As Christians striving for holiness, we can say we have encountered the Lord in some way, whether it was at mass or in prayer, or in another person. And in one of my encounters, though it was very brief, Jesus revealed a little bit of His glory to me. Just a glimpse – and my heart could barely handle it. Now, every time I’m in prayer, specifically when I go to Adoration, I dread leaving the chapel to have to go into the office or onto a campus – the real world.
It’s like the Transfiguration when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to the mountain and Jesus revealed His glory to them, “shining as white as the light” (Matt 17:2). Moses and Elijah appeared and the voice of God was clear. The three apostles saw a glimpse of the glory of Jesus, saw that it was good, and wanted to pitch tents for everyone there to just stay on the mountain. They wanted nothing but to remain in the glory of God and the last thing they wanted to do was climb back down the mountain.
I feel kind of like Peter, James, and John. Granted, even now, and even in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we don’t always have these crazy, supernatural experiences. But we do know that while in prayer, we are in the presence of God. And it’s in the realization of being in the presence of God that I find that I want to remain with Him. But I also hit another realization; I have to go to class, or go to work, or coach my middle school track girls. I realize I can’t just pitch my tent in the chapel and ignore all my other duties that I have ahead of me.
I look out into the world and see the brokenness, the hurt and the bad and I don’t want any part of it. And in these moments, when I don’t want to leave the chapel – when I’m in a sanctuary away from the world – I hear Jesus say “Go out into the world, Laurita. But live in the Spirit.” This is exactly what happened to the apostles – “as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them” (Mt 17:9). Even though the disciples had to walk down the mountain back to ordinary life, they weren’t going back down alone. Jesus left his shining glory moment and walked down the mountain with them, teaching them, and eventually walking to his own crucifixion and death.
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Post by Laurita Keeler
