Easter Greetings Homily

Happy Easter

When the tomb of one of the Ancient Egyptian Kings was opened and the archaeologists went in they discovered a number of sealed pots containing votive offerings. One of these pots was full of grain, wheat grains. The pot of grain had in there undisturbed for 2,500 years. Among the many other things that were of great scientific interest in the tomb, this pot of grain was particularly interesting to agriculturalists. One of them wondered what would happen if, after 2,500 years the grain was planted. He duly planted and watered the grain. And behold after all this time it produced green shots and after the normal period sent forth years containing new grains of wheat.

You couldn't call this a miracle, but to those agriculturalists it seemed like a miracle. They were certainly full of wonder and awe. 2,500 years in the tomb and the wheat grains were still capable of generating new life.  New life always surprises us, it always delights us, it inevitably fills us with hope.

Jesus Christ was in the tomb three days. Three days of desolation and fear for his disciples. Three days of silence, three days being enough time for it to fully sink home that he was dead and that they hadn't imagined those horrific events.

Then reports came in from the women at the tomb, it was empty. Then word of sightings. It gradually began to sink home that he had risen from the dead. And then he appears to them face to face, and all their hopes are realised. A new era has begun for the world. Nothing would ever be the same again.

We are the spiritual sons and daughters of those disciples. We are their spiritual heirs. We are the bearers of the Good News that Christ is risen. But, of course, in order to be believable we need to have encountered the Risen Lord.

In a real way we need to have been where the disciples have been before us. We need to have experienced death and desolation in order to experience the power of the resurrection. We need to have been known those three days in order to fully realise just what Christ has achieved.  There are in all our lives times of desolation and vulnerability. In order to rise with him we need to have been in the tomb with him.

This is what the Church teaches us each year when it takes us by the hand through the events of the Pascal Mystery; the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethesemani, the trial, the judgement, the journey to Golgotha, the death on the cross, the laying in the tomb and the long wait for the resurrection. We do it this way because we are human beings and we only begin to understand something when we have experienced it.

Joke:   Easter is approaching. Father O'Maley checks estimates for the flower decoration of the altar. 

The catholic florist - $ 300. "Too expensive" moans the priest. 

The protestant florist - $ 250, "No, it would not be right to buy at another Christian believer, especially as the price difference is rather small."

But lo! Solly Goldberg - $ 75!!! Religion or economics?

After much consideration, Solly obtains the contract. 

On Easter Sunday morning, Goldberg's men deliver the flowers: wonderful roses, azaleas, camellias, tulips and carnations. O'Maley's last reservations are discarded.
When the parishioners arrive in the church, they see the magnificent flower arrangement and a ribbon with the inscription: "Jesus has risen! But the prices of Goldberg always stay the same."

Conclusion:  We experience today the joy of the resurrection, the birth of new hope for the world. We experience the certainty that death has been destroyed once and for all and that for us death is now the gateway to everlasting life. Because we have been led by faith to this discovery we live differently to those who have no hope. We live a new life in Christ. We have been baptised and inserted into this mystery and we live it out in our lives each day.

May God bless each and every one of you, may he fill your lives with Easter joy and bring you in due time to his everlasting banquet in heaven.

Once again Happy Easter to you all.

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday:

The story of the Last Supper between Jesus and his disciples is told very differently in John's Gospel and in the other three Gospels. Whereas the other Gospels pay great attention to the Eucharistic words of Jesus "Take and eat, this is my body,... Take and drink, this is my blood,... Do this in memory of me," John's gospel focuses rather on the symbolic action of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. In our Holy Thursday celebration we recall the two events: Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and Jesus instituting the Eucharist. We also celebrate the institution of the priesthood because by commissioning his apostles to do this in memory of him, Jesus grants them the power to celebrate the Eucharist.

