To me, a 30-day retreat in the mountain changed my life forever. After the college seminary, all possible graduate seminarians went up the mountain where our Catholic ancestors lived, escaping from the severe persecution, and died and buried when government officials raided to execute them. In the mountain, I started the 30-day silent retreat. It required one-hour lecture in the morning, and one-hour one to one spiritual direction along with five-hour personal mediation everyday. Like many of us, I was afraid I could follow the prayer schedule and be silent day after day. But soon I found myself fully enjoying praying and being in total silence. During the meal, we ate together, listening to the meditative music in silence. One day, a psalm was sung in the music; it touched my heart deeply. It was the psalm 121.
“I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
God will not allow your foot to slip; your guardian does not sleep.
Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers and sleeps.
The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will guard you from all evil, will always guard your life.
The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever.”
I raised my eyes toward the mountains and realized I was in the holy place where I became a little child in the bosom of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It was my honeymoon with the Lord.
Last summer, I went to Nicaragua to visit Fair Trade Coffee Plantation as a member of Catholic Relief Services’ Global Fellows. In the second city called Esteli, we visited several farms with local Caritas members. We stayed at the place called “Selva Negra” which means “Black Forest” located in the high mountain. It was intact because German immigrants developed the mountain as a rainforest. Once we were led to the forest we heard a thundering roar. It was Howler monkeys, small and invisible but the tremendous sounds scared me. On that night, I suggested the group to hike to the top of the mountain early in the morning. The following day, when I showed up, overcoming the temptation of the first sleep-in after the long journey, no one was there. I started climbing the rainforest by myself. Such a distinctive smell, the howler monkeys’ roaring, thick mists and muddy trails were perfect for me to believe that I was in the special mountain. It took long to get to the top because there were no marked trails. I fell down couple of times and became muddy. When I finally made the top, it was so quiet and peaceful and I knew I was in clouds. I saw many exotic plants that I had never seen, walking along the ridges of the mountain. And I found a big rock, so I sat down for rest. Suddenly the clouds moved away; the scenery was cleared. Oh, how beautiful is the city under the sun! The cathedral of the city was visible and everything was so peaceful. And it was the time that I heard the voice from my heart, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” And then I realized it was August 6th, the feast of Transfiguration for which I read the same Gospel we heard today.
After staying and hearing the voice of God on the rainforest mountain in Nicaragua, on the feast of Transfiguration, I’ve become to love more the mountain where I have been transformed.
Jesus says, “A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden…Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matt 5:15-16). When I first drove to St. Anthony, I was so glad to see the parish sits on the top of the hill. I believed that I could be transformed again at St. Anthony where people could encounter God. Now we are celebrating our fifty-year presence as a faith community since 1959. It is important for us to remember that we are to be transformed in this holy place on the hill Sunday after Sunday; people will see how our good deeds glorify God. When Abraham walked up the mountain to offer Isaac up, when Jesus and his disciples went up the mountain, they were invited to experience the amazing presence of God and there on the mountain they were transformed. After the transfiguration, they were never to be the same again, coming down from the mountain, like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jesus and his disciples and me.
What about you?