"… and He was transfigured before them…"

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.  And there appeared to them Eli’jah and Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.  And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli’jah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid.  And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  Mark 9:2-7

The facade of the Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor

Today we ventured out into the cold and rain to Mount Tabor, the mountain on which Christ was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.  As we approached the mountain, we could see clouds surrounding the top, blocking our view.  The roads were too narrow and the turns too sharp for the big bus so we had to stop halfway up and split into three little vans to take us up to the Franciscan church.  After an explanation of the sight and the architecture of the building itself, we had time for silent prayer before celebrating Mass.  During mass, the thunder and lightning picked up which was reminiscent of the voice of the Father.  While it would have been awesome to see the views from the top of this holy mountain, it was great to be engulfed in clouds, similar to that moment 2000 years ago when Christ and the three apostles were here, in this place.  In the midst of that cloud was also the Eucharist, Christ transfigured before our eyes, veiled in the appearance of bread and wine; the glistening light contained in such a little host.  What a blessed moment of prayer.

After our time on Mount Tabor, we journeyed back down and passed through the village of Nain, where Jesus raised the only son of a widow. (Lk 7:11-16)  Unfortunately we were not able to visit the church, for various reasons.  Regardless, this was still a place where a great miracle occurred.

The remainder of the day was spent back in Nazareth where guys visited with each other, returned to the Basilica of the Annunciation one last time and began to prepare for the next leg of our pilgrimage.