Old Testament people gathered in the temple and they sing and dance around the Arc of the Covenant, for they experience the presence of God in the Arc of the Covenant. Feast of tent was instituted with the symbolic sense of residing with God.  In the New Testament Jesus instituting Holy Eucharist that which is kept in the centre of the parish church we experience the presence of God. People living around the church in our own houses/tents mean living in tents around the Holy Eucharist, around the holy presence of Jesus. Christian life is a living together with Jesus.

Christian life is a humble life living in servicing others. Servicing others means servicing God.  Let us live a Eucharistic life, by being always with Him.

VI Sunday-Lent-Palm:[A]: Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mt: 21: 1-11 & 27:11-66

VI Sunday-Lent-Palm:[A]: Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mt: 21: 1-11 & 27:11-66

Introduction: Today is Palm Sunday. This day marks the actual beginning of the Paschal Mystery, the journey of our salvation. It is the final journey that brings our Lord to the climax of his ordeal and costly sacrifice for the redemption of humanity. Hence, the Church celebrates Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem in order to accomplish his Paschal Mystery for our sake. Today Ignorant of what await Christ many proclaim him king and shout hosanna in the usual crowd mentality and fashion.

Today’s liturgy combines many contrasting moments -- one of glory and one of suffering -  the royal welcome of Jesus in Jerusalem and the drama of His trial culminating in His crucifixion, death and burial. Passion reading today reminds us the death. Death is transformed by Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, also himself suffered the death that is part of the human condition. Yet, despite his anguish as he faced death, he accepted it in an act of complete and free submission to his Father's will. (Cf. Mk 14:33-34; Heb 5:7-8) The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a blessing. (Cf. Rom 5:19-21)

The King on a Donkey’s Back: Jesus is on his final journey to Jerusalem.  It is going to be a solemn entry, almost as a King is about to enter to take possession of his capital. And the procession begins at the Mount of Olives – the mount that is be the stage for the ultimate Day of the Lord (according to Zechariah 14:3-4), the day of judgement.  Perhaps the people have some insight into what is happening.  They throw their cloaks on the road as a sign of their surrender to the king.  And they sing in acclamation.  The lines they sing are partly borrowed from Psalm 118 (verse 26) that celebrates the kingship of the Lord.

But here is a contradiction that the Lord rides on a donkey, and not on a horse.  The horse could indicate a military, violent entry.  So he has purposefully chosen a donkey, he makes a humble entry.  As the prophet Zechariah once again reminds us, “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).  

The hosanna singers:  It is the same hosanna singers became the shouters of “crucify him….crucify him” It is the same people who said “We have no king but Caesar”.

Joke:  A pastor’s wife was preparing pancakes for her young sons. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their Mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, "Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait." The oldest boy turned to his younger brother and said, "You be Jesus."

Exegesis: Today’s celebration is full of symbols. Some of these include: The palm branches and cloths laid on the way for Jesus. The green palm branch as we know is a sign of peace, freshness, royalty, and of course restoration; the crowd symbolizes both praise and denial because, it is this same people who today shout hosanna that will latter on shout crucify him!; Jerusalem of this time is a symbol of crown, glory and the cross because, it is in it that Jesus was crowned king and it is also in it that He will be crucified, and also it is in it that he will resurrect. Finally, the donkey or the colt which is a beast of burden on which Christ rode is highly symbolic and significant of Christ’s own humility in fulfillment of the prophecy: “…he is humble; he rides on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” Christ’s humility here is quite contrary to the flamboyant and reckless display of wealth, power and firm by our rulers and leaders today. In spite of the fact that he is God, he condescended so low as to ride on the poorest of beasts. He did not need to block all the roads and cause untold hardship to his people because he was passing by. He did not violate traffic rules because he is Lord; he needed no soldiers and heavily armed security officers or bullet proof equipments to intimidate his people because he was passing by and there was no need of sirens in order to clear the road for him alone to pass through it. Instead, he simply mounted a colt and made his royal, courageous and brave entry into Jerusalem. Of course, he knew it was time to accomplish his mission on earth and so there was nothing to be afraid of. He displayed the true quality of a self-sacrificing king.

