Donald Hying, bishop of the Diocese of Madison, recently reflected on the feast of the Transfiguration.

“In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke is narrated that powerful, remarkable, glorious moment when Peter, James, and John are taken by Jesus up the slopes of Mount Tabor,” Hying said in an Aug. 6 message on Facebook. “And on top of that mountain, Jesus is transfigured in their sight. So for a few brief moments, they see him in all of his resurrected glory. It’s a key moment in the Gospels.”

The Transfiguration revealed the Second Person of the Trinity, who was typically hidden during Jesus' life on earth; Britannica said. 

In the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, Matthew Chapter 17, describes it like this: "There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. A voice then spoke to the Apostles and said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ The Apostles were frightened, but Jesus told them not to be afraid.” 

Hying explained the importance of the event.

”The Transfiguration for us then is a foretaste of the good things to come—that we, in this life, if we are faithful to the Lord, if we truly live and practice our Catholic faith, if we acknowledge the Lord and His Messiah, and we put our faith in Him, the Lord will save us from sin and lead us into that ultimate glory of Heaven, where we too will be transfigured,” Hying said in his message.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration in 2017, Pope Francis spoke in St. Peter's Square.

"The event of the Lord’s Transfiguration offers us a message of hope — thus shall we be, with Him —: it invites us to encounter Jesus, to be at the service of our brothers and sisters," he said, quoted on Vatican.va. 

“The disciples’ ascent up Mount Tabor leads us to reflect on the importance of disengaging from worldly matters, in order to make a journey toward heaven and to contemplate Jesus,” Francis continued. "It is a matter of being attentive to the careful and prayerful listening of Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, seeking intimate moments of prayer that allow for the docile and joyful welcoming of the Word of God. In this spiritual ascent, in this disengagement from worldly matters, we are called to rediscover the peaceful and regenerative silence of meditating on the Gospel, on the reading of the Bible, which leads to a destination rich in beauty, splendor and joy."