Transfiguration of Our Lord: LISTEN TO MY SON!
Greeting:
Today God our Father tells us: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. May the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ resound in your hearts and in your lives. May the Lord be with you always. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant Sometimes in life it happens that we begin to see in a completely new light someone we have known for a long time, with qualities and potentials we never thought of. This was the experience of the apostles at the transfiguration of Jesus. He was surprisingly different and greater than they had imagined. Now they understood him better, they enjoyed his presence more deeply and they were more eager to listen to him. The change they saw in Jesus made it easier for them, too, to change and to become more like Jesus. May this become our experience also as we celebrate this Eucharist.
Penitential Act "Listen to him," says the Father about Jesus Often we have not listened to him; (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son, you walk by our side on the dusty road of life. Brighten our path: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son, you reflect God's glory. Transform us with you: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son, the way of the cross led you to glory. Make us bear our crosses with you: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, and let the light of your glory drive away from us the evil of sin. Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God who has made us his sons and daughters in Jesus, his beloved Son (PAUSE)
Lord our God, at the transfiguration of Jesus you gave eyes of faith to the apostles to see beyond appearances and to recognize Jesus as your beloved Son. Strengthen our faith too in the person and message of your Son. Help us to recognize something of his face in our brothers and sisters and to encounter him in one another, that we may journey with him and share in his glory forever. R/ Amen.
First Reading: The Son of Man
At a time of persecution, the prophet sees a vision of a transfigured world. The son of man - symbolizing God's people, perhaps the Messiah - will no longer suffer but be honored and will share in God's glory.
Second Reading: Like a Lamp Lighting the Way
The apostles present at the transfiguration did not fully realize what was going on. Later they understood and testified that Jesus is not a myth but the foundation of faith and life.
Gospel: The True Face of Jesus
After Jesus had spoken to his apostles about his coming suffering, Jesus and the apostles - and we - are given a vision of the glory and resurrection that will come.
Intercessions Let us pray to God in all confidence, for he has accepted us as his sons and daughters in his beloved Son Jesus Christ. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
- That the face of the Church may always reflect the light of the glorious Christ; that her glory may be not wealth or power but the quiet glow of the living gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
- That the spirituality of the Orthodox Churches, which is marked by the transfiguration, may also inspire the Catholic Church more and bring us closer to unity, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
- That artists may keep revealing to us the splendors of God's creation; that scientists may discover the secrets of the universe and use them to develop people and their world, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
- That we may brighten the faces of those who suffer with words of encouragement and hope; that we may learn from Christ to encounter one another without masks or screens and seek together the light of truth and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
- That we may be men and women liberated in Christ, committed to transfigure this world with justice and freedom for all, and learning to love one another the way God loves us in Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
God, your glory brightened the face of Jesus, your Son. Let his light dawn on us like a new sunrise full of promise. Create us and the world anew in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts Lord our God, all we see before us is a piece of bread and a cup with wine. Yet we believe that soon these will be your Son living among us. Let him come alive in us and guide us by his Holy Spirit, that with him we may hear your call and go through the hardships and joys of life with faces brightened by hope and by the certainty that you have prepared for us glory and happiness that will last for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With Jesus our Lord, God's own beloved Son, we give now thanks and praise to the Father, sure that the Father will accept our offering.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
Let us pray to our Father in heaven who told us to listen to his beloved Son. We have listened, and with Jesus we pray the prayer of the children of God: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our day. Keep us from indifference and anxiety and help us see beyond the events of life the deeper reality of things and persons, your guiding hand, your love and your call, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming in glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is the body of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father in heaven. His glory is hidden to us, yet he is light in our darkness and the transfiguration of our lives. Happy are we who have not seen his glory, yet believe that he is our Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, by the power of Jesus, our transfigured Lord, you call us to transform this world in the image of Jesus, your Son. Rip off our masks, that we may meet and accept one another as we are and together try to be what you have called us to be. Commit us to justice and love, that we may change this harsh and cold world into a sign and token that you are with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing In his transfiguration Jesus revealed his deepest self. May we believe in him as the source of all transfiguration of ourselves, of our mentality, of this earth. And may Christ be our strength to work toward this transfiguration, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace and let your face be bright with the radiance of Christ's light. R/ Thanks be to God.
