Remaining Happy

In the Gospel this weekend, we hear about the Transfiguration. I have always found Peter’s words to be fruitful to reflect on because of his desire to remain in the presence of the Transfigured Christ, Moses, and Elijah.

It reminds me of the very human desire to pause time when things are going well in our lives. We all probably have moments when things are peaceful, we are happy, and we feel like we are being flooded with God’s grace.

When I have those moments, I wish that I could remain in them forever! However, the Fall has guaranteed that we will not on this side of Heaven. To try and preserve these moments will ultimately fail and we will be disappointed.

There will be good times and bad times, and that is perfectly OK. It is important to remember that if the moment has passed, it does not mean that God does not love you anymore or that you are necessarily doing something wrong. I think it can be tempting to think that because we do not feel good that something must be wrong or amiss in our relationship with Christ. Sometimes we feel bad because we have sinned in some way, but this is not always the case. Sometimes it is simply the result of our fallen world.

This week consider praying with St. Peter and what it was like for him to be in that moment with Christ and then return to daily life.