This week we are sharing reflections from east London Christians on the fourth of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Click here for an introduction to the People's Rosary Project, and links to earlier meditations.
The Transfiguration of the Lord
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus.
They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Luke 9.28-36
In this mystery, we ask the Lord for light - he comes to lighten our darkness even when we are not able to recognise it
Watch Rámond Mitchell reflect on what he has learnt about the Transfiguration through praying the Rosary during this pandemic.
Nkem Okoli and Marian Chery explain how this Mystery has helped them to intercede for others during the pandemic.
The hope that the disciples saw on that mountain is what we pray for now
We ask our Mother Mary...to pray to her Son, so that we see the brightness of his Transfiguration through these times
In meditating on this passage of the Gospel, we can learn a very important lesson from it: first of all, the primacy of prayer, without which the entire commitment to the apostolate and to charity is reduced to activism...
Prayer does not mean isolating oneself from the world and from its contradictions, as Peter wanted to do on Mount Tabor; rather, prayer leads back to the journey and to action.
The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.
Benedict XVI, February 2013
You are invited to pray the Rosary now.
Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus who was transfigured on the holy mountain.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
If you have not prayed the Rosary before, you can read our introductory page here.
The People's Rosary is a project of the Centre for Theology and Community and De Mazenod Retreat House in east London.
We are grateful for the support of the Lady Peel Trust and MB Reckitt Trust in developing this project.
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