Daily Devotion

Collect of the Day
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Scripture Reading of the Day, Luke 9:28-36
28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.


Reflection

By Brother Anselm, S.S.F.
Sermon on 6 August
(kept as the Feast of the Transfiguration and Hiroshima Day)

The light of the transfiguration shines on the church, and in that light we can see many shadows –for the church follows the world so often, in that glory belongs not to selfless achievement, but to petty ambition –and the church on which falls the mantle of Christ’s authority is rent apart by conflicting authorities.

This feast reminds us who are the church, how urgent is the task of prayer for the church –that we may learn what makes for true glory –a life of selfless love in obedience to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

On this day, we must go further, and view our world, God’s world, in the light of Christ’s transfiguration. On this day in 1945 a blinding light shone on the city of Hiroshima, the light which accompanied the exposure of an unsuspecting population to shock and radiation from that first nuclear explosion. However the bomb may be justified strategically, politically –it has to be seen as a judgment not on its victims but on the rest of the human race –in its light we can see the worth of human values.

Blessings,
Mthr. Mary Lou