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The end at which the Church aims in the liturgy of
this Sunday is to strengthen her children to CONTINUE
IN THE WAY OF PENANCE into which she led them in
the first week of Lent. For this reason she insists on
the necessity of sanctifying our souls and of confidence
in Jesus Christ. We find the necessity of sanctif3 ing
our souls pointed out to us in the Epistle for this Sunday.
Saint Paul s exhortation to the Thessalonians is ad
dressed equally to all of us. We must please God, walk
always in His presence, and in this way labour each
day to make ourselves perfect and, consequently, strive
to suppress our evil inclinations. The Gospel for this
Sunday teaches us to place all our trust in Jesus Christ,
because He is truly God, and that if He has humbled
Himself even unto suffering and death for us, it is because
He would vivify our penance and render it fruitful.
The mystery of the TRANSFIGURATION, which is put before
us in this day s Gospel, allows us, for one moment, to
catch a glimpse of the divinity and glory of Jesus Christ,
and thus fortifies us against discouragement and fail
ure. This mystery also sustains us in the practice of
penance, for as our divine Lord, before attaining to
the manifestation of His glory, humbled Himself and
endured suffering, so Christians who are His disciples,
must imitate His fasting and His mortifications, before
they can attain to the joys of Easter.
In the Prayers of the Mass for this Sunday, the Church
prays, in our name, that we may be strengthened and
protected against our own weakness (COLLECT) ; that
we may advance by immolation and sacrifice (SECRET),
and may obtain the grace to be more faithful in the ser
vice of God (POSTCOMMUNION). The sung parts of the
Mass suggest to us reflections, analogous to those already
pointed out in the MASS FOR THE WEDNESDAY of the