From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   There are Two Kinds of People   
      
   "Essentially, there are two kinds of people, because there are two   
   kinds of love. One is holy, the other is selfish. One is subject to   
   God; the other endeavors to equal him.   
   One is friendly; the other is envious. One wishes for the neighbor   
   what it would wish for itself; the other wishes to subject the   
   neighbor to itself. One guides the neighbor in the interests of the   
   neighbor's good; the other guides the neighbor for its own interests."   
   --St. Augustine--The Literal Meaning of Genesis 11, 15   
      
   Prayer: Lord, you are delightful food for the pure of heart.   
   --St. Augustine--Confessions 13, 21   
      
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   August 6th - Transfiguration of Our Lord   
   By Father Paul Sretenovic   
      
   A reminder of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the   
   three Apostles, Peter, James, and John, can be found in the Mass when   
   Jesus is lifted up by the priest for all to adore Him, as was the case   
   for the Apostles, who bowed before the Divinity. In fact, just as   
   Moses and Elias bore witness to the divinity of Christ on Mount Tabor,   
   so also the angels, although invisible, are present at every   
   Consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord.   
      
   Granted, the types of miracles are different. In the first, awe comes   
   much more naturally, given Jesus’ change in appearance, not to mention   
   the presence of the two Old Testament figures. Yet, the second miracle   
   is more significant because ordinary substances are transformed into   
   God Himself.   
      
   There have been cases in Church History, however, where God has   
   intervened to make the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist   
   apparent to the naked eye as the visible Body and Blood of Christ and   
   to give the faithful a sense of awe rivaling that of Peter, James, and   
   John as Christ was transfigured before them. We call these phenomena   
   “Eucharistic miracles,” during which, at the time of the Consecration,   
   the bread and wine not only change their substance to become the Body   
   and Blood of Our Lord but also they become externally visible to the   
   eyes as such.   
      
   In some of the Eucharist miracles I am referring to, the Host gives   
   place to the figure of the Infant Jesus, whose Body is then held up by   
   the priest. Does this mean that Jesus is any more present than He   
   would have been had the Consecration happened as usual?   
      
   In substance, both the presences--with or without miracle--are the   
   same. Likewise Jesus was substantially the same in His normal life and   
   in the Transfiguration to the Apostles on Mount Tabor. What was added   
   in the latter was the visible confirmation of his Divinity, which   
   doubtlessly increases one’s faith, hope, and charity.   
      
   You may recall that in an article two weeks ago, I mentioned that Our   
   Lady appeared to both St. Dominic and to St. Simon Stock as a   
   safeguard against her children falling prey to two enemies of the   
   soul, pride and sensuality. Well, in similar fashion, I believe that   
   God granted these Eucharistic miracles as armor for the faithful   
   against the denial of the Real Presence by such influential heretics   
   as Berengarius of Tours in the 11th century, and later by the   
   Protestant heresiarchs during the Protestant Revolution of the 16th   
   Century. Those miracles were occurring in the first two millennia of   
   Christianity, and they could continue into the third as a reminder   
   that Our Lord meant what He said when He told the Apostles in John’s   
   Gospel, “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”   
      
   Jesus was transfigured before the Apostles to strengthen their faith   
   in His divinity because their faith would be shaken during His   
   Passion, on Holy Thursday right through Good Friday. This miracle   
   would not prevent St. Peter and St. James from falling, just as the   
   Eucharistic miracles have not prevented even many faithful Catholics   
   from having periods of doubt and darkness in their spiritual life. But   
   it would prevent St. John from abandoning the way of the Cross. His   
   fidelity, which relied on his closeness to Our Lady, certainly was   
   strengthened by the remembrance of that glory he saw in the   
   Transfiguration.   
      
   Remembering the ways in which Jesus has chosen to manifest Himself   
   before the eyes of the Apostles and to certain privileged faithful   
   helps us to remember His promise to be with us all days, and to   
   overcome our doubts and discouragement along the “via dolorosa,” which   
   is what our day-to-day-life is.   
      
   Just as Ecumenical Councils have been called to deal with crises in   
   Faith, the Transfiguration and Eucharistic miracles increase our   
   certainty in the Divinity of Our Lord, which serves to prevent those   
   crises.   
      
   Our faith should not have to rely only on miracles, but rather should   
   depend upon our strong belief in the Divinity of Our Lord. Our charity   
   should depend upon our willingness to be united with Jesus Christ and   
   Mary on the way of the Cross at every moment of every day.   
      
   The Apostles would completely understand the gift of the   
   Transfiguration only after they drank from the cup of Our Lord’s   
   sufferings. We should recall that this is precisely the promise of Our   
   Divine Savior to St. James and St. John when He told them, “You will   
   drink the cup from which I drink.” Implied in this forewarning of   
   Christ is not simply a sharing in His death, but also in the interior   
   sufferings that they would have to endure for the sake of His Name.   
      
   We should remember this in our days especially, because to be faithful   
   to the constant teaching and traditions of the Holy Catholic Church in   
   our difficult days mean we will have to share in the sufferings of   
   Christ. He is inviting us today to drink from the cup which He drank   
   from, the cup of being misunderstood, of isolation. It is not always   
   easy, but we should remember that the final end for our fidelity now   
   is to be united with him in the glory of Heaven. The Transfiguration   
   reminds us of that, just as it would remind the Apostles and prepare   
   them to fulfill their missions on earth in face of every adversity and   
   suffering.   
      
   http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j140sdTransfiguration_Streten_7-6.shtml   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   When it's God speaking.....the proper way to behave is to imitate   
   someone who has an   
   irresistible curiosity and who listens at keyholes. You must listen to   
   everything God says   
   at the keyhole of your heart.   
   --St. John Vianney   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   Him, who knew no sin, he hath made sin for us: that we might be made   
   the justice of God in him. Sin for us... That is, to be a sin   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)