We have all experienced “dark moments” in our lives, moments when our life seemed to be abandoned by the light of hope, when we felt so lonely, left out and discouraged by life’s miseries like an inevitable death of a loved one due to an incurable disease, betrayed by our trusted friend, failed to reach our goal because of our failure to pass the board exams, struggling from certain addictions or pinned down by mortal sins. These are just some of life’s “dark moments” that we might have all experienced in one way or another. Such life’s challenges could bring us down and tear our life apart. They could also gravely affect our relationship with God, weaken our faith in Him and could eventually lead us to fall away from Him forever. Yes. Many times we are easily discouraged by all these negativities. We find it hard to cope with all life’s sufferings. Thus, we tend to stop from struggling. We tend to stop from believing that God is always there for us. And yet, no matter how indifferent we become towards Him because of it all, God continues to remind us that He is always there for us for He never abandons us. He is always there to give us hope and strength to persevere. We just have to pause for a while, pray and remember our “Transfiguration experiences” with Him. In our gospel, Peter, James and John experienced the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, giving them a foretaste of his heavenly glory. It was indeed a marvelous sight to behold that Peter, out of amazement, even suggested to make tents for them so that they may stay longer and enjoy more the heavenly bliss. For quite some time, the disciples of Jesus have not yet realized His true power and mission. Jesus was hoping that by giving them a foretaste of his glory they would remain steadfast until the end of their trials. And most importantly, they may realize that His Passion in Calvary is a passageway to His victory, to His everlasting glory! Indeed, Jesus’ intention was not to show off his power but to give them a glimpse of his true nature, of His light that can never be vanquished by the darkness of evil. Jesus is giving them a heavenly experience, a reminder, that will give them hope and strength in times of darkness, the time when he will be persecuted, humiliated and killed on the cross. So that when His Calvary comes, their “transfiguration experience” would become their source of hope and strength, reminding them that God has already conquered sin and even death itself. This is also true for all of us. Just like Jesus, we also have our own Calvary experiences - struggles, problems, difficulties, and challenges in life – that we need all to endure as followers of Christ. It is the way of life of every Christian – the way of the Cross. So there is no reason for us to lose hope. When we start to find our lives to be burdensome, we have to remember that we all have our personal “transfiguration experiences” with Jesus - moments of grace that inspire us and sustain us, the kindness and generosity we experience from one another, the absolution we receive in the Sacrament of Confession, the love we experience from our family and friends and the like; beautiful memories that remind us that our Lord and Savior is ever victorious! Let us beg God to grant us a sharp and grateful memory that we may always remember all our “Transfiguration experiences” with Jesus that we may also persevere until the end. And may He keep us strong and steadfast in Him as we deny ourselves, carry our crosses and follow Jesus faithfully every day of our lives (cf. Luke 9:23), so that one day we may all share with Him the joy of His glorious resurrection! (By ComBibliA