The Parchment Sewn Into Pascal's Coat

On the night of November 23, 1654, Blaise Pascal — mathematician, physicist, one of the sharpest minds in France — sat alone in his room. And for two hours, something broke through. He later scrawled it on a scrap of parchment in trembling, fragmented phrases: "FIRE. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob — not of the philosophers and scholars. Certainty. Joy. Peace. Tears of joy."

He could barely find words. He sewed that parchment into the lining of his coat and carried it secretly for the rest of his life. It was only discovered after his death.

When Peter, James, and John stood on that mountain and watched Jesus blazing with a glory no launderer on earth could produce, Peter fumbled for a response — "Let's build three shelters." It was inadequate, almost comical. But who among us would have done better? When the veil thins and we glimpse something of God's true radiance, our words always fall short.

What matters is what happened next. Pascal came down from his encounter and gave the rest of his life to serving the poor, writing with fire about the God he had met. The disciples came down from that mountain and followed Jesus toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, toward resurrection.

Mountaintop moments are not meant to be monuments. They are meant to be fuel. The voice in the cloud did not say "Stay here and admire." It said, "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him" — and then follow Him back down into the world that needs His light.