“Change may not come today nor tomorrow, but let us begin...”

Today’s gospel challenges us with metamorphosis or transformation, especially during this season of Lent. How? We are encouraged by Jesus to transform our dull and sleepy spiritual life into a dynamic Christian life. Again, how? By cooperating with the grace of God and strengthening the Holy Spirit through prayer, fasting, and sharing our blessings with those in need.

One afternoon, after I had presided over a liturgical celebration, I was approached by a beautiful young lady who said she appreciated what I had shared about the Gospel wherein, as Christians, we are expected to live a simple and holy life that is full of honesty, truthfulness, and integrity. 

The lady said her family was still asking God for the grace to overcome their loneliness and grief after one of their relatives lost in the last national elections despite the majority of their constituents being in favor of their candidate during the electoral campaign.

As I was having a dialogue with the lady, the advocacy of the TNTrio under the able leadership of retired General Eliseo Rio Jr. crossed my mind. And I wondered what happened to the many petitions and motions TNTrio had submitted through their legal counsels? Did the Commission on Elections do something about it, or were those petitions and motions just set aside? Is the Comelec waiting for something before acting on the petitions and motions?

What TNTrio is doing is according to the teachings of Jesus and of the Church regarding justice and peace. I believe that what TNTrio is doing is right and just. It is out of their own inclinations and not influenced by any individual or group. As General Rio said, they don’t care who the President of the Philippines is; what they are after is the truth.

TNTrio’s latest position is to tell the Comelec to declare a failure of elections and to call for special elections on the grounds of the Comelec’s non-action on its own order, allowing TNTrio to open ballot boxes.

If TNTrio was allowed to open ballot boxes in the town of Sto. Tomas, Batangas, for example, the result of the manual counting would have shown a difference between the manual and Smartmatic counts. This would have proven their contention that the May 2022 election was fraudulent from the very beginning. Thus, TNTrio’s call to Comelec to hold special elections within 30 days after declaring a failure of elections. Accordingly, this is the best action to rectify the fraudulent May 2022 elections.

Going back to our reflection on today’s Gospel, the Transfiguration story of Jesus is a revelation of His Heavenly glory, which was superior to Moses and Elijah on the Mountain of Transfiguration, Tabor or Hermon. The primary purpose of Jesus’s Transfiguration was to allow Him to consult His Heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death, and Resurrection. God’s secondary aim was to make Jesus’s chosen disciples aware of His Divine glory so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah and might be strengthened in their time of trial.

A third aim was to give Jesus the conviction that He will continue to be the Son of God, His loving Father, even during His suffering and death. Finally, by describing the theophany of Jesus’s Transfiguration, the Gospel gives us a glimpse of the Heavenly glory awaiting those who do God’s will by putting their trusting Faith in Him.

So therefore, we can say that we are true Christians and followers of Christ only if we take heed of the Gospel message of transformation that we change ourselves, purify our intentions, and serve God, country, and people regardless of our religious and political affiliations.