Dear St. Rita Families,
When I lived in Japan after college while in the Navy, I had the opportunity to climb Mount Fuji. It is a beautiful mountain with a lot of meaning in the minds and hearts of the Japanese people. Because of the weather, the mountain is only open to climbers for about two months out of the year, so if you want to do it, you only have a small window. And on occasion, the weather gets in the way of groups or individuals making it to the top of the mountain. So, I was frustrated when, after we had made it to the 8th climbing station and had settled in for a rest (we were planning to summit the mountain to be able to watch the sunrise), the guides told us that we would not be able to finish. It was certainly disappointing, but the saying goes that if you don’t climb Fuji during your time in Japan, you will certainly return! I have returned since then, but I still haven’t climbed Fuji. I have learned, however, is that there is a word that means “halfway up the mountain.” That word is “mediocre”.
This weekend’s Gospel is the Transfiguration, when Our Lord takes Peter, James, and John up another mountain, Mount Tabor. In this context, it is good to remember that the God’s plan for us is to share the glory that Christ reveals to Peter, James, and John in that moment. But in order to do so, we actually have to make it up the mountain. That is strenuous work, and Lent provides us with the opportunity to engage in that work and to advance towards perfect union with God. This work takes a lifetime, and God orchestrates all things in our lives that we might achieve that glory with Him, provided we assent to His will. Each moment is an opportunity for that assent, but the season of Lent in particular.
If we are climbing the Mountain of the Transfiguration (prefigured by Mt. Sinai in the Old Testament), the goal is not to stop halfway. The goal is not to get tired. The goal is not to give up. No one wants to be mediocre. No one wants to live a mediocre life. The glory of the Transfiguration is shown to Peter, James, and John precisely because God knew that they would need that memory and encouragement in the difficult times to come, in particular at that other mountain, Mount Calvary.
What is important at this moment, though, is not to dwell on all the ways in which you feel that you are only halfway up the mountain. What is important in this moment is remember that the same glory that shone forth from Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor lives in you because of your Baptism! In other words, you are not facing the struggles of this world on your own strength. You are not even facing the struggles of Lent on your own strength. Lent is not a moment for you to make yourself holy. Lent is a more privileged time of grace for God to enter more deeply into your life. And God accomplishes the entering, just like He accomplishes the opening of your heart to prepare the way.
In course of climbing this mountain, then, you certainly do have to struggle. But, to paraphrase St. Paul, “It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me” (cf. Gal 2:20). In other words, God is able to accomplish more than we ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “It is you who have accomplished all we have done” (Is 26:12). Therefore, do not be afraid of being mediocre. Of ourselves, we are worse than mediocre – we have and are nothing whatsoever! But, because “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13), I have the strength to love Our Lord, to deny myself, to proclaim the Gospel, and to live a holy life.
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen