The Transfiguration. Getty Museum

The Transfiguration. Getty Museum COMMENT:   Transfiguration Getty Museum The three apostles below react with dramatic expressions and gestures. Maybe thoughts come From a sermon on the transfiguration of the Lord by Saint Anastasius of Sinai, bishop. (Nn. 6-10: Melanges d’archéologie et d’histoire 67 [1955], 241-244)   It is good for us to be here Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here. It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness or higher honor could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in his light? St. Matthew seems to have given the script to St. Peter. The beardless John is at centre again and the his expression of heart. James the senior brother and in hierarchic lifted hand of two of the Incarnate and inner Trinity.  The Transfiguration Unknown Byzantine, Nicaea or Nicomedia, late 1200s Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment 8 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. MS. LUDWIG II 5, FOL. 45V The Transfiguration (Getty Museum) A work by Unknown from the J. Paul Getty Museum's collection. www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=3278

The full-page miniature of the Transfiguration is one of a series of illuminations representing events from Jesus' life in this Byzantine Gospel book. According to the evangelist Matthew, Jesus took the apostles Peter, James, and John to a mountain, where he was illuminated by a bright heavenly light. The Jewish patriarch Moses and the prophet Elijah then appeared and a voice from a cloud declared Jesus to be the son of God. In the miniature, Jesus stands in a mandorla with the two Old Testament figures perched on mountain peaks on either side.  The three apostles below react with dramatic expressions and gestures. The artist used vivid contrasting colors and careful modeling to give the figures a sense of three-dimensionality against the glowing gold background.  Transfiguration Peter The feast of the Transfiguration is one of the twelve major holidays of the Byzantine church, which explains why the subject received a lavish, full-page miniature in this book.

   COMMENT:

--- Forwarded Message -----
From: William J. ...
To: Donald ....
Sent: Wednesday, 7 August 2013, 20:55
Subject: Re: [Blog] The Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour of Christ

Dear Father Donald,

 

There is a feast of reflection for us as we gaze up at this illuminating painting !

 

It is as if we are looking up and experiencing the moment ourselves, for the apostles seem to be communicating their feelings to us!

 

Peter and John having seen the vision, seemed to be wrapt up in their own thoughts; Peter gesticulating his own words of awe, John drawing the vision to his heart. 

John drawing the vision to his heart

And James... he is pointing, has he seen that Christ's feet are rising above the ground? Perhaps his arm is raised in excited alarm, "Look Peter, look John, Jesus is ascending..."

 

And what is in Peter's left hand - his cloak caught up by him in excited movement as if ready to erect the shelters? Moses and Elijah are holding certain symbolic articles (Law and the Prophets, scripts perhaps), and Christ Himself has a scroll in His Hand.

 

The thought that stirs me especially is that of the possible representation of each apostle, and the answer lies in St Anastasius' sentence, to their "dramatic expressions and gestures" :Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here.

This will hold me in the wonder and the mystery of it all, and I am hoping that you may 'illuminate' it further!

 

Thank you for such a gem for the discovering!

 

... in Our Lord,

William

 

St. Catherine of Siena (St. John Eudes)

Wednesday 18^th Week

Night Office Readings

This morning the Passage from 2 Chronicles 20:5-25 sounded out the battle on the Lord’s side.

The reader’s Second writing was left void of cognition, of any word, except the name of St. Catherine. 

Following the text, the quotation had its own unction.

“It is what the Lord said to Saint Catherine of Siena: ‘My daughter, forget yourself and think of me, and I for my part will think continually of you.”’ (St. John Eudes from The Kingdom of Jesus).

Tuesday, 6 August 2013 The Transfiguration of the Lord - 'glory'.

Note: Transfiguration in these passages the term 'glory' occurs 21 times.
          Flowers for the Feast form a 'threefiguration' of bouquets. 

