Daily Retreat 08/01/07
2007 Aug 1 Wed: Alphonsus Liguori, bp, rf, dr M
Ex 34: 29-35/ Ps 98(99): 5. 6. 7. 9/ Mt 13: 44-46
From today’s readings: “As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD.... Holy is the Lord our God.... The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field....”
Unveiling Revelation
After spending time talking and listening to God (which is also known as “praying”), Moses descends from Mount Sinai to the Israelites in order to share with them the fruits of his divine encounter. Moses was not aware that his face had become radiant in reflecting God’s glory - this miracle was to show that, the more that we, God’s children, unite ourselves with Him and grow in our knowledge of Him, the more we actually become like Him.
But Moses had to veil this radiance, for it was too awesome for the rest of the people to long endure. In the third chapter of his second letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul remarks how Christ wholly “unveils” God’s glory to present us with the fullness of revelation. However, as St. Paul goes on to point out, there are those who shrink from that awesome fullness of revelation, and are content with merely a veiled version of God’s plan of salvation.
While explicitly affirming that even a veiled version of divine revelation is in itself an awesome blessing, Paul’s point, of course, is that the fullness of revelation is immensely superior to a partial unveiling. The desire to welcome the fullness of revelation, though, demands the fullness of personal commitment - are you ready to reach for that, or are you content with just the veiled version?
Ex 34: 29-35/ Ps 98(99): 5. 6. 7. 9/ Mt 13: 44-46
From today’s readings: “As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD.... Holy is the Lord our God.... The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field....”
Unveiling Revelation
After spending time talking and listening to God (which is also known as “praying”), Moses descends from Mount Sinai to the Israelites in order to share with them the fruits of his divine encounter. Moses was not aware that his face had become radiant in reflecting God’s glory - this miracle was to show that, the more that we, God’s children, unite ourselves with Him and grow in our knowledge of Him, the more we actually become like Him.
But Moses had to veil this radiance, for it was too awesome for the rest of the people to long endure. In the third chapter of his second letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul remarks how Christ wholly “unveils” God’s glory to present us with the fullness of revelation. However, as St. Paul goes on to point out, there are those who shrink from that awesome fullness of revelation, and are content with merely a veiled version of God’s plan of salvation.
While explicitly affirming that even a veiled version of divine revelation is in itself an awesome blessing, Paul’s point, of course, is that the fullness of revelation is immensely superior to a partial unveiling. The desire to welcome the fullness of revelation, though, demands the fullness of personal commitment - are you ready to reach for that, or are you content with just the veiled version?
posted by FrPitstick | 7/31/2007
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