＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Genesis 12: 1-4a

 Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country,

your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you.  I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and in you all peoples of the earth will be blessed.”

So Abram went as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

 

Ps  33: 4-5, 18-19, 20-22 

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

2 Timothy 1: 8b-10

 Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the con­trary, do your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God.  He saved us and called us—a calling which proceeds from his holiness. This did not de­pend on our merits, but on his gen­erosity and his own initiative. This calling given to us from all time in Christ Jesus   has just been mani­fested with the glorious ap­pearance of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who de­stroyed death and brought life and immortality to light in his Gospel.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 17: 1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they were alone.  Jesus’ appearance was changed before them: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became bright as light. Just then Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

 Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. If you so wish, I will make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

 Peter was still speaking when a bright cloud covered them in its shadow, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”

 On hearing the voice, the disciples fell to the ground, full of fear.  But Jesus came, touched them and said, “Stand up, do not be afraid.”  When they raised their eyes, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus.  And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had just seen, until the Son of Man be raised from the dead.

  

Gospel Reflection：

Read: The first reading presents to us the call of Abram to leave his country and journey to a land that God has prepared for him and his family.

St. Paul exhorted Timothy to remain steadfast in the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

In the gospel, Matthew brings us to the mountain where Jesus was transfigured in the presence of the apostles Peter, James and John with the voice from the clouds affirming Jesus’ identity and dignity and commanding the disciples to listen to him.

Reflect: Christian life is a journey towards our final destination, the Father’ s house. In this journey we pass through different routes, meet diverse trials and difficulties and experience various moments of joys and graces. Spiritual writers would call the latter, “mountain top experiences”. In Jesus’ journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, he had that experience in the Transfiguration. In it, God has declared the glory that awaits Jesus. Together with his Transfiguration, the words of the Father came, assuring him, “This is my Son, the Beloved. My Chosen One. Listen to him.”

In our life journey, the Father is always with us and he is reminding us that our destination is to be in glory with him and his Son and with all the saints. And we can only reach that destination if we remain focus to the voice of the Lord Doing so will keep us on the right path.

Pray: God, our Father, transform us too so that we can conform our lives to the plan of your salvation and follow faithfully the words of your Son, our Lord.

Act: In this week, forgive someone who has hurt you.