Listen to Him

"The radiance of the transfiguration reveals clearly and unmistakably the one who had been promised by signs foretelling him under the veils of mystery.

"As Saint John says:


The law was given through Moses,
grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ.

"In Him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law.

"He is the one who teaches the truth of the prophecy through His Presence, and makes obedience to the commandments possible through Grace.

"In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith.

"No one should be ashamed of the Cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.

"No one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice; no one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised.

"The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death.

"Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature.

"If then we are steadfast in our faith in him and in our love for him, we win the victory that he has won, we receive what he has promised.

"When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears:

This is my Son,

the beloved,

in whom I am well pleased;

listen to him.

from a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
in today's Office of the Readings