Reflection
Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
Luke 9:28
Reflection
In religious symbolism a mountain is regarded as a cosmic place where Heaven and Earth meet, and the divine and human realms combine. It is a universal symbol of the nearness of God, as it surpasses ordinary humanity and extends toward the sky and the heavens. In the Bible, mountains are mentioned as sacred places where the divine presence joins humanity to provide instruction, direction, and hope for the day when all of heaven and earth are finally one. At the mountain top, the divine reveals itself and the human is transformed. Rarely, we may experience God on the mountain top, but more often we find God in the valleys. God never meant us to live every day on the mountaintop. God is found with us in the plain, ordinariness of life where we live every day. We cannot climb the mountains to find God but, we live always in God’s presence. The thing to do is to become aware.
Prayer
They who seek God will see God’s face everywhere
Psalm 24
Action
Try to be open to the places in your life where God is revealed.
Suggested Reading
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.
Mark 9:2-1
We cannot remain on the mountain and enjoy the bliss of this encounter on our own. Jesus himself brings us back to the valley, among our brothers and sisters and into daily life.
Pope Francis
We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through it all the time.
Thomas Merton
Real religion is not about transcending life; real religion is about transforming life.
Joan Chittister
God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere.
Voltaire
To be is to live with God.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
To think you are separate from God is to remain separate from your own being.
D. M. Street
Without the assistance of the Divine Being I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail.
Abraham Lincoln
In our stillness, we acknowledge God’s greatness and we are at peace in our life. Stillness saturates us in the Presence of God.
E’yen A. Gardner
Think often on God, by day, by night, in your business and even in your diversions. God is always near you and with you; leave God not alone.
Brother Lawrence