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The voice in the cloud repeats, almost verbatim, the words Jesus first heard from the heavens at his baptism: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Parents, take note—do not hesitate to repeat this message to your children! The human heart cries out for just this.
Human cultures offer many ways of grounding our identity. Some of these are healthy and necessary; others are exploitative and manipulative. Ideologies that limit our understanding of the human person to the delineation of certain arbitrary characteristics, sow confusion and turn us against one another. But even the noble impulses of human culture are relativized by the good news of God’s fatherly love for each of us in Jesus Christ. Peter’s instincts on the mountain, to preserve the experience, weren’t bad. But the voice from the cloud did not even let him finish his thought. Parents, never underestimate the transfiguring power of your words of love and affirmation. Ground your children’s identity in the love of God.