Practical applications:  1)Let us live through these paradoxes during the coming week, together with Jesus.  It is in living through the paradoxes of our life is our own salvation. Let us feel as he felt. Let us think as-he thought.  Let us pray as he prayed.  It is in being united with him in his suffering, death, and resurrection is our own victory.

2)  Let us be not the same hosanna singers who shouted to crucify him.  Be on a stand to hold a good opinion to help each other and encourage them.

Introduction: Sixth Sunday in Lent / Palm Sunday

Message: Jesus humbling himself out of love for us, did not shield his face from buffets and spitting, but offered his life on the cross.  He relied on his Father’s love.

V SUNDAY : Ez 37: 12-14; Rom 8: 8-11: Jn 11:1-45

V SUNDAY : Ez 37: 12-14; Rom 8: 8-11: Jn 11:1-45

Introduction : Death with resurrection hope is the central theme of the Scripture readings for the fifth Sunday of Lent.  In his vision, Ezekiel, in the first reading, bears witness to the reanimation of the dead Israel in preparation for their return to the Promised Land. He assures his people that nothing, not even death will stop God from carrying out His promise. St. Paul, in the second reading, assures the early Roman Christians who were facing death by persecution, and us who are surrounded by a culture of death, that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and who dwells within us will give life to our mortal bodies. He considers the resurrection of Jesus as the basis for our hope of sharing in Jesus’ resurrection.

This story of the raising of Lazarus is unique to John's gospel and comes just prior to Jesus' Palm Sunday entrance to Jerusalem. John uses this story, which probably has some roots in the collections of stories about Jesus, to show that Jesus is the Messiah. This event is the prelude to Jesus' own death and resurrection. Describing this great miracle, the Church assures us that we, too, will be raised into eternal life after our battle with sin and death in this world. Thus resurrection hope is the central theme of the Scripture readings for the fifth Sunday of Lent. The readings assure us that our faith in Jesus, who is “the resurrection and the life,” promises our participation in resurrection and new life.

The story is filled with significant occurrences. Jesus does not rush to Judea to keep Lazarus from dying. Rather, Lazarus must die so Jesus can show his mastery over death. The disciples are fearful of what will happen to Jesus if he returns to Judea where the authorities are upset with him. When this doesn't trouble Jesus, Thomas encourages the other to go with Jesus in spite of the consequences, a model of discipleship. Many Jewish people are in Bethany when Jesus arrives, so there will be witnesses to this miracle. Jesus' response to Martha's belief in resurrection on the last day gives John the opportunity to have her acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah. Lazarus is not merely sleeping, he has been dead four days and there will be a great stench if they open the tomb. As of result of Lazarus exit from the tomb, many of the Jews believed in Jesus. John presents this as the final insult to the religious leaders which leads them to plot to put Jesus to death.

Joke :1) A funeral director called a man for further instructions about his mother-in-law’s body. “Do you want her embalmed, cremated or buried?” “All the three!’ the man answered promptly. “Don’t take any chances.”

To effect the miracle, Jesus issues three commands and all of them are obeyed to the letter. That is how the miracle happens. First, “Jesus said, ‘Roll away the stone.’ … So they rolled away the stone” (verses 39-41). All we know is that divine power seems always to be activated by human cooperation and stifled by non-cooperation. The second command Jesus gives is directed to the dead man: “‘Lazarus, come out!’ and the dead man came out” (verses 43-44). All we know is that Jesus’ word of command is followed by immediate obedience. Lazarus gropes his way out of the dark tomb even with his hands and feet tied up in bandages, and his face all wrapped up. Even a man rotting away in the tomb can still do something to help himself.  The third command again is addressed to the people, “Unbind him, and let him go” (verse 44). Even though Lazarus could stumble himself out of the tomb, there was no way he could unbind himself. He needs the community to do that for him. By unbinding Lazarus and setting him free from the death bands the community is accepting Lazarus back as one of them.

