L’ICONDUCTED ON THE MOUNTAIN NEAR CHRIST

The Icon of the Transfiguration, recently affixed in our Chapel, was made by the Sisters of Jesus, of the Hermitage of the Oaks, Calabria, and donated to our Community on the occasion of the Centenary of the Generalate House. The title of the welcoming activity CASA TABOR, was a reminder and a
motif of the writing of the Icon that I now present. It enriches and completes the message that describes the Charism and Mission of the Congregation, expressed in the Icon of the Mink of the Two Mountains by
Venerable Mother Frances Streitel, an Icon made by the same Iconographic workshop and blessed on February 16, 2020.

Christ transfigured on Mount Tabor

Let us remember the mystery of the Transfiguration. It is first and foremost:

• Manifestation of the divinity of Christ Jesus, beloved Son of the Father and testimony for us who believe. He who sees the Son sees the Father. What we contemplate is the shining light of the incarnation on which our faith and our specific vocation is based
• One of the most mysterious and significant events in which Jesus is protagonist before two witnesses, Moses, representative of the Law of Israel, and Elijah, the prophet par excellence. These characters appear in an evocative vision, conversing with each other.
• It is an event of communion fulfilled through Christ between Old and New Covenant (Moses, Elijah and the three disciples), between man and all creation (the mountain).
• It is light that shines intensely in Christ and radiates all around.

The iconography of the Transfiguration since the 12th century confirms the importance of the mystery. And it is interesting to know that the “icon writer” painted the Transfiguration as the first icon because at the foundation of the icon is an experience of light, and the task of the icon is to reflect the light of Tabor.” The whole icon of the Transfiguration is light, there is no shadow, the light, however, is not produced by the usual light sources, but by the dazzling presence of Christ. Through light Christ manifests the splendor of divine Glory before the severe trial of the Cross. From the beginning, the iconographic scheme reproduces the central moment of the Transfiguration. The two side groups show, respectively, the ascent and descent from Tabor, while in the upper area Christ stands between Moses and Elijah, the great Old Testament seers who, on Sinai and Mount Carmel, had a vision of God, while the disciples stunned by the vision fall to the ground at their feet.

The Icon “Led to the Mount, Close to Christ”

Let us approach the image and, contemplate the mystery, trying to grasp its meaning.

At the center of the icon, blazing with light, is Christ. His robes are the white robes of the Resurrection. The blazing white of Jesus’ robes is symbolic of His divinity, of His being perfectly pure and therefore divinely incorruptible. But the beauty of the Son of God is already marked by the mark of the Passion, an open argument between Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Jesus holds the scroll of HISTORY, even of our History, and He blesses us. He enters powerfully into our lives, sets his dwelling among us and says well of us, has only words of eternal life … Above, to the right of Jesus, the prophet Elijah is represented and to the left Moses, the one who speaks face to face with God. Both are bent over, leaning out in reverence toward the Lord. The curves traced by their bodies express reverence, docility and service. The light emanating from Christ and the Father’s voice reach Peter, James and John and cause in them a profound reaction, bewilderment, astonishment that, contrast with the solemnity of the Transfigured One. In this Icon is expressed the growing dynamism with which already since the 12th century, the mystery of the Transfiguration of the Lord has been represented. This growing dynamism is expressed in our Icon:

• From the dialoguing company of Moses and Elijah with Jesus.
• From the Apostles appearing as if cast down the mountainside.
• By the introduction of other characters moving up and down from Tabor. They represent us all and attest that we are given to be in the Church to recognize in it and through it, the signs of God’s glory along the journey of life.
• From the presence of religious men and women who invited by Jesus ascend and descend the holy mountain. Among them we also glimpse Mother Frances Streitel, our foundress ascending and descending the mountain. This is a very striking detail, to be read in synopsis with the Icon of the “Vision of the Two Mountains.” In fact, the message of the one presses upon the other, indeed it is the unfolding and fulfillment of the mission entrusted by the Spirit to Mother Frances, and we can summarize it in her own words, “God led me to Rome to fulfill the divine plan for this our time, that of uniting the active life with the contemplative life” (Letter to Fr. Jordan July 29, 1883). That is, to ascend and descend, in the one agile movement of love, from prayer to industrious charity, from the service of God to the service of her brothers and sisters.

So we too are invited to find our place in the setting of the Icon, along with the disciples and the group of people going up and down the holy mountain, Tabor, invited and sent by Jesus. Let us also stretch out our ears to hear the word of the Father bouncing from the Icon to our hearts: LISTEN!