Being Led by Jesus "up the Mountains" of Life

Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration. Jesus, we are told in today's Gospel, Matthew 17: 1-9, "took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves." 
Jesus chose them to go with Him; they did not do the choosing. Jesus also did the leading; the apostles did the following.  On that high mountain, apart from the  busyness of everyday life and all that such entails, the apostles witness Jesus being transfigured: Jesus' "face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 'Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'"  The apostles were terrified, but "Jesus came and touched them, saying, 'Rise, and do not be afraid." When the apostles opened their eyes, "they saw no one else but Jesus alone."

Like the apostles, Jesus also chooses us to go apart with him from time to time: to church, out to the woods, to a park, up a mountain, on vacation, visits to special friends or time away with one's spouse, a friend, a child--some place where amazing things happen and we would like the time to never end and we say: "It good that we are here," or "It was right for us to take this time to enjoy nature, to enjoy one another, to get away for awhile."  We come back renewed and ready to face the challenges of our lives, as Jesus was prepared by Moses and Elijah to go up to Jerusalem and where the apostles were equipped, also,  to deal with the hard times ahead for them as well!

We need time alone with Jesus just like the apostles did. We need that time every day, even if it is a 5- minute break from work or from the kids, as we gaze upon an awe-inspiring sunset or relax with a pet or sit in the quiet of the evening with quiet soothing music!

What St.Martha Teaches Us

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Martha. Her story of complaining to Jesus about Mary not helping her, as well as the story of her grief that her brother died and Jesus delayed in coming, are well known to us.   Martha is very real with Jesus. She holds nothing back, as she and Jesus are very close friends. Martha is a model for us to imitate in developing a close relationship with the Lord.  Like her, we too, at times, might become overwhelmed with meeting our responsibilities to others and, sometimes, resent all we have to do.  Resentment will pile up, as it did for Martha, when we compare ourselves to others and resort to complaining about them not doing their share of the work or, more accurately, not meeting our expectations!

It is the responsibility of each of us to balance our work and our prayer time--alone time with Jesus. No one else can do that for us.  When we begin to feel overwhelmed, we need to look at how well we are taking time to meet our personal needs, especially our need for solitude and reflection, spending time at the feet of the Lord, listening to Him and sharing our concerns with Him, being utterly honest with the Lord about what we are feeling and thinking, what's bothering us and weighing us down and for what we are grateful and leads us to praising God.  Meeting the needs of others must include meeting our own needs as well.  Doing both leads to healthy relationships with others, ourselves and our God.