Joke :2) The pastor was visiting a terminally sick parishioner in the hospital. As he started consoling the patient the sick man said: “Don’t worry about where I am heading to, Father. I have friends in both places.”

Practical Applications: Many Christian individuals and communities today have fallen victim to the death of sin. Many are already in the tomb of hopelessness and decay, in the bondage of sinful habits and attitudes. Nothing short of a miracle can bring us back to life in Christ. Jesus is ready for the miracle. He himself said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Are we ready to cooperate with him for the miracle? Are we ready to roll away the stone that stands between us and the light of Christ’s face? Are we ready to take the first step to come out of the place of death? Are we ready to unbind (i.e. forgive) one another and let them go free? These are the various ways we cooperate with God in the miracle of bringing us back to life and reviving us as individuals, as a church, and a nation.  

Introduction:  Fifth Sunday in Lent

Message: Jesus is our resurrection and our life.  Because he has given us of the Spirit, we are no longer dead because of sin, but alive.  In Jesus is the fullness of redemption.

Saints and Events in this week:  7-Seventh-Monday-Saint John Baptist de la Salle, priest; 11-Eleventh-Friday-Saint Stanislaus, bishop, martyr;

IV Sunday of Lent:[A]: I Sam 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13; Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41

IV Sunday of Lent:[A]: I Sam 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13; Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41

Introduction:  On this Laetare (4th) Sunday of Lent the Holy Mother Church exalts us to be joyful because, Christ our Shepherd-King comes to us with power, majesty and dominion in a special way in order to cure us of both the physical and spiritual blindness that prevent us from living our lives to its fullest potential. As the anointed one from the Davidic lineage Christ assures us his flock by his gratuitous saving help that though we are often assailed by fears and misgivings in this world of darkness, He, our Shepherd-King and the second David lights up our ways and leads us to his Kingdom unblemished.

Scripture Lessons:  In today's Old Testament reading Samuel anoints David with oil. Over the young man's head, the prophet pours a horn of oil - and the spirit of the Lord rushes upon David. The Gospel shows Jesus using his saliva and clay to make a rough and ready ointment. He anoints a blind man and the man washes, he suddenly sees. 

The lessons which we must learn from this man include that the man was obedient to the instruction or injunction given to him: “Go wash in the pool of Siloam,” just as Naaman the Syrian was, though, after much argument and persuasion (II Kg 5: 1-15), and as Samuel obeyed God’s command to go to the house of Jesse to anoint the Shepherd-King. The blind man did not mince words there but simply obeyed what Christ asked him to do. Of course, he got his healing immediately. Many of us are so stubborn that we do not obey the commands of Christ our anointed Shepherd-King yet, we want to be liberated.

The next lesson is that we must be consistent with our words, faith, convictions, and the truth. In spite of all the quizzing and intimidation of the Pharisees the man remained truthful and firm without caving in or denying that it was Christ that healed him. Instead, he insisted: “The man called Jesus…said to me go and wash at Siloam; so I went, and when I washed I could see…He is a prophet!” According to St. John Chrysostom: “The the Pharisees cast him out of the Temple; but the Lord of the Temple found him.” If our witness of Jesus and his redeeming power in our lives separates us from our fellow neighbors, it nonetheless draws us nearer to Jesus himself.

we experience Jesus as the Light of the World. What does light do?  It dispels darkness; it makes us recognise possibilities. In the context of the gospel of today, the light helps us recognise God in person of Jesus.  Paul warns us to avoid the darkness of sin that we might walk more clearly in the light of Christ (Eph. 5:8-12). So my dear brethren, as we continue our journey this Lenten season, we must not allow any blind spot to blur our vision of what God is doing for us, offering us, and requiring of us? We must continue to say of our Shepherd-King as the Psalmist: “The lord is my Shepherd (and King); there is nothing I shall want” (Ps. 22:1)!

