Transfiguration Spirituality

The Eastern Christian Church and the early Church Fathers remind us that mere mortal eyes and mortal flesh cannot see the glorified and transfigured Christ.

Unless we have been transformed in Christ, unless we die to self and put on Christ, we can neither see nor withstand the Transfiguration.

A transfiguration or transformation is required of the whole person in Christ, in order to see Christ transfigured. The change on Mt. Tabor in the Gospels is not in Christ so much as it is in the disciples, who were enabled to apprehend the Divine Light in direct proportion to their possession of the Holy Spirit and their union with Christ. "Do you see that before that light, eyes which see naturally are blind? Even the disciples saw that, but were unable to look steadily upon it." (St. Gregory Palamas).

In an article in the National Catholic Register (7/31/94), Fr. Alexei Smith, Pastor, St. Andrew Russian Greek Catholic Church in El Segundo, California, tells us that in the Christian East (unlike the West), the transfiguration is "the fountainhead of a whole spirituality." He quotes the early Church fathers, such as Origen, emphasizing that "spiritual advancement is needed in order to see Christ."

What a challenge to us! Popular spiritualities today sometimes omit or mock the idea of advancement in prayer, although the mystics have always seen this at the heart of the spiritual life, a preparation for being able to see the vision of God.

We sometimes see incredible examples of the transformation that takes place in people's lives when they are comtemplatives who are transfigured as they put on Christ. One does not have to live in a monastery to be a contemplative—in fact, some of the greatest examples are also people of action (Dorothy Day, Ceasar Chavez).

 Mark and Louise Zwick 1994