Second Sunday of Lent

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. – 2 Timothy 1:8

       I’ve been serving as a volunteer catechist in public elementary and high schools for the past seven years. I was 53 when I started. With an average of 40 mostly noisy and unruly students in a room, it’s challenging and tiring. I have taught up to 16 sections in one school year. But it has stretched my vocal cords that when I once served as lector during a brownout, the person seated near the back of the church could still hear me proclaim the Word of God without a microphone.

       A big consolation I get from the school children, especially the little ones, is when they cluster around me as I enter their room. Their smiles, waves and greetings every time they see me outside the school, in the marketplace or on the streets are rewards.

       At the end of each day, after spending a lot of energy teaching, I hear Mass and say, “Thank You, Lord, for the grace and strength. I made it through this day. I could not have done this on my own if not for Your grace.” Bella Estrella (blestrella@gmail.com)

Reflection:Do you commit to continue serving God and others despite hardships and trials?

Father, shower me with the graces and strength I need so that I can rise above any difficulty in serving You. To whom shall I go? You have the words of everlasting life.

Blessed Angela Salawa, pray for us.

Let us examine the last line in today’s reading – Abram went as the Lord directed him. It is from this obedience that the rest of the story flows. Abram’s obedience allows him to enter into the blessings promised by God. The blessings are God’s gift to him and to us who follow his example.

1 The Lord said to Abram: “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. 2 “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.” 4 Abram went as the Lord directed him.

R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

4 Upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy. 5 He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. (R) 18 See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. (R) 20 Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. 22 May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you. (R)

St. Paul reminds us that the work of holiness is God’s. The transforming power comes from God and not from us. Our challenge is to receive the grace of God and allow it to change us for the better. Without Him, we are helpless in the face of sin and temptation. With Him, everything is possible.

8 Beloved: Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. 9 He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

The Transfiguration reminds us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenants. He also ushers in the new covenant in the presence of the three Apostles. It is impossible to fully understand the new without considering the old. Jesus, who links the old and the new perfectly, becomes the key for understanding both. think: Are you ready to see Jesus face to face? What will you say to Him when the time comes?

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

1 Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 8 And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Read the Bible in one year Revelation 15-18

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

A VIEW FROM THE MOUNTAIN

I’ll never forget when I climbed Mount Sinai with a pilgrim group. Three hours up and up, but nothing except stones and rocks around us. The last part was exceptionally steep. But then, once on top of the mountain, all effort and pains were forgotten. The sunrise and the splendid view were more than one can expect as a reward. On top of a mountain, you get a wider perspective. Your eyes roam far away to the horizon.

       Jesus had spoken about His approaching suffering and death. And so worries, anxieties and doubts troubled His disciples. They must have asked themselves nagging questions, such as, “If He is the Messiah, why can He not do something to avoid it? And what about us? Will we, His disciples, also be arrested and put to death? Is He really the Messiah?”

       Instead of giving a lecture, Jesus took three of His closest disciples up a high mountain to widen their perspective. There, His appearance changed. The glory of His divinity suddenly became visible, shining through His humanity.

       How often do we experience the absurdities of life and we ask, “Where is God?” Are we not scared of what is going on around us? Hardship, worry, anxiety, doubt? We, too, experience all that the disciples experienced before Jesus took them up the mountain.

       All it takes is a little glimpse of heaven to empower us to take up our daily crosses, knowing that the cross of Lent is followed by the light of Easter.

       And so we are invited today to join the three Apostles up on that mountain in prayer and be reminded that sufferings, disappointments, fears and anxieties are not the end of our journey through life.

       Yes, we need to go up the mountain of prayer and ask God to open our eyes that we may see. Then we find the courage to accept the apparently meaningless suffering of this life, knowing that through it all, God is on our side and leads us to a beautiful future. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

Do you make your prayer time a “mountain experience” to look beyond the present

problems?

Lord, as You prayed with Your anxious friends on a mountain to give them a wider spiritual horizon, help me to transform my prayer times into such moments with You. Amen.