What the Eyes of the Heart See

Simone Riva - Today, the Church celebrates the Transfiguration of Christ.

 The episode recorded by the Evangelist Mark says, “Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, standing apart, they alone.” The event is a call to solitude. This call has been and will be present in the Lord’s human history and is present in every man and woman. 

St. Augustine comments: “The Lord himself became as bright as the sun, his garments became as white as snow‌ and Moses and Elijah spoke with him. Yes, Jesus himself became like the sun to show that He is the light that helps every man who comes into this world. 

What the sun is to the eyes of the body, he is to the eyes of the heart; what the sun is to the body, he is to the heart. The three apostles are removed from the relationships and events of everyday life. They must face themselves and all the dark parts of their lives, which require light to reach them. 

All the forgetfulness and betrayal they were and could have been capable of are finally overcome by the exuberance of Jesus's presence, who decides to communicate the truth and depth of his person in an event that anticipates the glory of the resurrection. These three apostles couldn’t fail to see, couldn’t fail to bear witness to this finality so that this light might also reach us through the “eyes of the heart” of which Augustine speaks.

Mother Teresa’s of Calcutta’s words come to mind: “By blood, I am an Albanian, by nationality, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. By vocation, I belong to the world. As for my heart, I belong completely to the Heart of Jesus.” 

How could the Apostles have gone into the dark of their own humanity without someone who could really help them? How could they have begun to look with their hearts if the light hadn’t shown itself? How could they belong completely to His Heart? They “as vessels, He as source,” writes St. Augustine again and again.

 The Master lets man find himself again without censoring anything. He shows himself as the most loyal friend of our humanity, the One who can stand with us in all we are. No man can realize this grace alone, much less give it to others. The Transfiguration is one of those moments when Christ shows himself to be our most loyal friend.

No solitude remains uninhabited, no darkness impenetrable, no trial insurmountable.

Thus, the experience of that unique belonging described by Mother Teresa is within everyone’s reach. What a beauty and what a gift to know how to love ourselves so much that we can see with His eyes not only the reality around us but even ourselves.

Unrevised translation by the author. Out of the Choir - Il giornale di Monza. Download.