Breviary

Office of Readings

FIRST READING

From the second letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians 
3:7-4:6

Christ is the splendor of the new covenant

If the ministry of death, carved in writing on stone, was inaugurated with such glory that the Israelites could not look on Moses’ face because of the glory that shone on it (even though it was a fading glory), how much greater will be the glory of the ministry of the Spirit? If the ministry of the covenant that condemned had glory, greater by far is the glory of the ministry that justifies. Indeed, when you compare that limited glory with this surpassing glory, the former should be declared no glory at all. If what was destined to pass away was given in glory, greater by far is the glory that endures.

Our hope being such, we act with full confidence. We are not like Moses, who used to hide his face with a veil so that the Israelites could not see the final fading of that glory. Their minds, of course, were dulled. To this very day, when the old covenant is read the veil remains unlifted; it is only in Christ that it is taken away. Even now, when Moses is read a veil covers their understanding. “But whenever he turns to the Lord, the veil will be removed.” Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed  from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.

Because we possess this ministry through God’s mercy, we do not give into discouragement. Rather, we repudiate shameful, underhanded practices. We do not resort to trickery or falsify the word of God. We proclaim the truth openly and commend ourselves to every man’s conscience before God. If our gospel can be called “veiled” in any sense, it is such only for those who are headed toward destruction. Their unbelieving minds have been blinded by the god of this present age so that they do not see the splendor of the gospel showing forth the glory of Christ, the image of God.

It is not ourselves we preach but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts, that we in turn might make known the glory of God shining on the face of Christ.

SECOND READING

From a sermon on the transfiguration of the Lord by Saint Anastasius of Sinai, bishop
(Nn. 6-10: Melanges d’archéologie et d’histoire 67 [1955], 241-244)

It is good for us to be here

Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, he gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of his glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven. It was as if he said to them: “As time goes by you may be in danger of losing your faith. To save you from this I tell you now that some standing here listening to me will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in the glory of his Father.” Moreover, in order to assure us that Christ could command such power when he wished, the evangelist continues: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. There, before their eyes, he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Then the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, and they were talking to Jesus.

These are the divine wonders we celebrate today; this is the saving revelation given us upon the mountain; this is the festival of Christ that has drawn us here. Let us listen, then, to the sacred voice of God so compellingly calling us from on high, from the summit of the mountain, so that with the Lord’s chosen disciples we may penetrate the deep meaning of these holy mysteries, so far beyond our capacity to express. Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and into heaven, and—I speak boldly—it is for us now to follow him with all speed, yearning for the heavenly vision that will give us a share in his radiance, renew our spiritual nature and transform us into his own likeness, making us for ever sharers in his Godhead and raising us to heights as yet undreamed of.

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here.

It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness or higher honor could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in his light?

Therefore, since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into his divine image, we also should cry out with joy: It is good for us to be here—here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as he enters: Today salvation has come to this house. With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of his eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the first fruits and the whole of the world to come.

RESPONSORY
Matthew 17:2, 3; see Luke 9:32, 34

His face shone like the sun;
– when the disciples saw his glory,
they were filled with wonder and fear.

Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them
speaking with Jesus.
– When the disciples saw his glory,
they were filled with wonder and fear.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

http://enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/john-chrysostom-the-mystery-of-the-transfiguration-and-the-significance-of-moses-and-elijah/

John Chrysostom: The Mystery of the Transfiguration and the Significance of Moses and ElijahTuesday, Aug 6 2013 

John Chrysostom and PATRISTIC Cross, glory, Moses, redemption, transfiguration, victory Mark Armitage 7:01 am

On Matthew 17:1-9 (the mystery of the Transfiguration)

Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it (Matthew 16:24-25).

Jesus sets before Peter, James and John…these persons – Moses and Elijah.

Each of these, having lost his life, found it. For each of them both spake boldly unto tyrants, Moses to the Egyptian, Elijah to Ahab; and in behalf of heartless and disobedient men; and by the very persons who were saved by them, they were brought into extreme danger; and each of them wishing to withdraw men from idolatry.

[...] What if Moses clave a sea? Peter walked on the water, and was able to remove mountains, and used to work cures of all manner of bodily diseases, and to drive away savage demons, and by the shadow of his body to work those wonderful and great prodigies; and changed the whole world. And if Elijah too raised a dead man, yet these apostles raised ten thousand….

