A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[27] Gen 15:5-12, 17-18 Ps 27:1, 7-8a, 8b-9, 13-14 Phil 3:17-4:1 Luke 9:28b-36

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

“‘Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’”(Lk 9:33)

Last year I was blessed to attend a retreat that focused entirely on Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. The highlight, for me, was taking a 3-4 a.m. perpetual adoration timeslot. Like Peter, James, and John, I was “overcome by sleep,” before really feeling my soul settle into being in the complete presence of God. That deeply quiet hour with Jesus was one of the moments I’ve felt closest to him; not for what I prayed (because it was mainly, “Lord, don’t let me fall asleep on you,”) but for knowing I was enveloped in his presence.

Tied to that memory is also the feeling of sadness I had when I returned to school at the end of the retreat. For a while, everything paled in comparison to the beauty, meaning, and peace I felt that weekend I spent with God. This experience, I think, might have been similar to what the disciples felt while descending the mountain with Jesus after watching his transfiguration.

Imagine it: Your best friend and Savior leads you up a mountain to spend time praying with you and to reveal to you that he is your God…and then tells you that you need to leave and return to your life. How can you go back to normal? How does anything hold any meaning anymore?

On that mountain it was easy for Peter, James, and John to understand that they were fully in God’s presence, manifested through Jesus Christ. On that mountain, they were filled with fear and awe, and they recognized that it was good to be there. And they wanted to stay. Peter was prepared to pitch three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah so that they might camp out there, but they had to descend back into their everyday world.

I think many of us can relate to this situation. We all have moments or days when we feel close to God and because of that, everything in life is good. In these moments when we are close to our Father, he often reveals things to us about himself, ourselves, his love for us, and our lives.  We’d love to spend eternity in that moment or day, but of course we know that we don’t get to stay on that mountaintop with him forever while we’re here on earth. 

Jesus doesn’t lead us to those peaks only to have us stay there for the rest of our lives; as hard as it might be, he asks us to descend back into our average lives so that we might share what is revealed to us with others. If Peter, James, and John never descended, we would not have the story of Jesus’ transfiguration as a powerful testament to his unity with the Father. If we can trust that we are meant to share our mountaintop experiences by descending and sharing them with our brothers and sisters, then I think we can find that whether we’re on a peak or in a valley, it is good that we are there.