31.

We all thirst for God, including agnostics and atheists. In the natural, our body tells us when we need to drink water. In the supernatural we all have a yearning to draw from God’s spiritual well. As humans we have a natural capacity to believe.

Wandering In The Desert 

Most of us are familiar with the story of the Israelites. They wandered in the desert for 40 years.

My Desert

I wandered in the desert most of my young adult life. In the time of my deepest wandering, God was ever present to bring me back to His side. I was ill equipped to pray. As a babe in Christ, my only prayer was, “God, please! God, please!” With those simple words He pulled me out of the many pits I had dug throughout my young life.

Today my  prayers are much more reverent because I’ve surrendered all my weaknesses and flaws to the Lord to allow the Holy Spirit to move in my life. For this reason we need to be in a state of weakness to understand that we need God.

Do not open the door to the Enemy because he knows when we are most vulnerable. Remember Satan tempted our Lord when he knew that Jesus was physically weak. So if he can tempt Jesus, we are fair game for him. He taunts us into believing that God has abandoned us. This is the two-forked road that many choose:  either give it to God or give up. When you decide to give up, you’ve opened the door to Satan.

Satan is always there to pick up the pieces and is the first to point the finger, to blame others for your mishaps. Hence, the Enemy constantly reminds us of all the negative; that’s his job. He wants division, and when he has accomplished this, he goes in for the kill, to destroy families. Even though children are the future, they are Satan’s main target! He is the author of the transgender ideology.

Our only hope and saving grace is to find God.

Looking For God

Religion comes natural to man;  it’s part of our human nature. Either a human being is religious or superstitious. With this intention, God made us for Himself! All human beings are looking for  God.

In the natural, if you do not quench your thirst, you damage your mind and health. In the same way, if you don’t quench your spiritual thirst, your mind will be unsettled and you will continue on a pursuit until you find God.

What debris is cluttering your road to God? These are a few reasons why people choose to not allow God into their lives:

1. Pride  – When you are prideful, you desire to be God not be like God (Is 14:13-14). You suffer from moral self-righteousness  (Luke 18:11-12). You are full of your self-accomplishments (Dan 4:28-37). You suffer from an ambition to be known (Mark 10:35-45). You have an unteachable spirit because you know it all (Hebrews 13:17)

2. Ignorance – You don’t feel you have a need for God: religion is not for you.

3. Busy – Your life has no room for God  because you’re too busy planning and having fun.

You Can’t Take It With You

An acquaintance of ours once told me that religion is a sign of weakness. Those words stayed with me because I knew that he was defensive. You see this man is a very successful executive, blessed with material wealth and worldly knowledge. In his life he has no need for God because he believes that all that he has accumulated was by his own efforts.  But when his sister was diagnosed with cancer, he contacted me to pray for her.

This man, to this day, is not open to anything remotely about God. Pray for him.

Quenching Your Thirst

As a baby boomer, I question my life and want to be certain that spiritually I’m on the right track. Aging gracefully has been a bit of a challenge. I do not fear getting older but when I look in the mirror things are definitely happening. I smile at myself a lot more because it naturally lifts up my facial muscles.

I will continue to volunteer as long as I can be used by God. In the fall I will be teaching First Holy Communion and Confirmation classes at St. Norbert. My home Bible study, which is now in its 21st year, will resume in September. This is how I quench my thirst.

The Desire for God

Only in God will you find happiness. If you are looking for truth, you will find it in Christ. To be saved is to come to the knowledge of truth. The only thing that separates us from God is sin. Your faith can increase by learning about and trusting God. All other religions have a response answered by man, but in Christianity the answers are revealed by God.

We can pray and wait for God to respond and seek our answers by reading the Bible. So many times the Lord has led me to a specific verse to answer a quandary or when looking for direction to solve a problem. Reading the Bible is like having a personal conversation with God.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray for all those who thirst for You. May they open the treasures of heaven by discovering all that You have for them.

Lord, I pray for the repose of the soul of Barbara and Zeke. May You comfort the broken hearts of those they left behind. Amen.