The Dancing Sun: A “Transfiguration” Experience

By Edel Diego

The Day. It is March 25, 2011, the Feast of the Annunciation, the day when the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Fiat Mihi Secundum Verbum Tuum paved the way for the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind. On this prodigious day, my prayer group is meeting in a very “high place,” on the 28th floor of a skyscraper standing in the center of the Makati Business District in the Philippines. We are in a conference room, encased in glass curtains along two walls, with an unobstructed view of the azure sky. Not our usual meeting place.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, the Hour of Mercy, as we start our prayer meeting, the afternoon sun is still brilliant, although past the zenith and from to time partly hidden by white clouds. This beautiful sky view reminds me of the first time I beheld the same glorious sight exactly a month earlier, on February 25.

On this same day, there is a big Inter-Faith Rally and Holy Mass with the theme: “Filipinos, Unite! Under God for Life!” to be led by His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, to “reject the RH Bill and say no to the killing of the unborn, corruption, promiscuity, moral degradation and other horrific scenarios. (Full page advertisement, The Philippine Star, March 22, 2011, p. 5). Since I had already set the Special Cenacle weeks before I learned about this rally, I planned to go to the prayer rally and Holy Mass after the Cenacle in Makati. If I may say suggest a simile, a skyscraper today could be seen as a counterpart of the high mountain where Jesus brought Peter, James and John to witness His transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1)

A Religious Experience

It was also between the hours of three and four in the afternoon on February 25 this year, when I was ushered into this same conference room for the contract signing for the use of my “little virtual office.” Instantly, I felt as though I had stepped out of the building to the top of a mountain, embraced by open skies and bathed by sunlight. As I signed the contract, I was awestruck even more when suddenly, broad, long bands of sunrays pierced through the clouds, then reflected on the silvery surface of a body of water appearing like a mirage at a distance. To my surprise, I was told that it is the Manila Bay – visible from this tower in Makati!

The Inspiration and the Promise

On this same day, there is a big Inter-Faith Rally and Holy Mass with the theme: “Filipinos, Unite! Under God for Life!” to be led by His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, to “reject the RH Bill and say no to the killing of the unborn, corruption, promiscuity, moral degradation and other horrific scenarios. (Full page advertisement, The Philippine Star, March 22, 2011, p. 5). Since I had already set the Special Cenacle weeks before I learned about this rally, I planned to go to the prayer rally and Holy Mass after the Cenacle in Makati.

[1]If I may say suggest a simile, a skyscraper today could be seen as a counterpart of the high mountain where Jesus brought Peter, James and John to witness His transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1)

[1]Not a defined physical office, but practically any available office in that business center on an appointed day.

During the Transfiguration of the Lord, Peter said, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” If I were to put into words the inspiration that moved my heart on February 25, after seeing the breathtaking skyview, I believe I could have said: “Lord, this is a great place. Let me and my friends have a prayer meeting here so that they can see Your awesome work of Creation and give glory to You!”

Thus, mesmerized by the refulgent sun rays striking Manila Bay in the horizon, I was inspired to suggest to my prayer group leader the holding of a Special Cenacle on the all-important Feast of the Annunciation. The inspiration was for my prayer group to hold the Cenacle in that same conference room on the 28th floor of the imposing edifice, and between the hours of three and six, so that the group could view the sunset. I told one prayer groupmate that the inspiration came with a strong feeling, a “promise” that the Almighty God will accomplish something awesome on that “powerful” date of the Feast of the Annunciation. I also told her that I was not expecting an extraordinary event… and that even if I do not see anything at all, I was certain that God would accomplish something important in the spiritual plane. Deep inside, the miracle I was expecting was the answer to my prayer for a friend.

The Miracle of the Sun

Now, the day and the hour of the Special Cenacle have come. At three o’clock in the afternoon, our prayer group and guests start our Special Cenacle with a prayer for my little virtual office. As it had been a month earlier, when I first entered that conference room, the sun is still high and shining brightly. We pull down the shades on the glass walls during the prayer meeting to reduce the glare. We conclude by 5:30 PM, and begin partaking of light snacks. At around 5:45 PM, as if on cue, one of my invited friends rises from his seat and walks towards the glass panel facing the sun and Manila Bay. He draws up the shades so that we could all watch the sun as it now begins its descent into the horizon. I shoot two successive pictures of the setting sun, but I quickly realize that without a filter, the sun is too bright for my camera lens. Within seconds, I hear the excited voice of our prayer group leader saying that the sun is moving…actually, it is DANCING! I look up from reviewing the shots in my camera to see the unusual spectacle…

I have never seen the sun dance. True enough, the sun appears to be rotating to the left then to the right (I believe, approximately 30 degrees from the vertical axis in both directions). I see translucent waves emanating from its bottom arc near the horizon (like the ripples on a water surface when a pebble is dropped into a pond, or like a mirage in the desert at noon), as though tremendous amount of heat is being emitted. I feel energized, suffused by so much love as my eyes drink up the wondrous spectacle. I want to hug everyone and to let this love flow out of my heart, afraid it would burst! Eight pairs of eyes are glued on the sun and it is performing prodigies for us! It is “dancing” and at the same time its face is manifesting various hues. Whereas the usual setting sun would be crimson or bright pink in color, this DANCING SUN is white and changing into different colors, one after another, like brushstrokes from an invisible artist’s hand.

Matthew 17:4
It is difficult to explain how the “inspiration” and the “promise” came to me. They did not come in a vision nor in an interior locution. I just felt the promptings of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Right after witnessing the miracle of the sun at the Special Cenacle, this prayer groupmate confirmed to the others that I did make these pronouncements to her weeks before.

The setting sun would usually take only a few seconds to disappear into the horizon, but this celestial prodigy is enrapturing us for more than a minute. I could tell because of the several simultaneous exclamations from the “audience of eight”. Words tumbled out of my lips as I praised and thanked the Heavenly Father for the gift of Creation that is the sun, and for the amazing grace of allowing me to witness such a prodigy as a “dancing sun.”

And then, finally, the sun disappears from view, but within seconds, another spectacle: a translucent pink disc appears above the horizon! I blinked my eyes, making sure that the pink disc was not an “after image” of the sun retained in my eyes after staring at the sunset for a long time. Then, again, I am a “sunset person” – I have watched so many sunsets before. It is only now that I see a pink disc after sunset. Then, I hear my companions say they are seeing the pink disc, too. (Fast forward to four months later, as I am finalizing this sharing, I search the Internet for images of the dancing sun from famous apparitions to compare with what I saw. I find a photograph taken of the dancing sun at Medjugorje in October, 2010 and a video taken in May, 2010, both showing a pink disc similar to what my prayer groupmates and I saw in Makati. With these, I am assured that the pink disc is not a mere “after-image” in my eyes but a part of the miracle we were blessed to see.)

Reflections

How can I begin to describe the thoughts and feelings that flooded my mind, heart and soul in those moments that the sun “transfigured” before my eyes, on the feast of the Annunciation, the Fiat Mihi Secundum Verbum Tuum of the Mother of God? It is not lost on me that the Gospel reading on the Sunday immediately preceding this Friday apparition is that of the Transfiguration of the Lord. No coincidences. I believe that everything happens as God permits…and for a reason, the reason being LOVE in its profoundest, therefore, very often perplexing for us mere humans.

This marvelous happening took place at sunset on the day, the timeframe and in the place given to me in my “inspiration”. I was witnessing the fulfillment of a “promise” that the Almighty God would accomplish something awesome on this very special, prodigious day in the history of our salvation, the Annunciation. I followed the movement of the Holy Spirit in my heart, even as I stretched out beyond my human reason and limitations – a metanoia – to “do what I was told to do.” And this is where it led me and my prayer groupmates: to this MIRACLE OF THE SUN! The “transfiguration” of the sun is, to me, a revelation of the Triune God’s omnipotence,

Matthew 17:1-9 (Gospel on Sunday, March 20, 2011) “Metanoia is the Greek term which is translated as ‘conversion’. ‘Meta’ means ‘beyond’ and ‘Nous’ means ‘mind’... Literally metanoia means ‘to go beyond the mind’ – to transcend one’s narrow mental constructs which include one’s preconditionings, impressions, prejudices, strongly-held opinions and stubborn beliefs.” (Bernardita Dianzon, FSP, Glimpses of Paul and His Message (Pasay City: Paulines Publishing House, 2008) pp. 27-28) While following the inspiration, in my mind, I was heeding the admonition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the servers in the Wedding at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you” which was, of course, followed by the first miracle of Jesus of turning water into wine. (John 2:5)

Matthew 17:1-9 (Gospel on Sunday, March 20, 2011)

“Metanoia is the Greek term which is translated as ‘conversion’. ‘Meta’ means ‘beyond’ and ‘Nous’ means ‘mind’... Literally metanoia means ‘to go beyond the mind’ – to transcend one’s narrow mental constructs which include one’s preconditionings, impressions, prejudices, strongly-held opinions and stubborn beliefs.” (Bernardita Dianzon, FSP, Glimpses of Paul and His Message (Pasay City: Paulines Publishing House, 2008) pp. 27-28)

While following the inspiration, in my mind, I was heeding the admonition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the servers in the Wedding at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you” which was, of course, followed by the first miracle of Jesus of turning water into wine. (John 2:5)

majesty, light, truth, beauty, faithfulness, generosity and incomprehensible LOVE. This is my “transfiguration” experience by which my little faith is being strengthened by my ever-faithful God revealing a tiny speck of His infinite, unknowable nature. I witnessed this miracle not because I am special or deserving, but because I need it for my sanctification…to receive more grace to help me to know, love, adore and serve God more. May the Most Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit always be glorified!

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