He brings them forward accordingly for this cause also. For He would have them emulate their winning ways toward the people, and their presence of mind and inflexibility; and that they should be meek like Moses, and jealous for God like Elijah, and full of tender care, as they were. For Elijah endured a famine of three years for the Jewish people; and Moses said, “If thou wilt forgive them their sin, forgive; else blot me too out of the book, which thou hast written.”

Now of all this He was reminding Peter, James and John by the vision. For He brought those in glory too, not that these should stay where they were, but that they might even surpass their limitary lines. [...] For “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”

For not into Egypt did they enter, but into the whole world, worse disposed than the Egyptians; neither were they to speak with Pharaoh, but to fight hand to hand with the devil, the very prince of wickedness. Yea, and their appointed struggle was, both to bind him, and to spoil all his goods; and this they did cleaving not the sea, but an abyss of ungodliness, through the rod of Jesse,—an abyss having waves far more grievous.

See at any rate how many things there were to put the men in fear; death, poverty, dishonor, their innumerable sufferings…. But nevertheless against all these things He persuaded them boldly to venture, and to pass as along dry ground with all security. To train them therefore for all this, He brought forward those who shone forth under the old law.

John Chrysostom (c.347-407): Homilies on the Gospel According to St Matthew, 56.

The Transfiguration. HE AND i Gabrielle Bossis

  

      Tuesday, 6 August 2013     

It may be worth inscribing the Page Layout with paragraphs and picture.

"It's the direct route to Me. It passes through death and leads you into My arms."

COMMENT: Transfiguration Aug 6

 The older, http://nunraw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/comment-transfiguration-aug-6.html

COMMENT: Remembering feast of the Transfiguration   

FOUND LINK OF THE BOOK FOR ONLINE

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98805520/He-and-i-Gabrielle-Bossis

HE AND i Gabrielle Bossis 

-

1948  August 6

The Transfiguration.

 "Do you remember when you were little you said to Me, 'Be transfigured, be transfigured before my eyes, Lord.' You trusted Me.

Off you went to the mountain of solitude and you heard My voice.

You saw Me then in another way.

It was also love that transfigured Me before My apostles.

Always see love at the source of everything that comes from God.

There is love and there is hate - nothing else.

Two roots: God and the devil.

Man with his free will takes his choice of the fruit.

Be on the watch for the motive of your actions and remember that I am stretching out a helping hand.

And keep watch on your lower nature, the part that runs down your neighbour made in My image.

Give the kind of affection that comforts.

You know what I mean - the word, the glance.

I am in all ways of loving, just as Satan is in all ways of wounding.

You see the source? You see the fruit? Choose, and always be ready to choose Me.

This is what it is to be always in love.

It's the direct route to Me.

It passes through death and leads you into My arms."

COMMENT:

Hi. William,
Thank you, I can almost bet on gaining further insight to my ponderings.
God bless you.
fr. Donald.
P.S. Below, picture inscribing the text of the challenging translation word 'begemming'. 

----- Forwarded Message -----

"begemmed" with tears of Holy Face? English translation

From: William J. ...
To: Donald. ...
Sent: Sunday, 4 August 2013, 19:10
Subject: Canticle of the Holy Face

Dear Father Donald,

I have received so much delight sharing in your beautiful ponderings - "Beyond all the FACES, the divine presence, is faith in God who IS!" and I too can 'read' the Holy Face in your photographs of the trees, and see images in nature - cloud formations can be quite mystical! And behind these images one can sense the Hand of God as one gazes in a spirit of adoration... 

St Therese's poem is exceptional! I have been studying it (four columned attachment). I too prefer the Internet version. The endeavour to make the English translation rhyme in the other two versions, for me, detracts from the exquisite sentiments she expresses. I was very chuffed to find my little grasp of French re-awaken sufficiently that I could attempt (very cautiously) altering some of the very literal phrases where the sense seemed confused.

This delightful excursus with you has filled my day with much happiness. I have taken a print of the 'paper' to ponder in the quiet morning hours before the images of the FACE of Christ that I love so much (Leonardo's Salvator Mundi and Reni's Ecce Homo). And I am eager to find again those passages in St Paul's letters and the Psalms!

