Three Russian monks lived on a faraway island. Nobody ever went there, but one day their bishop decided to make a pastoral visit. When he arrived, he discovered that the monks didn’t even know the Lord’s Prayer. So, he spent all his time and energy teaching them the “Our Father” and then left, satisfied with his pastoral work. But when his ship had left the island and was back in the open sea, he suddenly noticed the three hermits walking on water – in fact, they were running after the ship! When they reached it, they cried, “Dear Father, we have forgotten the prayer you taught us.” The bishop, overwhelmed by what he was seeing and hearing, said, “But, dear brothers, how then do you pray?” They answered, “Well, we just say, ‘Dear God, there are three of us, and there are three of you, have mercy on us!” The bishop, awestruck by their sanctity and simplicity, said, “Go back to your island and be at peace.”

In today’s gospel, we listen to the story of the transfiguration of the Lord. St. Luke tells us that Jesus went up the mountain to pray and that it was while Jesus was praying that he was transfigured (Luke 9:28-29). Jesus, who spent his daily activities with so much ministry such as preaching, curing the sick, doing miracles, listening to people, always set aside some time in prayer. He leaves the crowds to spend time with His Father.

“While Jesus was praying his face changed and his clothing became radiant white. It wasn’t that Jesus reflected light, it wasn’t light shining on Jesus, but it was light coming from Jesus. Now Jesus’ divinity shone forth through his humanity. When Jesus is in prayer with his Father, we see his true self; his divinity is revealed like never before, as he shares in the radiance of his Father.”

It was in the moment when Jesus was praying that Peter, James, and John experienced the joy of being in the presence of God. Peter expresses this beautifully, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Perhaps Peter remembers the story when the Israelite experience the presence of God in the pillar of cloud come down and remain at the entrance of their tent. And Peter wants to build the tent to experience more the divine presence in the mountain. Peter, James, and John didn’t realize that they were in God’s Temple (tent), New Temple, Jesus. They were asked to listen to Jesus, who comes from above and journey with them. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!

As we continue our journey in this Lenten season, let us spend time in prayer, be with Jesus in the moment of silence, talking to him about our plans, joys, and sorrows. Perhaps it would be an excellent experience to visit our favorite places, especially some churches where we can spend time in prayer. This is a time when we can listen to Jesus. And hopefully, while or after praying, we, like Peter, would say, “It is good that we are here.”  Or after the prayer, you would say, Lord, it is good that I am here with You. It is good that You are here with me. And I will continue to journey with you, embracing the realities of life with hope.