Thursday, August 6, 2026
Transfiguration of the Lord - Feast
Matthew 17:1-9
Listen to the whole reading — MP3
First reading
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14
“I watched until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came out from before him. Thousands of thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set. The books were opened. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.
Responsorial psalm
Psalms 97:1-1,4-5,8
The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad! A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side. His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles. Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!
Gospel
Matthew 17:1-9
After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
Lectio
There is a hidden thread running from Daniel's night vision to the mountain of the Transfiguration, and it is the thread of glory that our eyes are not yet strong enough to hold. Daniel sees the Ancient of Days seated on a throne of fire, and one like a Son of Man given everlasting dominion. Centuries later, Peter, James, and John see that same glory break through the ordinary face of their friend and teacher. The light that Daniel glimpsed in a dream now stands before them wearing sandals, and it is almost too much. They fall on their faces. It is good, Peter stammers, wanting to build tents, wanting to hold the moment still, as we all do when we are given something so beautiful we fear it will slip away.
But the voice from the cloud does not tell them to build. It tells them to listen. And then, tenderly, Jesus touches them and says the words that echo through all of Scripture: do not be afraid. The glory of God is real, and it is fierce enough to burn up adversaries and make the earth tremble, as the psalm sings. Yet when that same glory draws near in Christ, it comes not to consume but to console, to lift up those who have fallen, to lead them back down the mountain and toward the cross. We are not meant to live permanently on the summit. We are meant to carry what we saw there into the valley, into the ordinary days, into the suffering that Jesus already knew was coming.
The mountaintop is a gift, but it is a gift given for the descent. What we glimpse in prayer, in beauty, in a moment of unexpected grace, is meant to become the light we walk by when the cloud has passed and only Jesus remains.
When was the last time you glimpsed real glory or grace in your life, and like Peter, did you try to freeze it in place rather than let it change how you now live in the ordinary?
The voice said, "Listen to him" — is there something Jesus has been asking you to hear lately that you have been avoiding, perhaps because you are afraid of where his words might lead you?
Saint of the day
St. Hormisdas, Pope († 523)
Ora reads this aloud, every morning, free. Ora