Feast of the Transfiguration 2006
Pope Benedict XVI's words at the Angelus at Castel Gandolfo
Sunday 6 August 2006 - also in Croatian, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
"Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This Sunday, the Evangelist Mark recounts that Jesus took Peter, James and John with him up a high mountain and was transfigured before them, becoming so bright that his clothes were "whiter than the work of any bleacher could make them" (Mk 9: 2-10). Today, the liturgy invites us to focus our gaze on this mystery of light. On the transfigured face of Jesus shines a ray of light that He kept within himself. This same light shone on Christ's face on the day of the Resurrection. In this sense, the Transfiguration appears as a foretaste of the Paschal Mystery.
The Transfiguration invites us to open the eyes of our hearts to the mystery of God's light present within the history of salvation. Already at the beginning of creation, the Almighty said: "Fiat lux - let there be light!" (Gn 1: 2), and there was the separation of the light was separated from the darkness. Like the other created things, light is a sign that reveals something of God: it is like a reflection of his glory, which accompanies its manifestations. When God appears, "his splendour was like the light, rays flashed from his hand" (Heb 3: 3). The light, it is said in the Psalms, is the mantle with which God covers himself (cf Ps 104[103]: 2). In the Book of Wisdom, the symbolism of light is used to describe the very essence of God: wisdom, an outpouring of the glory of God, is "a reflection of eternal light" superior to any created light (cf Wis 7: 27, 29). In the New Testament, it is Christ who constitutes the full manifestation of God's light. His resurrection has defeated for ever the power of the darkness of evil. With the Risen Christ, truth and love triumph over falsehood and sin. In Him the light of God illumines definitively the life of men and the course of history: "I am the light of the world", He affirms in the Gospel, "he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (Jn 8: 12).
In our time too, we so need to emerge from the darkness of evil, so as to experience the joy of the children of light! May Mary, whom we commemorated yesterday with special devotion on the annual Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major, obtain this gift for us. May the Blessed Virgin also obtain peace for the peoples of the Middle East, overwhelmed by fratricidal fighting! We know well that peace is first and foremost God's gift to be implored insistently in prayer, but at this time let us also remember that it is a commitment for all people of good will. May no one shirk this duty! Thus, in the face of the bitter observation that so far the voices asking for an immediate ceasefire in that tormented region have gone unheard, I feel the urgent need to renew my pressing appeal in this regard, asking everyone to make an effective contribution to build a just and lasting peace. I entrust this renewed appeal to the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin."
After the Angelus:
"Rivolgo ora il consueto saluto ai pellegrini stranieri che sono qui convenuti per unirsi alla nostra preghiera. Non posso non ricordare, in questa domenica in cui cade la festa della Trasfigurazione, quell'altra analoga domenica in cui i pellegrini, venuti a Castelgandolfo per l'Angelus domenicale, non poterono partecipare alla preghiera mariana con il Papa Paolo VI, perché le sue condizioni di salute si erano in quelle ore aggravate: il grande Pontefice, come sapete, nelle ore della sera di quel 6 agosto 1978, si addormentò nel Signore. Lo ricordiamo in questo anniversario con animo grato a Dio, che ne ha fatto dono alla sua Chiesa negli anni tanto importanti del Concilio e del dopo Concilio.
Chers pèlerins de langue française, je vous adresse mes salutations cordiales. En ce jour oł l’Église fête la Transfiguration, puissiez-vous vous tourner vers le Christ, pour contempler le mystère de son amour pour les hommes. Vous pourrez alors porter au monde d’aujourd’hui le message d’espérance qui rappelle que, avec le Seigneur et à sa suite, la souffrance et la mort ne sont pas la fin de l’existence, mais le passage vers l’éternité bienheureuse. Avec la Bénédiction apostolique.
With great affection I greet the English-speaking visitors gathered for this Angelus prayer. Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration, when Jesus revealed the glory of his divine nature. May this luminous mystery be a source of lasting joy and hope for all who put their trust in Lord’s promises. God bless you and your families!
Mit frohem Herzen heiße ich die deutschsprachigen Besucher hier in Castelgandolfo willkommen. Heute feiert die Liturgie der Kirche die Verklärung Christi, deren Augenzeugen die Apostel Petrus, Jakobus und Johannes waren. Gott offenbart seinen geliebten Sohn, auf dessen Wort und Weisung die Jünger hören sollen. Gebt darum dem Wort Jesu in euren Herzen Raum und schreitet so auf dem Weg einer lebendigen Gemeinschaft mit Gott und den Menschen voran. Gottes Güte und Erbarmen begleite euch in dieser Ferienzeit und bei all eurem Tun.
Saludo a los peregrinos de lengua española que se unen a esta oración del Ángelus. Invito a todos a contemplar la gloria divina que resplandece en Cristo, en el misterio de su Transfiguración que hoy celebramos, para fortalecer la fe y alentar la esperanza. Esa esperanza que nos hace perseverar en la búsqueda de la paz. Feliz Domingo.
Pozdrawiam wszystkich Polaków. Dziś wspominamy Przemienienie Pańskie. Wielbimy Chrystusa, który objawił się „w postaci Bożej" (Flp 2, 6), i z wiarą przyjmujemy wezwanie Ojca: „To jest mój Syn umiłowany, Jego słuchajcie!" (Mk 9, 7). Niech Bóg wam błogosławi!
Rivolgo, infine, un cordiale saluto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. Ringrazio in particolare la rappresentanza degli abitanti di Castel Gandolfo per il gentile omaggio che mi hanno fatto in occasione della Sagra delle Pesche. Saluto poi i giovani del Movimento Giovanile Salesiano del Triveneto in pellegrinaggio a Roma "Sulle tracce della fede"; i fedeli delle parrocchie di san Nicolò "all'Arcivescovado", in Messina e di san Marco Evangelista in Cavernago. Maria Santissima, che invochiamo con la preghiera dell'Angelus, ci aiuti a rispondere sempre fedelmente alla chiamata alla santità che Cristo rivolge ad ogni cristiano. Grazie per la vostra presenza. A tutti buona domenica!"
© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana