Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 03-17-19, Second Sunday of Lent

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-17-19 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

March 17 2019

Second Sunday of Lent

Reading 1 Gn 15:5-12, 17-18

The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him,
"I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession."
"O Lord GOD," he asked,
"how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
He answered him,
"Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: "To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14.

R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Reading 2 Phil 3:17—4:1

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their "shame."
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord.

or Phil 3:20—4:1

Brothers and sisters:
Our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.

Verse Before the Gospel Cf. Mt 17:5

From the shining cloud the Father's voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.

Gospel Lk 9:28b-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
"Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.

[Salvation]

St. Michael the Archangel

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

[Salvation]

March Devotion: Saint Joseph

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Due to the solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, this month is devoted to this great saint, the foster father of Christ. "It greatly behooves Christians, while honoring the Virgin Mother of God, constantly to invoke with deep piety and confidence her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph. We have a well grounded conviction that such is the special desire of the Blessed Virgin herself." --Pope Leo XIII

FOR OUR WORK
Glorious Saint Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to toil in the spirit of penance, in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to toil conscientiously, putting devotion to duty before my own inclinations; to labor with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop, by my labor, the gifts I have received from Almighty God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill-spent, of talents unemployed, of good undone, and of my empty pride in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of thee, 0 Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.

FOR THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOSEPH
O Joseph, virgin-father of Jesus, most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray every day for us to the same Jesus, the Son of God, that we, being defended by the power of His grace and striving dutifully in life, may be crowned by Him at the hour of death.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

St. Joseph
St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, "Foster-father of Jesus." About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God's greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.

The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah's virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.

Of St. Joseph's death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ's public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult.

At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

St. Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters, and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.

Patron: Against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; California; Belgium; Bohemia; bursars; cabinetmakers; Canada; Carinthia; carpenters; China; Church; confectioners; craftsmen; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) dying people; emigrants; engineers; expectant mothers; families; fathers; Florence, Italy; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants; interior souls; Korea; laborers; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; Peru; pioneers; pregnant women; protection of the Church; Diocese of San Jose, California; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; travelers; Turin Italy; Tyrol Austria; unborn children Universal Church; Vatican II; Viet Nam; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia; wheelwrights; workers; working people.

Symbols: Bible; branch; capenter's square; carpenter's tools; chalice; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; old man holding a lily and a carpenter's tool such as a square; old man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod.

 

 

Prayer to St. Joseph

Pope Pius X composed this prayer to St. Joseph, patron of working people, that expresses concisely the Christian attitude toward labor. It summarizes also for us the lessons of the Holy Family's work at Nazareth.

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who devote their lives to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to work conscientiously, setting devotion to duty in preference to my own whims; to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill spent, of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death, Amen.

Litany of Saint Joseph
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Joseph, pray for us.
Illustrious Son of David, pray for us.
Light of the Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-Father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Faithful Protector of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most courageous, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of working men, pray for us.
Ornament of the domestic life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of the family, pray for us.
Consoler of the miserable, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. He hath made him master of His house.
R. And ruler of all His possessions.

Let us pray.
O God, who in Thy ineffable providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may have him for our intercessor in Heaven, whom on earth we venerate as out most holy Protector. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

Was St. Joseph a tzadik?
St. Joseph: Patron saint of three Popes [Catholic Caucus]
St. Joseph and the Staircase
St. Joseph, Foster Father, Novena [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Patron of a “Happy Death” A Special Role for St. Joseph [Catholic/Orhtodox Caucus]
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph
Catholic Group Blasts Pelosi For Invoking St. Joseph on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
THE SEVEN SORROWS AND SEVEN JOYS OF ST. JOSEPH
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
Season of Announcement - Revelation to Joseph

In hard times, don't forget about the humble carpenter Joseph
Saint Joseph: Complete submission to the will of God (Pope Benedict XVI) (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus
St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Some divine intervention in real estate-[Bury St. Joseph Statues in Ground]

Many Turn To Higher Power For Home Sales
St. Joseph the Worker, Memorial, May 1
Catholic Devotions: St. Joseph the Worker
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
St. Joseph's DAY
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child (Preaching on St. Joseph)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence

St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
St Joseph’s Paternal Love
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph

Novena to Saint Joseph

O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

O Saint Joseph, assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath, Amen.

O Saint Joseph, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. O Saint Joseph, pray for me. (mention your intention)

St. Joseph Novena

O good father Joseph! I beg you,  by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask.

(Here name your petition).

Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

[Salvation]

March, 2019

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Recognition of the Right of Christian Communities: That Christian communities, especially those who are persecuted, feel that they are close to Christ and have their rights respected.

[Salvation]

'Failure to obtain pleasure induces a culpable kind of distress; he who scorns pleasure is free from distress.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Salvation]

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

[Salvation]

Day by Day -- Saints for All, St. Patrick, 03-17-17

[Salvation]

The real Saint Patrick in his own words
The Snakes of St Patrick
Resurrection Miracles Performed by St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland
ST PATRICK, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, APOSTLE OF IRELAND—A.D. 464
St Patrick's Confession (The Words of the Real Patrick)
St. Patrick

St Patrick kicked out of school
St. Patrick
Apostle to the Irish (Who is the REAL St. Patrick ?)
Patrick: Deliverer of the Emerald Isle
Breastplate of St Patrick [Poem/Prayer]
Confessions of St. Patrick (In his own words)
Feast of Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland
St. Patrick(Happy St. Patrick's Day!)
St Patrick's 'day' moved to March 15th (in 2008)
St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer

St. Patrick (Erin Go Bragh!)
History of St. Patrick's Day
Patrick: The Good, the Bad, and the Misinformed
The Lorica of St. Patrick
Orthodox Feast of +Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland
St. Patrick
St. Patrick's Breast Plate
Orthodox Feast of St Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland, March 17
The Lorica of St. Patrick
To Truly Honor Saint Patrick, Bishop and Confessor
Apostle to the Irish: The Real Saint Patrick
St. Patrick
Saint Patrick [Apostle of Ireland]
Was St. Patrick Catholic?....Of Course!! [Happy St. Pat's Day]

[Salvation]

Archbishop Follo: The way of the Cross as the path to Transfiguration.

With the invitation to look at Christ transfigured because “what for the eyes of the body is the sun we see, it is [Christ] for the eyes of the heart”(St Augustin, Sermo 78, 2: PL 38, 490).

March 15, 2019 14:59Francesco FolloSunday Readings

Second Sunday of Lent – Year C- March 17th, 2019

Roman Rite
GN 15:5-12, 17-18; PS 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14; PHIL 3:17—4:1; LK 9:28B-36
The Gospel of the Transfiguration

Ambrosian Rite
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
DT 6a:11, 18-28; Ps 118: GAL 6:1-10; John 4:5-42

1) The way of the cross is transfiguring.

Today’s Gospel traces the Lenten journey, making us climb with Christ on Mount Tabor to participate in his transfiguration by praying. For the Christian, praying is not escaping from reality and from the responsibilities that it entails, but taking them to the end, trusting in the faithful and inexhaustible love of the Lord. For this reason, the verification of the Transfiguration is, in a way that is absurd to us, the “disfigurement” of Jesus during the passion. In his now near passion, Jesus will experience mortal anguish and his face will be disfigured, but He will entrust himself to the will of the Father. In the hours of agony, the Redeemer’s prayer will be a pledge of salvation for all. Christ, in fact, will beg the heavenly Father to “deliver him from the dead” and, as the author of the letter to the Hebrews writes, “was heard for his piety” (5: 7). The Easter of resurrection is proof of this fulfillment.

On the journey to the Easter of Christ and with Christ, the Roman liturgy of the Second Sunday of Lent makes us climb Mount Tabor where Jesus changed in appearance in front of Peter, James, and John. The three apostles received the gift of seeing Jesus “transfigured” in the splendor of his divinity so that they would be able to bear the sight of the Master “disfigured” by the Passion that is the required condition of the Resurrection of the Redeemer whose passionate love recreates and redeems.

However, I think that Jesus did not want only to prepare his disciples to his and their passion. Jesus transfiguration reveals what He already is, the Son of God, in order to indicate one of the main characteristics of the disciple: the ability to listen. God testifies that Christ Jesus is his Son” This is my chosen Son; listen to him” (Lk 9:35-36) Why? Because the disciple that listen to Jesus changes in appearance, the one who listens to Christ becomes like Christ. To listen to Christ is to live of Christ, to live the Son’s life. By listening to the Word our life is transformed into the life of sons and daughters of God. It is essential to listen to him in his Word, guarded in the Sacred Scripture and proposed by the liturgy. In fact, ” The pages of the Bible cease to be writings and become living words, spoken by God. It is God, who through the reader, speaks to us and questions us, we who listen with faith. The Spirit “who has spoken through the prophets” (Creed) and has inspired the sacred authors makes the Word of God that “we hear outwardly have its effect inwardly”. (Pope Francis, 31 January 2018).

In this period of Lent, let’s be devoted to listening to Christ so that we can have a pure heart and a wise mind, and to listening to Him in His Word, which daily is announced and broken in our communities. If we listen to Him, we feed ourselves with a food rich enough to sustain us through the journey toward the Easter of the Resurrected, who is Beauty, Goodness and Truth. Let’s persevere to be “listeners of the Word” and not of chatters and noises. Let’s listen to the Word of God with attention, let’s contemplate it fully, then let’s take it down from the mountain and bring it among men. The disciple takes this Word transfigured by the light that on Christ’s face is like the sun, and on his dresses is white like snow (Mt 17,2). Christianity is the religion of light. The Word who became flesh is the light that illuminates every man and every woman. It is mystic light at Nazareth at the annunciation, light in Bethlehem with angels and the star, light at the Jordan River with the dove of the Spirit, light on Mount Tabor, light at Easter and light of eternity.

• Not three tents but only one.

Choosing the Gospel of the Transfiguration, the Church invites us to restore our fragile and tired faith with the energy of the light. God gives us a foretaste, but we must give Him upfront credit without limits like Abraham who trusted God’s promise bringing into play his own existence.

We are like these three friends of Jesus to whom He gives comfort saying “Be brave, have faith, get up and don’t be afraid, I’ve conquered the world” (John 16, 33).

We, like Peter, are confused (“he did not know what he was saying.”) and full of fear (the three apostles “became frightened”), but let’s listen in silence (“They fell silent”) to the Word of the Father who gives the affectionate command “Listen to Him”.

We, like Peter, can say” “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents,

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Like him, we would like to prolong the peace which comes from the encounter with Christ contemplated in his light.

Saint Peter was fascinated by that vision and, saying “it is good that we are here”, let us grasp the reasons of what is a dimension of the Christian life in this world: meditation. Meditation is not the prayer in which we ask for something from God. Instead, it is the prayer used to admire His wonders, to recognize His greatness and His limitless goodness, to praise Him and to thank Him for what He has given to us and for what he assures He will give us.

Contemplation is the prayer that becomes sight. If we set aside time to contemplate Christ, the Father covers us with His light and this light radiates from us on all the others.

If we want the experience of light to remain in us, we must not plant tents for Christ. We must be tents in which He can stay and transfigure us by being part of his Cross and his Resurrection. “It is necessary namely that you at first to be made associate of the suffering thus after a while you may be able to participate of his glory. There He himself will welcome you and his men into imperishable tents. There truly you will not prepare three tends one for Christ, one for Moses, and one for of Elijah, but only one tent for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and the tent you will prepare is you. Then God will be all things in us all (Cor. 15); when, as we read in Apocalypse, the tent of God will be by men, and they will be (Apoc. 21) his people and he will be God-with them (Apoc. 21. 3)” (Peter the Venerable, Sermon pour la Transfiguration )

[Salvation]

Archdiocese of Washington

Posted on March 16, 2019March 16, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope

The Cross Is a Fruit-Bearing Tree - A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent

The Second Sunday of Lent always features the Transfiguration. The first reason for this is that the trek up Mt. Tabor was one of the stops Jesus made with Peter, James, and John on His final journey to Jerusalem. It is commonly held that He did this to prepare His apostles for the difficult days ahead. There’s a line from an old spiritual that says, “Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down, sometimes I’m almost to the ground … but see what the end shall be.” That is what the Lord is doing here: He is showing us what the end shall be. There is a cross to get through, but there is glory on the other side.

There also seems a purpose in placing this account here in that it helps describe the pattern of the Christian life, which is the Paschal mystery. We are always dying and rising with Christ in repeated cycles as we journey to an eternal Easter (cf 2 Cor4:10). This passage shows the pattern of the cross in the climb, the rising, and in the glory of the mountaintop; then it is back down the mountain again only to climb another one (Golgotha) and through it find another glory (Easter Sunday). Yes, this is the pattern of the Christian life: the Paschal mystery. Let’s look a little closer at three aspects of today’s Gospel passage.

The Purpose of Trials – Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.

We often pass over the fact that they had to climb the mountain, no easy task. Anyone who has been to Mt. Tabor knows just what a high mountain it is. The climb to the top is almost 2000 feet and steep as well. It would have taken the better part of a day and probably had its dangers. Looking down from the top is like looking from an airplane window out on the Jezreel Valley (a.k.a. Megiddo or Armageddon).

So, here is a symbol of the cross and of struggle. The climb was up the rough side of the mountain; it was exhausting, difficult, and tested their strength.

I have it on the best of authority that as they climbed they were singing gospel songs like these: “I’m comin’ up on the rough side of the mountain, and I’m doin’ my best to carry on!” and “My soul looks back and wonders how I got over!” and “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder; every round goes higher, higher.”

This climb is like our life. We have often had to climb, to endure, to have our strength tested. Perhaps it was the climb of earning a college degree. Maybe it was the climb of raising children or building a career. What do you have that you really value that did not come at the price of a steep climb, of effort, of struggle?

Most of us know that though the climb is difficult there is glory at the top if we but persevere. Life’s difficulties are often the prelude to success and greater strength.

Though we might wish that life had no struggles, the Lord intends a climb for us, for only the cross leads to true glory. Where would we be without some of the crosses in our life? Let’s ponder some of the purposes of problems in our life.

God uses problems to DIRECT us. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in new directions and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways. Proverbs 20:30 says, Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inner most being. An old gospel song speaks of the need for suffering to keep us focused on God: “Now the way may not be too easy, but you never said it would be. ’Cause when our way gets a little too easy, you know we tend to stray from thee.” It’s sad but true: God sometimes needs to use problems to direct our steps toward Him.

God uses problems to INSPECT us. People are like tea bags: if you want to know what’s inside them, just put ’em in hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? Our problems have a way of helping to see what we’re really made of. Through trials, I have discovered many strengths I never knew I had. There is a test in every testimony. Trials have a way of purifying and strengthening our faith as well as inspecting it to see whether it is genuine. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure (1 Peter 1:6).

God uses problems to CORRECT us. Some lessons we seem to learn only through pain and failure. When you were a child your parents told you not to touch the hot stove, but you probably really learned by getting burned. Sometimes we only realize the value of something (e.g., health, a relationship) by losing it. Scripture says, It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees (Psalm 119:71-72), Before I was afflicted, I strayed. But now I keep you word (Psalm 119:67).

God uses problems to PROTECT us. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. A man was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem for him and his family, but it saved him from being sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were discovered. In Genesis, Joseph says to his brothers, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20).

God uses problems to PERFECT us. Problems, when responded to correctly, are character-building. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Scripture says, We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady (Romans 5:3), and You are being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return (1 Peter 1:7).

So, the climb symbolizes the cross, but after the cross comes the glory.

The Productiveness of Trials – While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

All the climbing has been worth it. Now comes the fruit of all that hard work! The Lord gives them a glimpse of glory. They get to see the glory that Jesus has always had with the Father. He is dazzlingly bright. A similar vision from the Book of Revelation gives us more detail:

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars … His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Rev 1:12-17).

Yes, all the climbing has paid off. Now comes the glory, the life, the reward for endurance and struggle. Are you enjoying any of the fruits of your crosses now? If we have carried our crosses in faith, they have made us stronger and more confident. Some of us have discovered gifts, abilities, and endurance we never knew we had. Our crosses have brought us life!

The other night I went over to the church and played the pipe organ. It was most enjoyable, but it was the fruit of years of hard work.

Not only have my own crosses brought me life, but the crosses of others have done the same for me. I live and work in buildings that others scrimped, saved, labored to be able to erect. I have a faith that martyrs died to hand on to me and that missionaries journeyed long distances to proclaim. See, trials do produce!

St. Paul says that this momentary affliction is producing for us a weight of glory beyond all compare (2 Cor 4:14). In Romans he says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18).

An old gospel song says, “By and by, when the morning comes, and all the saints of God are gathered home, we’ll tell the story of how we’ve overcome. And we’ll understand it better, by and by.”

So, the glory comes after the climb. This is the life that comes from the cross. This is the Paschal mystery: Always carrying about in ourselves the dying of Christ so also that the life of Christ may be manifest in us (2 Cor 4:10).

The Pattern of Trials – After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

Notice that although Peter wants to stay, Jesus makes it clear that they must go down the mountain and then walk a very dark valley to another hill: Golgotha. For now, the pattern must repeat. The cross has led to glory, but more crosses are needed before final glory. An old spiritual says, “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder … every round goes higher, higher, soldiers of the cross!”

Yes, this is our life: Always carrying about in ourselves the dying of Christ so also that the life of Christ may be manifest in us (2 Cor 4:10).

There are difficult days ahead for Jesus and the apostles, but the crosses lead to a final and lasting glory. This is our life, too: the Paschal mystery, the pattern and rhythm of our life.

Here is a rendition of the song “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder.” The lyrics say that “every round goes higher, higher.” One can picture a spiral staircase as each round is pitched higher and higher musically. This is the pattern of our life: we die with Christ so as to live with Him, and each time we come back around to the cross or glory, we are one round higher and one level closer to final glory.

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Video

[Salvation]

Sunday Gospel Reflections

2nd Sunday of Lent
Reading I: Genesis 15:5-12,17-18 II: Philippians 3:17-4:1

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Gospel
Luke 9:28-36

²⁸ Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white.
³⁰ And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli'jah,
³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.
³² Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah" --not knowing what he said.
³⁴ As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
³⁵ And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"
³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

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Interesting Details

• (v.28) Luke tightly connects the transfiguration to Jesus' teaching in the previous verses 23-27. The event occurs several days after Jesus "said these words:" "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me ... For whoever would save his life will lose it."
• (v.28) Jesus begins His ministry with a prayer and ends his ministry with a prayer. Jesus prays while performing miracles. He teaches his disciples to pray. The transfiguration occurs as a prayer experience. As Jesus teaches in 11:13, the Holy Spirit is given in response to prayer.
• (v.29) White garments are symbols of joy and celebration. The angels who appear at the resurrection (and later in the ascension) wear dazzling, white clothes.
• (v.30) Moses and Elijah are 2 figures from the Old Testament. Moses was the giver of God's Law, and Elijah was the great prophet through whom God spoke to his people. Their appearance is a sign that the road which Jesus is taking is a fulfillment of the law and the prophets, i.e., a fulfillment of God's will.
• (v.31) Moses and Elijah talk to Jesus about his "departure," or death in Jerusalem. In the middle of this vision of glory is an image of suffering.
• (v.33) Peter wants to make a tent for Jesus. Peter indeed does not know what he is saying, for "the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands" (Acts 7:48).
• (v.34) Cloud is a symbol of God's presence.
• (v.35) "This is my Son, my Chosen one, listen to him." God reveals who the Son is: the one who returns to God via the cross.

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One Main Point

Listen to Jesus, and follow him. The road to everlasting life must pass through suffering.

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Reflections

1. "Listen to him." In what way am I listening to Jesus? What do I hear? How do I know it's Jesus' voice? What will help me more easily to recognize his voice?
2. When I do not do my will (what I like, what I want), I suffer. Recall the instances that led me to bad consequences because I follow my will (my impulses, job choices, relationship choices, decisions about money, etc.) instead of listening to a wiser person.