Ever do I pray for enlightenment, and it is indeed such that I receive from your inspired thoughts - thank you Father!

What Joy we experience

in the love of Our Lord,

William

Poems of the Little Flower of Jesus; CANTICLE TO THE HOLY FACE

Dear William,

It is an extremely interest to compare the translations of one poem in the Poems of the Little Flower of Jesus.

There is also the multi-task in melodies, chords, keys in the features of the FACE in our vision.

There are countless pictures of Jesus in devotion pictures.

I love to 'read' the Holy Face in the trees in our windows.

Looking the trees in the wind and see the faces. ...

There is more to remember from St Theres's being named 'of the Holy Face'.

Beyond all the FACES, the divine presence, is faith in God who IS! 

 For the moment pondering.
God love.
fr. Donald

Poems of the Little Flower of Jesus

CANTICLE TO THE HOLY FACE

COMMENTARY:    

'Begemmed' re the tears of the Holy Face in the Poem of Therese paused for thought, a rather unfamiliar word.  

The Canticle to the Holy Face is another curtain raiser to the whole 'story of the soul', of Saint Therese of the Infant of Jesus and of the Holy Face.

Writing, poetry, art, dance, song, is the multi-task of her life in fullness.

One tip of iceberg from the translation, "Holy Face) Of those dear Eyes begemmed with tears", "De tes yeux embellis de pleurs", immerses to the Face visions.

Icons, paintings and Biblical references to the  Divine Face echoes in Therese of the Holy Face.

The chart of the 4 versions of the poem give lessons well.

Surprising is to find the Internet translation from the original being very literal and seems to prove the best poem.
Reading and re-reading the French and Internet translation gives me unending grasp of mind and heart.

 1.     Cantique à la Sainte Face.
http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/carmel/thereseenfj/poesies1/025.htm
2. Collected Poems of Therese of Lisieux. Translated by  Alan Bancroft.
3. Poems of St Therese of the Child Jesus. Translated by the Carmelites of Santa Clara, Cal., USA. Oct 1925

