Today’s readings take us into the realm of signs, symbols, promise, and revelation. Take a moment to think about the strongest sign of God’s presence in your life and the greatest symbol of your faith.

If you were waiting for a sign from heaven to confirm that God was on your side, what exactly would you be looking for? And where would you go to look for it? Ancient people knew, or thought they knew, what a sign from heaven looked like. For one thing, it came from the general direction of heaven, which was up.

Jesus climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him.

Two of my best friends, husband and wife Mike and Melissa, are accomplished journalists. We met in our 20s when the three of us were reporters at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

There’s a moment in the movie Stand by Me when the young hero, Gordie, is bestowed a gift from nature. He and his pals are on an adventure of the type that young boys are drawn to—following railroad tracks out of town and into the wilderness. When they stop to camp out they each take a “watch” during the night, keeping an eye out for dangers that might come their way.

It was no surprise who won the award of excellence. Year after year for nearly 15 consecutive, he was top in his field. With a new panel of judges every year no one suspected favoritism.

We ask for forgiveness in this year of mercy from our merciful, forgiving God.

“Faith is a light of such supreme brilliance that it dazzles the mind and darkens all its visions of other realities, but in the end . . . we gain a new view of all reality transfigured and elevated in the light itself.”