Dear Friends, I hope you are well. How is your spiritual preparation for Easter going?
Did you give up something? Did you have a chance to fast or offer a donation to the poor?
Did you find an extra time for prayer? Or did everything go as usual?
Was there any change in your daily routine?
Only you can answer these questions.
It is about your relationship with God and neighbour.
It is about your spiritual priorities.
We know that Jesus kept a regular contact with his heavenly Father; He spent a lot
of time praying. He often went to the desert or to the mountains of the Holy Land to be alone.
However, we read in today’s Gospel that this time He took with him to the mountain his most
beloved disciples: Peter, James and John. He wanted to teach them how to pray in solitude.
The Apostles enthusiastically went with their master but instead of praying they soon fell asleep.
It might have been our case too: when we should pray, we fall asleep or choose to do other things.
Some people permanently feel “asleep” not thinking about God’s loving presence in their life.
When Jesus was praying, “his face was changed, and his clothing became brilliant as lightning” (Lk 9:2).
The person who prays looks different from other people. His or her prayer life is “carved”
on their faces. Looking at the eyes of a person who is immersed in prayer we can see God’s love.
When I was a teenager, I often participated in Taize Ecumenical gatherings organised in different
big cities in Europe. I had an opportunity to meet Brother Roger, the founder. I noticed how
shiny and beautiful his face was during his prayer time.
It was a similar case with Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She was a beautiful woman because
she was a person of deep prayer. She spent hours in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every day.
When was the last time you spent a few minutes adoring Jesus?
I’m sure, your parish offers Adoration every week, however; if this is not the case,
there will always be a church around you where Adoration is available. Also, I encourage you to
spend a few minutes in thanksgiving prayer after your Sunday Mass. Don’t rush home straight after
the blessing or the final hymn. Praise Jesus for nourishing you with his Word and with Communion.
The faces of people of prayer always shine with goodness, tenderness, and humility. A person
who prays becomes an image of God’s beauty. Please, pray regularly, and sooner or later,
you will experience your own “transfiguration.” Not only your external appearance will change,
but most importantly, you will be changed internally. Dear friends, when we pray God’s
peace is formed in our hearts and we begin to desire to “go to the mountain” more often.
I spoke to countless people who after spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament every week,
started to love to be with God and talk to him. Many of them even felt desire just to
be and remain still before the Lord in silence. We call it 'contemplation.'
Moreover, people who pray with their heart, experience that they are truly children
of God. They feel that the words spoken by the Heavenly Father about Jesus include them as well:
“This is my Son, the chosen one” (Lk 9:35). Yes, we who are baptised,
are God’s beloved sons and daughters! And yes, we are his chosen children with whom God
wants to spend not only a few minutes a day or one hour a week but all eternity.