Brothers and sisters,

What’s your mountaintop moment? Hopefully, we can all recall times when God’s glory became evident in our lives, and those moments are meant to stay with us. The Transfiguration is one of those mountaintop experiences for Peter, James, and John as Jesus leads them up the mountain.

Even as Satan brought him to the desert, to the pinnacle of the Temple, and to a high mountain to tempt him, Jesus remained in the lead, and Satan was defeated. In his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel, Fr. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, a renowned Catholic scripture scholar, emphasizes the significance of this. In the preceding chapter, Matthew 16, Peter “took Jesus to himself,” that is, he erred by trying to take the lead. That’s when Jesus reprimanded him for suggesting that suffering be avoided: “Get behind me, Satan!” The pattern is clear: when Jesus leads, good things happen.

In our own faith journey, God gifts us with mountaintop moments, some towering and unmistakable, others more like quiet foothills we barely notice as we pass through them. Sometimes, we recognize in the moment that we are having an incredible encounter with the Lord. Other times, we only realize in hindsight that he had drawn near and made his glory known. And while these encounters sometimes occur in serene, peaceful times, God also makes himself known amidst great trials, illness, suffering, and loss. We may not wish to relive the pain, yet we can look back on those moments with appreciation and gratitude for the graces they carried.

At the end of the Transfiguration, Jesus tells Peter, James, and John to tell no one about the vision until the right time. Their silence, it turns out, was never meant to be permanent. After the Resurrection, they bore witness to the glory of God and shared this intimate experience with the world. In the same way, when the Lord leads us up the mountaintop, that treasured moment is often a gift not only for ourselves but for others. In giving witness, we offer encouragement, remind one another to hold firm to our own mountaintop memories, and give others the words to share their own experiences.

In fact, our own parish community is about to share in one of those mountaintop moments together. This coming Saturday, I am confident that Jesus is leading many of our youth, along with their families, up the mountaintop. His glory will shine as the Holy Spirit pours out grace and gifts upon our confirmation candidates. Please pray for them and their families as Bishop Parker confirms them this Saturday. Pray that they will recognize this as a grace-filled moment, and that they will also recognize, in the days ahead, when the Lord is calling them to share this encounter with others.