Joke:   A blind man is walking down the street with his guide dog one day.  They come to a busy intersection and the dog, ignoring the high volume of traffic zooming by on the street, leads the blind man right out into the thick of the traffic.  This is followed by the screech of tires as panicked drivers try desperately not to run the pair down.  Horns blaring, the blind man and the dog finally reach the safety of the sidewalk on the other side of the street, and the blind man pulls a cookie out of his coat pocket, which he offers to the dog. 

A passerby, having observed the near fatal incident, can't control his amazement and says to the blind man, "Why on earth are you rewarding your dog with a cookie?  He nearly got you killed!" The blind man turns partially in his direction and replies, "To find out where his head is, so I can kick his rear end!"

Life messages:  1) Try to remove the root causes of our blindness:  namely, self-centeredness, greed, anger, hatred, prejudice, jealousy, addiction to evil habits and hardness of heart.

2) Acknowledge our own blindness and come to the presence of light of the World. Obey his commands, and instructions and let his wonders work in and around us.

3) We need to allow Jesus to heal our spiritual blindness.  We all have blind-spots -- in our marriages, our parenting, our work habits, and our personalities.  We often wish   to remain in the dark, preferring darkness to light. Even practicing Christians are blind to the poverty, injustice and pain around them.  Let us remember, however, that Jesus wants to heal our blind-spots. 

Introduction: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Message: Samuel does not see as God sees in the choice of David, who is anointed with oil.  As Jesus cures the blind man, so too are we brought from darkness into light through the grace of baptism.

Saints and Events in this week:  2-Second-Wednesday-Saint Francis of Paola, hermit; 4-Fourth-Friday-Saint Isidore, bishop, doctor of the Church; 5-Fifth-Saturday-Saint Vincent Ferrer, priest;

III Sunday of Lent:[A]: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5: 1-2, 5-8; Jn 4: 5-42

III Sunday of Lent:[A]: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5: 1-2, 5-8; Jn 4: 5-42

Introduction: The gospel reading of today invites us to reflect on the story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, so that we may experience Jesus as the Living Water.  The Holy Spirit of God, the Word of God and the Sacraments of God in the Church are the primary sources of the living water of Divine Grace. Washed in it at Baptism, renewed by its abundance at each Eucharist, invited to it in every proclamation of the Word, and daily empowered by the Spirit, we are challenged by today’s Gospel to remain thirsty for the living water which only God can give. We are assembled here in the church to drink this water of eternal life and salvation.  

Background: Jesus was crossing through Samaria – a fact registered at the beginning that probably doesn’t mean much to us.  But most Jews of the period would not have gone through Samaria; they would have gone around it. Samaritans and Jews, though they believed in the same God, had never forgiven each other for earlier issues, especially the Samaritan intermarriages with pagans. There were also some theological differences, one main one being that Jews believed God was in the Temple in Jerusalem while Samaritans believed God was on Mount Horeb where they worshipped.  In any case, Jesus goes through Samaria, making that the first rebellious thing he does. He and the disciples are tired, so when they reach a famous watering place called Jacob’s well, he sends the disciples into the city for food, but they seem to have taken with them their supplies – which meant that Jesus did not have a container to put any water in. It was noon and it was hot and Jesus became thirsty.

Now the woman who comes to the well is not traditional either. Normally women would come to the well for water early or late in the day to avoid the heat of the noon sun. No woman in her right mind would come at noon. Women would always be accompanied. This woman came at noon and alone. Unusual! It might have meant that she was an outcast and the other women might not have anything to do with her, for as we see later she was very promiscuous / licentious.  In no way would a man sit with a woman, alone, in Hebrew society. It just was not done. But Jesus asks the woman for water. Even if he could have talked to her, he certainly would not, for purity reasons, drink out of her vessel. But he asks her for water.  She is rather taken aback by this, and does ask him if he knows what he is doing. The fact that she would flaunt tradition and talk to him is important also, and says something about her character.  Was she looking for someone to pick up at the well, that she would engage in any conversation?

