Dear Friends, 

This past Thursday, August 6^th, we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. 

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. There, before their eyes, He is transfigured: His face shines like the sun, and His clothes become dazzling white. Many see this great mystery as a foretaste of the Resurrected Jesus, an illuminating display of his divinity to His inner circle of disciples.  

But it’s not only that. Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, appear and speak with the Lord to reveal that all Scripture finds its fulfillment in Him. Then a bright cloud overshadows them, and the voice of the Father is heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

That raises the question: listen to what? Jesus hadn’t said anything coming up the mount. Previously, the last thing He’d said was to predict His Passion after Peter had professed his faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Then, after they’d made their way down the mount, Jesus must step in to heal a boy the disciples could not. Jesus then repeats the prediction of His passion. The glory revealed on the mountain does not remove the necessity of suffering; it makes the coming suffering meaningful. 

Taken together, the before-and-after framing shows that the Transfiguration is not an isolated moment of glory. It is a revelation given in the shadow of the Cross. 

• Before: the cost of discipleship is announced. 

• On the mountain: the glory that awaits is revealed. 

• After: the disciples are sent back into the ordinary struggles of faith and mission, carrying both the memory of glory and the call to follow the Lord. 

In Matthew’s Gospel, the Transfiguration stands as a hinge: it confirms who Jesus is, clarifies the path He must walk, and gives the disciples (and us) a reason to hope while walking that same path. 

Pope St. John Paul II helps us to better meditate on this great mystery when he made it the Fourth Luminous Mystery of the Rosary.   

With gratitude and joy for the days ahead! 

Fr. Seth 

Dear Friends, 

The saints remind of us our destiny—that we strive by the grace of God and their good prayers to be in the future where they now are. 

But the saints also remind us of our past. The saints we celebrate in August remind us of our local past, our diocesan history. 

August Fourth we remember St. John Vianney, a French priest of humble birth who, after ordination was sent to the little town of Ars. For the next 41 years he served as the parish priest: celebrating mass, hearing confessions, and teaching the Catholic Faith. He had the gift of reading hearts, of being able to tell penitents their sins before they could confess them. He would often spend 8-12 hours a day hearing confessions.  

Pope Pius XI named St. John Vianney the patron saint of parish priests, so this month please do pray for the Cathedral clergy, or your own parish priest. 

August 8^th is the Feast of St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominicans. We are fortunate in this diocese to have all three expressions of the Dominican life—the friars, the nuns, and the religious sisters. Some of you may have been taught by the Springfield Dominicans. The nuns pray for us in their monastery near Girard, and the friars are their chaplains. We thank God for the many years of blessings, preaching, and teaching the Dominicans have provided for our diocese. 

August 11^th is the Feast of St. Claire of Assisi, and the 14^th is St. Maximilian Kolbe, both Franciscans. We give thanks for the Franciscan Friars, Sisters, and Brothers who have served in our diocese in parishes, schools, homes for the disabled, and by providing excellent healthcare and care for the poor. May God continue to bless their ministries. 

With gratitude and joy for the days ahead! 

Fr. Seth 

PS—for those looking ahead: August 15^th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, and normally it is obligatory to attend Mass on that day. But as it falls on a Saturday this year, it is not obligatory to attend Mass for that Solemnity (though I certainly encourage you to do so!).