Cantique à la Sainte Face. Original: French Jésus ton ineffable image Est l'astre qui conduit mes pas ; Tu le sais bien, ton doux Visage Est pour moi le ciel ici-bas ! Mon amour découvre les charmes De tes yeux embellis de pleurs. Je souris à travers mes larmes, Quand je contemple tes douleurs. Oh ! je veux pour te consoler Vivre ignorée et solitaire; Ta beauté que tu sais voiler Me découvre tout son mystère, Et vers toi je voudrais voler! Ta Face est ma seule patrie, Elle est mon royaume d'amour; Elle est ma riante prairie, Mon doux soleil de chaque jour; Elle est le lis de la vallée Dont le parfum mystérieux Console mon âme exilée, Lui fait goûter la paix des cieux. Elle est mon repos, ma douceur, Et ma mélodieuse lyre... Ton Visage, ô mon doux Sauveur, Est le divin bouquet de myrrhe Que je veux garder sur mon coeur ! Ta Face est ma seule richesse; Je ne demande rien de plus. En elle, me cachant sans cesse, Je te ressemblerai, Jésus ! Laisse en moi la divine empreinte De tes traits remplis de douceurs, Et bientôt je deviendrai sainte, Vers toi j'attirerai les coeurs ! Afin que je puisse amasser Une belle moisson dorée, De tes feux daigne m'embraser! Bientôt, de ta bouche adorée, Donne-moi l’éternel baiser! 12 août 1895. 1 Certains airs profanes, comme celui-ci, avaient été indiqués à la Bienheureuse par sa cousine, Sr Marie de l'Eucharistie, et elle s'était inspirée du rythme pour composer ses vers. Depuis, bien des auteurs se sont essayés à mettre en musique quelques-unes de ces poésies. Un recueil en a été édité.	Hymn to the Holy Face. Translation: Internet Jesus your ineffable picture Is the star that guided my steps; You know it, your sweet face Is my heaven on earth! My love discovers the charms Your eyes embellished with tears. I smiled through my tears, When I look at your pain. Oh! I want to comfort you Living ignored and lonely; You know your beauty veil I discovered all its mystery, And I want you to fly! Your Face is my only home, She is my kingdom of love; It is my cheerful meadow, My sweet sun each day; She is the lily of the valley Whose mysterious perfume Console my exiled soul, A taste of heaven him peace. It is my rest, my sweetness, And my melodious lyre ... Your face, my sweet Savior, Is the divine bouquet of myrrh I want to keep on my heart! Your Face is my only wealth; I ask nothing more. In it, hiding me constantly, I'll look like you, Jesus! Let me in the divine imprint Of your lines filled with sweets, And soon I will become holy, To you I will draw the hearts! So I can raise A golden harvest Of your fires ablaze deigns me Soon, your mouth adored Give me the eternal kiss! August 12, 1895. 1 Some secular tunes, as it had been given to the Blessed by his cousin, Sister Mary of the Eucharist, and she was inspired to compose his pace. Since then, many authors have tried to put some music of these poems. A collection has been published.
CANTICLE TO THE HOLY FACE Translated by the Carmelites of Santa Clara, Cal., USA. Oct 1925 JESUS, Thine image, fair to trace, Shall be my star, where'er I go, Thou knowest, in Thy Sacred Face, I find my Heaven, while here below. My love hath found the charm untold Of those dear Eyes begemmed with tears, I smile, though weeping, to behold The grief that in their depth appears. Fain would I, to be Thy solace, Live forgotten and unknown, For the beauty Thou art veiling Hath to me its secret shown, Drawing me to Thee alone. Thy holy Face shall be my home, The Kingdom of my heart's best love, The smiling meadow where I roam, My Sun each day in skies above. My hidden lily of the vale, Whose mystic perfume, faint and rare, Shall to my banished soul exhale The peace of Heaven I long to share. 'Tis my rest, my harp melodious, Where the strains of Heaven recur; Thy dear Face, my gentle Saviour, Is a knot of sacred myrrh; From my breast 'twill never stir. My only treasure is Thy Face, No other do I ask to see, There shall I find my hiding place, Till, Jesus, I resemble Thee. O seal me with divine impress Of Thy sweet Image, as I plead; Full soon, imbued with holiness, To Thee all hearts my heart shall lead. With Thy fires of love inflame me, That from ripened fields be stored Harvests rich in golden plenty; Soon then, from Thy mouth adored, Thine eternal kiss accord. August 12. 1895.	29. MY HEAVEN HERE BELOW  Translated by Alan Bancroft 1996 1.      Your picture, Jesus, like a star  Is guiding me! And, ah, You know  Your Features - grace itself they are  To me, are Heaven here below.  Your weeping ... that to Love appears  As ornament - attractiveness!  I'm smiling while I'm shedding tears  At seeing You in your distress.  2.      To comfort You, I want to be  Unknown upon the earth. Below  Your Beauty's veiled, and yet to me  Reveals its Mystery! and, oh,  Would I, to You, were flying free!  3.      Your Face ... my only Homeland, and  The Kingdom, too, where Love has sway:  And it's my smiling meadowland,  The gentle Sun of every day:  The Lily of the Valley - ah,  Its perfume's Mystery! I'm giv'n  What consolation from afar -  A foretaste of the Peace of Heav'n.  4.      Your Face - repose and tenderness  Is truly my melodious lyre ...  Bouquet of Myrrh, I would caress  (Such gentleness do You inspire!),  That safely to my heart I'd press ....  5.      Your Face ... ah, only that will be  The wealth I ask as revenue: I'll hide in it, unceasingly;  Then, Jesus, I'll resemble You.  Imprint in me those traits divine  Your Gentleness of Face imparts;  Holiness, then, will soon be mine  To You I'll be attracting hearts.  6.      So I can gather souls - it's this,  A golden harvest, I desire -  Set me aflame! And, soon, in bliss,  Grant that sweet burning of Your Fire,  Your lips in an eternal Kiss!