Exegesis: The experience of God often comes in stages.  It is a journey.  This was true also for the Samaritan woman.  When Jesus initiated a dialogue with her, her immediate reaction was, “You are a Jew.  How is it that you ask me…“ (Jn 4:9). A blatant refusal to relate!  This refusal comes from her wounded self. As she was wife to many men, she has a problem in relating to people. She has a very dubious way of relating to men that makes her suspect Jesus’ intentions. She is too physically oriented in her outlook of events and persons.  She looks at Jesus as a man – a Jew.  And when Jesus talks about water, she is thinking of H2O. But Jesus has a plan for her.  He would not give up.

As the “hound of heaven” God comes after us.  He moves us from within.  He stands and knocks. Waiting! This gratuitous way of relating to the woman begins to touch her. This is not perhaps how her previous six men had related to her.  She responds.  She gets interested. “Sir,” said the woman, “give me some of that water…”(v.15). Her respect for Jesus increases.  She addresses Him, “Sir!” A step further from verse nine where she wanted to have nothing to do with that Jew!  But still she is physically oriented: she is focused on the water from the well.  When Jesus speaks of ‘the living water’ she thinks in the Semitic sense of ‘water from the spring’: “You have no bucket, sir, and the well is deep: how do you get this living water” (V.11)?  Further on, when Jesus challenges her at a personal level and to invite her to get deeper, she begins to discover Jesus more, “I see you are a prophet, sir” (v.19).  Nearing the climax of the journey, she comes up with a sense of expectation, “I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will explain everything”(v.25). This was her time.

Anecdote: There is a Greek monastery at Mount Athos in which nothing female is allowed. Men can enter but not women, roosters but not hens, horses but not mares, bulls but not cows.  Armed guards patrol the border to insure that nothing feminine passes the gates.  It has been this way for more than 700 years. [Arnold Prater, The Presence, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993).]  Separate but definitely not equal: that has been the attitude toward women of many churches through the ages.  So, it's really remarkable that this particular Samaritan evangelist happens to be a woman.  She would be as surprised about it as anybody.  When she first met Jesus, she was surprised that even he talked to her.  Once converted, she became an evangelist, enthusiastically introducing Jesus to her fellow villagers.

Joke:   On Sunday morning, the preacher brings in 4 covered jars with one live worm in each. In one he poured whiskey, in one he poured liquid chocolate, in the third one he poured cigarette smoke and in the fourth one he threw in dirt. Result was nothing unusual. Worms in first three jars died. He then looked at the congregation and said, "I don't have to tell much. I believe you have learnt a clear lesson". Then he pointed at a little girl and asked, "Sweet heart, can you tell what have you learnt?" Without any hesitation she said," If you drink, smoke and eat chocolate you'll never have worms".

Practical Applications: 1) We need to allow Jesus free entry into our personal lives.  A sign that God is active in our lives is His entering in to our personal, “private” lives. Jesus wants to get personal with us.

2) We need to be witnesses to Jesus like the Samaritan woman.  Let us have the courage to "be" Jesus for others, especially in those "unexpected" places for unwanted people.  Let us also have the courage of our Christian convictions to stand for truth and justice in our day-to-day life.

3) We need to be open to others and accept others as they are, just as Jesus did. We have been baptized into a community of faith so that we may become one with each other as brothers and sisters of Jesus and as children of God.  To live this oneness demands that we open ourselves to others and listen to one another.  We need to provide the atmosphere, the room, for all to be honestly what they really are: the children of God.  It is the ministry of Jesus that we inherit and share.

Introduction: Third Sunday of Lent

Message: Jesus satisfies our thirst for eternal life.  Through his Spirit his grace has been poured into our hearts.  God satisfies the thirst of the Israelites whose hearts had become hardened and rebellious. 

Saints and Events in this week: 25-Twentyfifth-The Annunciation of the Lord; 

II Sunday Lent:[A]: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5:1,2,5-8; Jn 4:5-42

II Sunday Lent:[A]: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5:1,2,5-8; Jn 4:5-42

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is metamorphosis or transformation. The readings invite us to work with the Holy Spirit to transform our lives by renewing them during Lent, and to radiate the grace of the transfigured Lord around us by our Spirit-filled lives. The transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain reminds us that the way of the cross leads to resurrection and eternal life, and that the purpose of Lent is to help us better to enter into those mysteries.

