S3, E12 - The Transfiguration Decade Meditation

The mission of the Ponder and Magnify Podcast is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. In this episode, listeners are invited to pray with their imaginations through a decade meditation on the Transfiguration of Jesus using Matthew 17: 1-7. May we all be in Heaven together! Praise be to God!

Transcript

Jessica: 0:04

Hello, and welcome to the Ponder and Magnify podcast, where our mission is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the Rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. I am so happy that you are here. In this episode, we'll meditate on the Transfiguration of Jesus as we pray a decade of the Rosary. Before we start, let's pause and reflect on what we're bringing to prayer. What are your joys in this moment? What feels heavy right now? Do you have any fears? What are you desiring? Whom do you wish to pray for? In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jesus, we ask you to speak directly into our circumstances. Mary, thank you for praying with us and for us now. Holy Spirit, please anoint the gift of our imagination so that we might come to encounter Jesus more deeply through it. The fourth luminous mystery is the Transfiguration of Jesus. A reading from the Gospel of Matthew. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise and do not be afraid. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. It was a beautiful, cool morning. Jesus invited me on a morning hike to go pray with him. It was still dark outside. It was earlier than I was used to being up, but Jesus told me he had something special he wanted to show me. The anticipation of what Jesus had in store was thrilling. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Jesus insisted I hike in front of him, so that he could catch me if I misstepped in the dark and fell backwards. When I told him I had no idea where I was going, he assured me he would direct me with his voice the whole time. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Little by little, Jesus and I ascended up the mountain together. The path was at times very hard to make out through the trees, but he directed me with his voice the whole time and kept encouraging me. Finally I could see a clearing up ahead. It was the top of the mountain, and I could see the most beautiful pink, orange, and purple painted sky. I turned back toward Jesus and he nodded at me and smiled and said, Go ahead. I ran to the clearing to take in the most breathtaking sunrise. Oh Jesus, I exclaimed, thank you for this gift. He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder laughing. I have more that I want to give you. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. I turned toward him a bit confused. Then I saw Mary approaching Jesus and I. She put one hand on Jesus' cheek and one hand on my cheek so gently and smiled and said, Good morning, my children. I've been here praying for you both. Her tenderness made me feel instantly loved. Oh Jesus, I exclaimed, Thank you for this gift. He smiled at me and said, I have more that I want to give you. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Jesus invited me to pray with him. When I said yes, he turned and faced me and closed his eyes. I followed suit and closed my eyes. Mary stood behind me with her hand on my shoulder. Jesus called on the Father, offering him praise and referring to him as "our Father." And then there was silence. As I stood there with eyes closed, trying to stay attuned to God's presence, I began to feel a warmth on my skin. As it grew in intensity, my whole body began to warm. I rested in this warmth. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. After some time had passed, I grew curious about the warmth. I opened my eyes, and before me was Jesus, only he looked different. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes were as white as light, with the pink, orange, and purple painted sky behind him. It was breathtaking. Then a voice came from the heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. I stood in utter awe for a few moments, and then I fell into deep fear. I was all of the sudden hyper aware of my powerlessness and unworthiness before Jesus in his radiant glory. Mary, still behind me, whispered in my ear, Do not be afraid, my child. There is no safer place than this. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen. The Holy Spirit came to my aid, flooding me with supernatural courage. At the Spirit's prompting, my heart was compelled to find the face of Jesus beneath all of the light. I squinted to see better and found his gaze. He looked at me with such love in his eyes. So much welled up within me, and yet I couldn't find the words to speak. I didn't know where to even start. Mary whispered in my ear, There is no need to speak, my child. As you look at him, he can see into your heart. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen. There I stood, looking at Jesus, hoping he would just understand. Jesus, in all his luminous glory, started to cry, tears streaming down his face beneath the light. I feared I upset him with my many failings. Mary whispered in my ear, He cries because he sees your pain, my child, and he takes it into his own heart. He longs to take you to himself and heal you. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. There I stood at Jesus' invitation, at the top of the mountain at sunrise. Mary was beside me. I had heard the Father's voice, been flooded with the Holy Spirit, and stood in the gaze of Jesus in his glory, moved to tears out of sheer love for me. And still he spoke to me. I have more I want to give you. Rise and do not be afraid. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Amen. Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O Clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank you, Holy Spirit. What a gift to pray with you. Please, please count on our continued prayers for you, and we ask you humbly to pray for us. May we all be in heaven together one day. Praise be to God.