Transfiguration

One of the most memorable characters in the
great Spanish novel “Man of La Mancha” by Cervantes was
the prostitute Aldonza. Before encountering Don Quixote, she
was a woman of the street and the object of scorn. However,
because of Don Quixote’s love and care for her, she became a
person transfigured. Aldonza the worthless and ignoble
became Dulcinea, that is, the Sweet One.
Ever responsive to his love, and true to the name that Don
Quixote had bestowed on her, Aldonza, who had become
Dulcinea, remained with him until his death. In the final scene
of the play, as the old knight breathes his last, Aldonza begins
to sing “The Impossible Dream.”
In a true sense, this song had become Aldonza’s “theme
song” because Quixote’s love had made the impossible truly
possible. What had only seemed like a dream had become her
reality. As she concludes, however, someone calls out to her,
“Aldonza!” Her response comes quickly, full of dignity and
pride, “My name is Dulcinea!”
This Sunday’s Feast of the Transfiguration, with its
opportunity to look upon the transfigured face of Jesus Christ,
reminds us that each of us can also look at the transfigured
Aldonza and recognize therein a reflection of our own
personal experience. Moreover, the mystery that we celebrate
also reminds us that each transfigured and graced believer has
the power and the responsibility to afford this same experience
to others!
Just imagine that everyone you meet today and every day
– the sad, the lonely, the discouraged, the needy, the homeless,
the hungry, the thirsty, the lost and the unloved – can be
thought of as a candidate for transfiguration! Will you be the
one through whom God will afford them the grace of
transfiguration? Or is theirs simply an unattainable and
impossible dream? Think about it!!