“Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up to the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothes became dazzling white.”
Mount Tabor is the recognized place where Jesus was transfigured. Established as the actual site by the third-century Christian scholar, Origen, the finding seemed to be authenticated by St. Jerome. At nearly 1,900 feet Mount Tabor is not necessarily ‘grandeur,’ but it stands alone in the area of the Holy Land that was considered a strategic high ground for many centuries. Mount Tabor is located 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee, serving as a landmark along the Roman Highway, known as the “Way of the Seas.” As did Peter, James and John, we too desire to experience a “Mountaintop Experience,” a moment—or more—of spiritual awareness of God’s presence that is more often than not beyond words of explanation. Yet, we need the valley to contemplate, to reflect, to assess if you will, the content of what we have experienced; and how to focus that ‘mountaintop experience’ into our everyday lives, responsibilities, and relationships. Pope John Paul II, who often exposed himself to God’s grace through various and vigorous outdoor experiences placed the possibility forthright: “The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons. . . .We can pray perfectly when we are out in the mountains or on a lake and we feel at one with nature. Nature speaks for us or rather speaks to us.” 
Author Robert MacFarlane, substantiates Pope John Paul II thoughts within his book Adventures in Reaching The Summit: Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need. . . .More people are discovering a desire for them, and a powerful solace in them. At the bottom of the, mountains, like all wildernesses, challenge our complacent conviction - so easy to lapse into - that the world has been made for humans by humans. Most of us exist for most of the time in worlds which are humanly arranged, themed and controlled. . . .By speaking of greater forces than we can possibly invoke, and by confronting us with greater spans of time than we can possibly envisage, mountains refute our excessive trust in the man-made, [leading us to the Source of Life]. They pose profound questions. . .”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stepping into the second week of Lent, maintaining our personal resolutions, our fasting, times of prayer and charity toward others, the Scripture scholar Walter Brueggemann, gives us food for thought. His profound work of interpreting scripture always bend toward an understanding of God’s presence and Christ’s mercy within the lives of us ‘commoners.’ Seeking to focus on the needs of individuals to grasp such grace and direction within the path of life before us.
“I imagine Lent for you and for me as a great departure from the greedy, anxious antineighborliness. . . .And then an arrival in a new neighborhood, because it is a gift to be simple, it is a gift to be free; it is a gift to come down where we ought to be. . . .The truth is that frightened people will never turn the world, because they use too much energy on protection of self. It is the vocation of the baptized, the known and named and unafraid, to make the world whole: The unafraid are open to the neighbor, while the frightened are defending themselves from the neighbor. The unafraid are generous in the community, while the frightened, in their anxiety, must keep and store and accumulate, to make themselves safe. The unafraid commit acts of compassion and mercy, while the frightened do not notice those in need. The unafraid are committed to justice for the weak and the poor, while the frightened see them only as threats. The unafraid pray in the morning, care through the day, and rejoice at night in thanks and praise. . . .So dear people, each of you: Do not fear! I have called you by name; you are mine!”
“I have come to think that the moment of giving the bread of the eucharist as a gift is the quintessential center of the notion of Sabbath rest in Christian tradition. It is gift! We receive in gratitude. . . .We are on the receiving end, without accomplishment, achievement, or qualification. It is a gift, and we are grateful! That moment of gift is a peaceable alternative that many who are “weary and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care” receive gladly.”
God Bless, Fr. Tim
FYI: “Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!” (Ingrid Bergman, actress)