Mountain tops and high places were favorite places that ancient people chose to worship God. Because they wanted to draw closer to God, they chose high places because they rose up from the earth into the heavens where they believed God dwelt. And because they also believed that bad things, like storms and floods and famines, were inflicted on them by God because he was angry with them, they would offer up sacrifices of various kinds, even human life, to appease God's anger.
Abraham, who is the father of faith in the One True God, comes out of just such a world view. God chooses Abraham to begin a transformation of such misconceptions by first rejecting the belief that God wanted human life to be sacrificed. It begins here with the story of Abraham and his son Isaac, which is the first reading in today's Liturgy of the Word.
However, high places remained as important places to go in search of communion with God even at the time of Christ. Our passage begins: Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. What follows is an even deeper revealing of the nature of true worship of God. Peter, James and John have the vale of unseeing lifted so they are able to see and experience what takes place in true worship. A break through, beyond human imagining, is made. Jesus brings us from here to there, from our mountain top into the sanctuary of heaven, into the presence of God. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.
Today, our supreme high place/mountain top experience is the Mass. When Mass begins, Jesus releases us from our earthly boundaries and takes us up into the sanctuary of God's presence. Even though for us the vale of unseeing remains, like Peter, James and John, we too are there. But sometimes we may be given a peek through the vale. Often, while saying Mass, I have a strong sense of the presences of the holy ones gathered around the altar with us; a sense of Jesus' presence holding my hands in his as we raise up the sacred host in consecration.
But this glimpse through the vale can be experienced in our own personal prayer times as well. We would call this an experience of the grace of consolation in the prayer of contemplation. Our daily life as well as our life of faith are lived out here, in the city of man. But it is by withdrawing with Jesus to that high place of prayer and contemplation, that the inspiration for our life of faith is empowered. Whatever be the glimpse through the vale we may have been granted, we come down with His Voice alive in our hearts. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Prayer of Contemplation
One of the goals of the Prayer of Contemplation is to encounter the Word, to hear God's Word, so that it can form and guide us in accordance with his will. But his Word can come to us at any time and place. It is important that we discern that is it God speaking, and that we are listening. Keeping a Record of Prayer and Word, is most import to this experience. This can be a companion to Journaling, or a separate place of recording. The following are the elements found in a Record of Prayer and Word.
1
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On This Day
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When
and where did I encounter this Word, in a passage or other?
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2
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Bookmark
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Record
the text reference or where it’s found
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3
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Heart/Felt
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As
I heard this Word these feelings emerged …..
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4
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Text Message
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In
yours words you heard it say …….
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5
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Connection
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Is
there a connection with other messages?
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6
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Going Forward
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Are there steps to take after having listened?
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Father Thomas Rosica of Salt & Light, has an excellent Lenten series which has both a written meditation as well as video talk. Here is the LINK.
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