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Information: St. Patrick

Feast Day: March 17

Born: between 387 and 390 at Scotland

Died: between 461 and 464 at Saul, County Down, Ireland

Patron of: Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, New York, Boston, Engineers, against snakes

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Lent: March 17th

Second Sunday of Lent

MASS READINGS

March 17, 2019 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who have commanded us to listen to your beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word, that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (2)

• Fall or Winter Sunday Dinner Menu
• Huevos Rancheros

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Activities (1)

• How the Devil Tempts Us

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Prayers (3)

• Prayer for the Second Week of Lent
• Lent Table Blessing 2
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

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Library (1)

• A Revival of Christian Culture Through the Family | Jennifer Gregory Miller

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: Second Sunday of Lent

Between Moses and Elias Jesus shows forth His divine glory, thus foreshadowing His resurrection. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. Today's Mass places before us the transfigured Lord and the model toward Whom we must tend, and our own transfiguration as the goal we must attain. We attain this goal by a profound realization of our sinfulness and need of a Redeemer; by preserving purity of body and soul; by combatting our passions and carnal instincts and observing the commandments and most importantly by participating in the Mass. — Excerpted from Cathedral Daily Missal

The feast of St. Patrick, which is ordinarily celebrated today, is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

Stational Church

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

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Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the book of Genesis 15:5-12; 17-18. God made a Covenant or pact with Abram in which he promised to make Abram the father of a great race to which he would give the land of Canaan as their territory. The faith of Abram is praised because he believed God's promise, I.e. that he would have descendants even though his wife Sarah was barren.

The second reading is from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 3:17; 4:1. In the preceding verses St. Paul has been telling his converts that he has given up all earthly things for the sake of the Christian faith and promise. He admits he is far from perfect but he continues to press forward on the road to heaven.

The Gospel is from St. Luke 9:28-36. It was out of the abundance of his divine love that God gave a glimpse of the future glory of Christ in his risen humanity to the three disciples on that memorable occasion. And with Christ he showed two others of his faithful servants also in glory. He understood the human weakness of the disciples, and foresaw the shock to their faith which the sad scenes of the passion and crucifixion of their beloved Master would be some weeks later. So, to strengthen and forearm them for that sad trial, he gave them a glimpse of the future glory which was to be theirs, too. if they persevered.

It is for this same reason that this all-important event in the life of Christ and of his Apostles has been preserved for us in the Gospels and is put before us today.

Like the Apostles, we. too, believe firmly in God. We. too, are convinced that Christ was sent by God to bring us to heaven. We now have much more convincing proof that Christ was not only the Messiah, an envoy of God, but the very Son of God—something the Apostles did not then understand. But we are still very like them in our human weakness, and in our half-hearted acceptance of God's purpose for and promises to us.

The Apostles had to face the awful test to their faith and trust in God, which the passion and crucifixion of Christ was for them. We now accept with gratitude and realize that Christ "had to suffer and thus enter into his glory." We even understand that the very purpose of Christ's passion was that, in spite of our mortality and weakness, we also might enter into eternal glory through his suffering, on condition that we remain true to our faith.

In our moments of cool, calm reasoning we can see clearly how good God has been to us, how wonderful his love which has arranged for us an eternity of happiness, the perfect fulfillment of every rational human desire. We can also see how little God asks of us during our few short years here, in return for the everlasting happy home he has prepared for us.

But unfortunately we have many moments in life in which cool, calm reasoning does not prevail. We have moments when our vices and not our virtues take charge, moments when we are prepared to sell our eternal heritage in exchange for a mess of earthly pottage. Some of us may already have bartered our heavenly home for some temporal gain or pleasure—but while there is life there is hope. We can still put things right with God.

"Lord, it is good for us to be here"; it is wonderful to be adopted sons of God on the road back to our Father. It is wonderful to be assured that in death this body of ours with its pains and aches, its attraction to earthly things and worse still its propensity to sin, will give place to a glorified body. This glorified body will be free from all pain and corruption and will possess all the human spiritual gifts of intelligence and will to so much greater a degree as will enable us to appreciate and enjoy the eternal happiness in store for us.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

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The Station at Rome is in the church of St. Mary in Dominica, on Monte Celio. Tradition tells us that in this basilica was the diaconicum of which St. Lawrence had charge, and from which he distributed to the poor the alms of the Church.

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Anastasius of Sinai (? – after 700)
monk
Homily on the Transfiguration

"Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory, spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem"

Today, on Mount Tabor, the state of our future life and the Kingdom of joy are mysteriously made manifest. Today, in an unexpected way, the former messengers of the Old and New Covenants have come together on the mountain beside their God as bearers of a paradoxical mystery. Today, on Mount Tabor, is sketched out the mystery of the cross which, through death, gives life. Just as Christ was crucified between two men on Mount Calvary, so he now stands in his divine majesty between Moses and Elijah. And today's feast shows us that other Sinai, that mountain far more precious than Sinai by reason of its wonders and events. With its theophany it far surpasses merely representative and vague divine visions...

Rejoice! O Creator of all that is, Christ our King, Son of God radiant with light, who have transfigured all creation in your image and have recreated it in an even better way... And you, too, rejoice! O image of the heavenly Kingdom, most holy mount of Tabor, surpassing in beauty all other mountains! Mount Golgotha and you, O mount of Olives, sing a hymn together and rejoice; sing with one voice of Christ on Mount Tabor and together chant his praises!

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Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for March 17, 2019:

“Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.” (Gn 15:6). Placing our faith in God is not easy and requires us to relinquish our own wills to His. What is an example of how you trusted God? Talk with your spouse about the peace that accompanied that act of faith.

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The Transfiguration Gives Us Hope

Pastor's Column

2nd Sunday of Lent

March 17, 2019

The account of Jesus' transfiguration in this Sunday's gospel (Luke 9:28-36) gives us a window into another world – both the world that Christ comes from and the world that we are journeying toward, the extraordinary world of the future that is, in fact, our true home. How very strange and wonderful this world of light must have seemed to the disciples. It would have been quite startling to see Jesus transfigured into a being of light. For the first time, the disciples are seeing the Son of God much as he truly is. The message is clear: the sufferings of this life cannot compare to the glory that is to come.

The voice of the Father reminds us that heaven is a place where we will see and hear God face to face. Moses and Elijah also appear. Their presence also helps us to grasp that we will have fellowship with all other human beings of every time and place who have freely chosen God. It is certainly something to look forward to.

There is an old truism that states we cannot arrive at the correct destination if we don’t know where we are going. Life consists of a series of choices that will determine our final destination and rank once we have arrived there. Seen in this light, every moment of our earthly existence takes on a heightened importance. The Transfiguration is a revelation of the truth of God’s existence and of the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ.

St. Theresa of Lisieux once said that, in everything we do, every circumstance, every suffering, every joy, "Let us keep our eyes fixed on heaven, the one true object of our labors." Our goal should always be to get to heaven one day. Life certainly takes on a much greater meaning and clarity when we realize that everything we go through on earth, especially suffering, is ultimately geared toward our happiness in the life to come, no matter how grim it may look at times. We know this through the example of Jesus’ own life, death and resurrection.

Jesus led three of his disciples up Mount Tabor to pray. Whoever they may have thought Jesus was up to this point, they certainly had a different opinion when they came back. Jesus knew that the disciples would suffer intensely in the future, so he gave them hope by showing them where their lives and future ministry were heading. Our Lord wants to give us hope so that during the darker times of our lives, we will remain confident in his guidance.

Father Gary

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Reflections from Scott Hahn

The Glory in Sight: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Second Sunday of Lent

Download Audio File

Transfiguration, Titian, c. 1560

Readings:
Genesis 15:5–12, 17–18
Psalm 27:1, 7–9, 13–14
Philippians 3:17–4:1
Luke 9:28–36

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In today’s Gospel, we go up to the mountain with Peter, John, and James. There we see Jesus “transfigured,” speaking with Moses and Elijah about His “exodus.”

The Greek word “exodus” means “departure.” But the word is chosen deliberately here to stir our remembrance of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt.

By His death and resurrection, Jesus will lead a new Exodus—liberating not only Israel but every race and people; not from bondage to Pharaoh, but from slavery to sin and death. He will lead all mankind, not to the territory promised to Abraham in today’s First Reading, but to the heavenly commonwealth that Paul describes in today’s Epistle.

Moses, the giver of God’s law, and the great prophet Elijah, were the only Old Testament figures to hear the voice and see the glory of God atop a mountain (see Exodus 24:15–18; 1 Kings 19:8–18).

Today’s scene closely resembles God’s revelation to Moses, who also brought along three companions and whose face also shone brilliantly (see Exodus 24:1; 34:29). But when the divine cloud departs in today’s Gospel, Moses and Elijah are gone. Only Jesus remains. He has revealed the glory of the Trinity—the voice of the Father, the glorified Son, and the Spirit in the shining cloud.

Jesus fulfills all that Moses and the prophets had come to teach and show us about God (see Luke 24:27). He is the “chosen One” promised by Isaiah (see Isaiah 42:1; Luke 23:35), the “prophet
like me” that Moses had promised (see Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22–23; 7:37). Far and above that, He is the Son of God (see Psalm 2:7; Luke 3:21–23).

“Listen to Him,” the Voice tells us from the cloud. If, like Abraham, we put our faith in His words, one day we too will be delivered into “the land of the living” that we sing of in today’s Psalm. We will share in His resurrection, as Paul promises, our lowly bodies glorified like His.

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Regnum Christi

March 17, 2019 – The Father’s Son

17 Mar 2019

Second Sunday of Lent

Luke 9:28b-36

 

About eight days after he said this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to you with great confidence, seeking to bask under your rejuvenating light. During this time of Lent I wish to leave aside the old man and become more like you.

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to encounter you more intimately.

1. Following the Master: The apostles Peter, James and John felt privileged that day. The Master has chosen them alone to accompany him up Mt. Tabor. The farther up the mountain they go, the more their attention is centered on Christ. They have already forgotten about the other apostles. They wonder when the Lord will stop, where he is taking them, what is the purpose of their journey. They do not understand, but they have learned to trust him and have followed him ever since he called them. He has always shown himself to be true, and so Peter, James and John stand firmly in their trust in him. This is a great lesson for us, too. We need to learn to follow Christ wherever he leads us. Although at times the going is tough and obstacles seem to be everywhere barring our path, like Peter, James and John we know for certain that the Lord is with us.

2. The Master’s Light: They reach the summit of the mountain. The Lord begins to pray. The apostles are tired out with the climb, and although they try to pray, they soon fall fast asleep. Then the sound of voices invades their sleep, and they feel a bright light on their closed eyes. Waking up, they are overawed at what they see. Before them is the Master in his Glory. At his side stand Moses and Elijah, conversing with him in an unmistakable attitude of respect. He is dazzlingly white, almost too bright for their eyes. It is their Lord and Master. They are filled with the greatest joy. They are overcome by their experience of Christ in his glory. Peter says what comes to his mind—that he wants to remain there always. He has not fully understood, but he has grasped that to be with Christ, to live in the light of the Master, is to live in joy.

3. My Beloved Son: Moses and Elijah appear in glory. They bear witness that their mission, and that of all those sent by God throughout the centuries of Israel’s history, was a preparation for the coming of Christ. They spoke in veiled language, in symbolic language, and though they perceived a Messiah would come, they did not fully know him. They did not know that he would be God’s only Son, born of a woman. Now the veil has been removed. The New Covenant is proclaimed by the Son himself. He speaks to the world as the Son of the Father. And it is the Father who calls on the apostles to listen to his Son, his beloved Son. Let us ask for the grace to listen to Christ. Let us ask for the grace to pick up the Gospel with renewed simplicity, with a generous and open heart, with faith and confidence in God, that we might hear the words of the Son of God.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, you so loved us that you came to show us the way to live our lives in the truth. You, the Eternal Word of the Father, lead us on the path of holiness. Do not let us grow weary, especially when the path is difficult. Give us your strength to stay the course.

Resolution: Today I’ll take up the Gospel and read a passage from it, exercising my faith in it as God’s own word, full of light and truth.

[Salvation]

From Mount Tabor to Calvary

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Appearances can be deceiving. After all, Jesus was just another Galilean. His hands were the rough hands of a workman. People in Nazareth knew his mother. Some even remembered the man they thought was his dad.

Transfiguration

Yet when Jesus went up on Mt. Tabor with his three closest disciples, his appearance changed. The glory of his divinity suddenly became visible, shining through his humanity, dazzling his overwhelmed disciples.

But then two others showed up — Moses and Elijah. Of all the great figures of the Old Testament, why them? The Jews were not abstract but rather very concrete thinkers. When they thought about the first five books of the Bible, “the Law,” or “Torah”, they thought of a person — Moses. When they considered the Bible’s prophetic writings, the greatest prophet came to mind — Elijah. The Law and the Prophets. That was the Jewish way of saying “the Bible.” Moses and Elijah witness to Jesus because all of Scripture witnesses to him.

But what did the three of them talk about? His miracles? His teaching? Neither. They spoke about his “departure” soon to be accomplished in Jerusalem. This is what is predicted and described in a mysterious way all throughout the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, namely his march straight through indescribable suffering and death on his way to resurrected glory.

 

Calvary

One thing that has troubled many people about his passion are his words from the cross “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matt 27:46). Some have even read into this a mistaken theology that Jesus, taking our place, experienced the most terrible consequence of our sin, namely being cut off from communion from the Father, separated from God and his grace. Not a chance. That fact that Jesus bore our sin cannot mean this. He is not a sinner. His communion with the Father and the Spirit can never be interrupted. The cloud overshadowing the disciples there was the same cloud of the Spirit that overshadowed Mary at the annunciation. The voice of the Father resounded forth from it. The Father and the Spirit were with Him on Mt. Tabor. The Father and the Spirit were with Him on Golgotha.

So how do we take Jesus’ words? They are a quote from a psalm. In fact the ancient Jewish practice was to designate a particular psalm not by a number but by its first few words (we still do this with conciliar documents such as “Lumen Gentium”). There is a psalm in fact that begins with this phrase, Psalm 22. Make this psalm part of your meditation on the passion this Lent. In a remarkable way it predicts the mockery that is hurled upon Christ that fateful day, the piercing of his hands and feet by a pack of “dogs” (a uncomplimentary term used in those days to refer to gentiles), the gambling for his clothing, even his eventual deliverance by the God who hears his cry. So Jesus, from the cross, is proclaiming what is manifest in the transfiguration: “all the law and the prophets bear witness to me and to what is happening right now.”

Tabor to Calvary

This is why Jesus came. This is why for ten chapters in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is resolutely making his way towards Jerusalem (Lk 9-19). His teaching and his miracles are remarkable. But if he had not laid down his life for us, if he had not been raised from the dead, we’d still be in our sins. The entire drama of human history finds its center and its meaning in these few tumultuous days.

Some have asked why Mel Gibson’s movie was only about Jesus’ passion, and not the entire life of Christ. This is the reason. Theologically, the page dividing the New and Old Testaments is not the gold-edged one between Malachi and Matthew, but rather the crimson-tinged page of the passion.

And if you’ve see this movie you understand why Peter, James, and John needed the glory of Tabor before enduring the horror of Golgotha.

[Salvation]

Lent & the Light of the Transfiguration

Gayle Somers

At the Transfiguration, God told the apostles: “This is My chosen Son; listen to Him.” Why did they need this Divine exhortation?

Gospel (Read Lk 9:28b-36)

St. Luke tells us about a most extraordinary episode in today’s Gospel. We know it as the Transfiguration, when Jesus was temporarily revealed to Peter, James, and John (and through them, later, to us) in His glory—“dazzling white” light in His face and clothing. His humanity wasn’t blotted out; rather, it was changed in a way the apostles had never seen. In addition, Jesus received a visit from Moses and Elijah, who also appeared in glory. We know from Scripture that Elijah did not die but was assumed into heaven (see 2 Kings 2:11). We also know there was a strong Jewish tradition that Moses, too, was assumed into heaven. See how Josephus, a first century A.D. Jewish historian, wrote about this:

Now as soon as they [Moses, Joshua, Eleazar the high priest, and the seventy elders] were come to the mountain called Abarim, he dismissed the senate; and as he was going to embrace Eleazar and Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, acloud stood over him on the sudden, and he disappearedin a certain valley, although he wrote in the holy books that he died [cf. Deut. 34:6-7], which was done out of fear, lest they should venture to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue, he went to God (Josephus, Antiquities 4.325-26).

How otherworldly for Jesus to receive these visitors! In all the rest of His public ministry, there is nothing quite like this. No wonder Peter was at a loss for words.

 

Why did it happen? First, we might ask if God sent Moses and Elijah, who represent the whole of Israel’s Old Covenant history (the Law and the Prophets) to encourage Jesus in the difficult path that lay ahead for Him. See that they “spoke of His exodus that He was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” The “exodus” wasn’t geographical. Jesus wasn’t going to lead His people out of Judah to a new country. Rather, He was going to pass through a horrific death to the glory of His Resurrection, liberating all people from bondage to sin and death. Did the appearance of Moses and Elijah steady His resolve and stir up His courage?

Then, of course, we wonder about the effect this episode—the glorious bodies, the Voice from heaven—had on the apostles. They were able to see and hear for themselves that Jesus had power and authority far beyond anything they could have imagined. They were going to need this conviction to keep them steady in what lay ahead, too. They would have to watch the Master be arrested, brutalized, and crucified in shame. They needed to know, beyond any question, that His fate in Jerusalem was one He willingly accepted. They would be tempted to think the plan had failed, that the mission of the Messiah had been tragically aborted. They would need to keep that Divine exhortation in their ears: “This is My chosen Son; listen to Him.”

So, at least one of the reasons for the Transfiguration is that it was meant to be a lesson in faith. The apostles at that moment, as it was unfolding, didn’t really need faith. They saw and experienced a glimpse of the life of the world to come. For a fleeting moment, they could see things as they really are. The veil would, of course, return. In Jerusalem, they would see and experience events that would radically call into question what they had seen on the mountain. Where would they take their stand? What would faith require of them?

The apostles passed through their ordeal to discover that Jesus is, indeed, God’s chosen Son, full of glory and power. The death He suffered wasn’t because of failure. It was His victory—for us. The apostles became His eyewitnesses, declaring to us what they saw and knew. We, of course, continually face the same test of faith. When life tempts us to fear that the Messiah’s mission has somehow been thwarted or aborted, either in the world or in our own lives, will we have the faith to believe the witness of the apostles? Will we have an unshakable confidence that Jesus has conquered the world? Will we continue to trust Him when He willingly chooses to cloak His victory in weakness?

Aren’t we thankful the Church gives us the season of Lent to examine ourselves this way?

Possible response: Lord Jesus, please help me retain this vision of Your glory when I am tempted to doubt You.

First Reading (Read Gn 15:5-12, 17-18)

To understand this reading, we benefit from knowing its immediate context. This conversation God had with Abram was prompted by the fact that although Abram had obeyed God and traveled to the land of Canaan on the strength of His promises to build a nation from his descendants, no child had yet been born, and about ten years had passed. Abram’s confidence was beginning to fray.

Instead of giving Abram a timetable of when he could expect the birth of a son, God took him outside for a nature lesson: “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so … shall your descendants be.” Why did God direct Abram’s attention to the night sky? Was it because it is impossible to see the magnificence of the sparkling stars filling it to infinity without also thinking about the power and wisdom that placed them there? If Abram looked at the stars for awhile, maybe even all night, did their existence become visible proof to him that God was perfectly capable of keeping His promise?

Yes, it seems to have worked that way. Abram’s vision of God’s glory that he could see in nature enabled him to believe in the birth of a son—somehow, someday (it took another fifteen years!). He got a lesson in faith that night, and it deeply pleased God: “Abram put his faith in the Lord, Who credited to him as an act of righteousness.” Here, it was natural glory that led to faith; in the Gospel, it was supernatural glory that was meant to lead to faith, too. We can’t miss the point. We are to let what our eyes can see (either our own eyes or the witness from the eyes of others) help us put our faith in God for what we can’t see now.

In Lent, this is just the kind of lesson we need.

Possible response: Heavenly Father, keep my eyes open to the evidence of Your goodness when blindness overtakes me.

Psalm (Read Ps 27:1, 7-9, 13-14)

On a Sunday when our readings call us to faith, what would we want to sing in our responsorial psalm? “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” This psalm is a robust profession of faith when fear tempts us to doubt: “The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom shall I be afraid?” It reminds us to put our trust in what we can’t now see rather than what we can: “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” Sometimes (often, actually), our faith will require us to be patient: “Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.” Can there be a better poem to teach us faith?

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read Phil 3:17-4:1)

St. Paul reminds us that in the midst of this earthly life, living among people whose “minds are occupied with earthly things,” our true “citizenship is in heaven.” We must remember that this temporal existence is not all there is (the lesson Peter, James, and John learned in our Gospel). We are waiting for the same kind of glory into which Moses and Elijah entered. Do we see it now? No, we don’t, except for fleeting glimpses in the lives of the saints. Still, we know that glory exists and that it is our destiny, if we “stand firm in the Lord.”

Faith, which is often so difficult for us now, will have its reward. Will we, with God’s help, persevere?

Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me stand firm in my heavenly citizenship as I make my way on earth through Lent.