While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen."
In the liturgical calendar, the last Sunday before Lent begins is always devoted to the Transfiguration of Jesus; this year we read the account from the Book of Luke.
As we enter Lent, may we remember this glory revealed and seek to know its reality in our lives; may we learn to listen and when to keep silent.
It also seems fitting that this Sunday will be our daughter's first communion. She has been preparing for weeks and is very excited for this next step in her spiritual journey. I pray that as she kneels with her family at the altar to participate in this Blessed Sacrament, feeding on the bread of heaven and drinking of the new covenant, she too will know His Glory and be filled with His Grace.
Sufjan Stevens song The Transfiguration
4 comments:
Hi Amy,
I'm interested that your daughter is having her first communion now. Did you choose to wait for a specific reason? (In our church, we generally baptize infants and they take communion with us when just a few months old.)
I've been enjoying your more frequent posting, recently. :)
Hi Emily, Our church doesn't have a set rule about communion, but generally children just come forward for a blessing until their parents feel they are ready to take communion. Some prepare their children on their own but our church also offers a class for K-5 about what happens in our church service and what communion means. They complete workbook pages and have readings and "homework." During the class they get to walk right up to the altar and see and touch everything. They make communion bread and also practice taking communion so they feel comfortable. For the children who participate in the class, they get to be a part of the procession with a little banner they made and we all sit at the front. I assume the pastor will say a few words to them during the service. I've liked that doing the class we've taken the time as a family to really talk about our beliefs and what communion has meant to RJ and I. She seems really excited now. Though we don't have the same theology about the Eucharist as Catholics, I'm glad our church still places a high value on welcoming the children to the table with reverence and anticipation for what God will do. I also like that the teaching about what we do and why doesn't wait until confirmation.
Thanks for reading and commenting!!!!
Thank you for the recipe for homemade playdough. I found your site while looking online for an order sheet for Neshaminy Valley Natural Foods (a friend of mine subscribes here in NJ.) Serendipity. Our Episcopal Church http://www.allsaintsnavesink.org/
celebrated the transformation with a children's sermon about Darth Vader! Our priest is amazing with the kids.
Anyway, I share many of your views on organic gardening and trying to move the world toward a healthier way of living. It was nice to cruise around your site. Thanks again.
Jen McFadden
Hi Jennifer! I'm so glad you stopped by. thanks for the encouragement about gardening--it's so hard to imagine with all this snow isn't it?! But I need to start planning. I followed the link to your church, it looks lovely and encouraging to hear of other faithful parishes. I grew up in OC, NJ!
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