Christ's Transfiguration

Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

As you know, this past week I was on retreat together with my colleagues in the Roman curia. It was a week of silence and prayer: the mind and heart were able to dedicate themselves entirely to God, to listening to his Word, to meditation on the mysteries of Christ. In a certain way, it was little like what happened to the apostles Peter, James and John when Jesus took them away with him up the mountain alone, and while he prayed was "transfigured": his face and his person appeared luminous, shining. The liturgy re-proposes this celebrated episode today in fact, the second Sunday of Lent (cf. Mark 9:2-10). Jesus wanted his disciples, especially those who would have the responsibility of leading the newborn Church, to directly experience his divine glory, to be able to face the scandal of the cross. Indeed, when the hour of betrayal comes and Jesus retires to Gethsemane to pray, he will keep the same Peter, James and John close by, asking them to keep watch with him (cf. Matthew 26:38). They cannot do it, the grace of Christ will sustain them and help them to believe in the Resurrection.
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