Exegesis:  The fact that Jesus takes his more intimate disciples to the top of this nameless mountain alerts us to the deeply personal nature of the episode to follow. When they arrive there, the appearance of Jesus suddenly changes. He is radiant with a light whose source is not identified. When Matthew notes that the face of Jesus "shone like the sun," he wants us to recall how Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with radiant face after having spoken with God (Exodus 34:29). Matthew considers Jesus to be the new Moses who brings a new revelation from God.

If that is so, it is entirely appropriate that Moses and Elijah should join him there, for they too had met God on a mountaintop and received a revelation that illumined their futures. The face of Moses glistened from the divine encounter on Mt. Sinai and Elijah outran the chariot of Ahab after meeting God on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:46). Peter knows that he is in the presence of God and makes a generous but unnecessary offer to build tents for the others. Finally, when the voice of God is heard, the baptismal affirmation is repeated and significant new words are added: "Listen to him." This tells us that Jesus is now ready to teach the ultimate divine wisdom of salvation through loving and self-giving.

Anecdote: You go into the movie theatre, find a seat that's suitable. You find a place for your coat, sit down, and get ready to watch the movie. The house lights dim; the speakers crackle as the dust and scratches on the soundtrack are translated into static, and an image appears on the screen. It is not the film you came to see. It is the preview of coming attractions, a brief glimpse of the highlights of a film opening soon. The moviemakers and theater owners hope the preview will pique your interest enough to make you want to come back and see the whole film. On the Mount of the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John, the inner circle of Jesus' disciples, were given a preview of coming attractions. Today’s gospel gives us a splendid preview of Jesus radiant in divine glory, his mortal nature brilliantly, though only momentarily, transfigured; a dazzling preview of his divinity, unalloyed and perfectly pure, shining in glory like the very sun. A sneak preview, in other words, of Easter, the triumphant climax of the epic love story between God and humankind.

Joke: You now that story about the four young monks who take a vow of silence? They're sitting in the meditation hall, when one of them complains out loud about something. Then the second one says "be quiet!" then the third one says, "you are both talking!" then the last one says, proudly, "I am the only one who has not spoken!"

Practical Application: 1) The transformation in the Holy Mass is the source of our strength. In each Holy Mass our offering of bread and wine becomes transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. Hence, just as the transfiguration strengthened the apostles in their time of trial, each Holy Mass should be our source of heavenly strength against our own temptations and a source of renewal of our lives during Lent.

2) Each sacrament that we receive transforms us. Baptism, for example, transforms us into sons and daughters of God and heirs of heaven. Confirmation makes us the temples of the Holy Spirit. By the sacrament of reconciliation, God brings back the sinner to the path of holiness. By receiving the sacrament of the anointing of the sick in faith we are physically and spiritually healed and our sins are forgiven.

3) We need these 'mountain-top’ experiences in our own lives. We can share experiences like those of Peter, James and John when we spend some extra time in prayer during Lent. Perhaps we may want to fast for one day, taking only water, thus releasing spiritual energy which in turn, can lift our thoughts to a higher plane. Such a fast may also help us to remember the starving millions in the world, and make us more willing to help them.

Introduction: Second Sunday of Lent

Message: Abram places trust in God’s promise of making his name and descendants great on earth.  In Jesus’ transfigured glory is revealed that life and immortality will rob death of its power.  The custom of reading today’s gospel near the beginning of Lent may have come from an ancient tradition which held that the transfiguration of Jesus took place forty days before Good Friday.

Saints and Events in this Week: 17-Seventeenth-Monday-Saint Patrick, Bishop, Patron of Ireland; 18-Eighteenth-Tuesday-Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor of the Church; 19-Wednesday-Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary;