IV Sunday in Lent:[2015]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

IV Sunday in Lent:[2015]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

Introduction: In the first reading from the Second Book of Chronicles, we learn the compassion and patience of God.  God allowed Cyrus the Great, a pagan conqueror, to become the instrument of His mercy and salvation to His chosen people who were in exile in Babylon.  In the second reading, Paul tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He has granted us eternal salvation and eternal life as a free gift through Christ Jesus.  Today’s gospel has a parallel theme but on a much higher level.  Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God's salvation, not just for one sinful nation but for the sinfulness of the whole world.  Through John 3:16, the gospel teaches us that God expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our salvation.

Exegesis: “God so loved the world…” (Jn 3:16). The core of Christianity is the experience of the love of God in the person of Jesus.  This is the experience of our salvation.  This is the meaning of being born from above – being born of water and the Spirit. Water is the symbol of the experience (as from Jn 4) and Spirit is God himself who offers that experience!  In the person of Jesus we are able to experience the truth that God loves us.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only son not to condemn the world but so that through him all might be saved.”  Belief in Jesus then is not an intellectual assent.  It is not a set of dogmas that we profess in the creed.  On the other hand, it is simply being open to the possibility that we can experience God in the person of Jesus.

This is the purpose of the Word of God; it is the function of this Sunday liturgy; it is the role of the church: to mediate the experience of the love of God in the person of Jesus.  This experience makes us realize that we are in the image of God.  This experience makes us realize we are the children of God.  This experience brings inner peace and lasting happiness. It provides the grounding for our purpose of life. This is salvation.  This truth, which is not an intellectual knowledge, but an inner experience, sheds light in our darkness.  And thus, the last sentence of today’s gospel becomes meaningful: “the person who lives by the truth comes out into the light” (Jn 3:21).  Nicodemus came to meet Jesus by night – in his darkness of doubt and thirst.  He goes back after the encounter, living in the light, because he has experienced the love of God made visible in Jesus.

Joke: The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples.

Practical Applications: Try to make an encounter with Jesus. Jesus is present in the holy Eucharist amidst us. We need to make attention to the co-living situation of Jesus among us. We come to the church for worldly things or activities like helping others and all that. Do we care about the presence of Jesus here in the church?

Introduction : Fourth Sunday in Lent

Message: God pardons and raises up those who have been unfaithful, those who have loved the darkness rather than the light.  For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to deliver the world from exile.

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

IV Sunday in Lent:[2012]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

IV Sunday in Lent:[2012]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

Introduction: In the first reading from the Second Book of Chronicles, we learn the compassion and patience of God.  God allowed Cyrus the Great, a pagan conqueror, to become the instrument of His mercy and salvation to His chosen people who were in exile in Babylon.  In the second reading, Paul tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He has granted us eternal salvation and eternal life as a free gift through Christ Jesus.  Today’s gospel has a parallel theme but on a much higher level.  Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God's salvation, not just for one sinful nation but for the sinfulness of the whole world.  Through John 3:16, the gospel teaches us that God expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our salvation. Nicodemus, the wealthy Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, meets Jesus by night and begins a long religious discussion. Jesus explains to him that he must believe Jesus’ words because he is the Son of God.  He further explains to Nicodemus God’s plan of salvation by referring to the story of Moses and the brazen serpent.  Just as God saved the victims of serpent bite through the brazen serpent, He is going to save mankind from its sins by permitting the crucifixion and death of His Son Jesus because the love of God for mankind is that great.   

Event : "Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her" (Entrance Antiphon -- Isaiah 66:10-11). Why does the church invite us in the middle of the penitential season of Lent to rejoice? The story of a little incident that took place in Mainz in 1456 when Gutenberg was printing the first printed Bible can help us with the answer.

The printer had a little daughter, Alice, who came into the printing press and picked up a discarded sheet with only one line of print. That line of print read: "God loved the world so much that he gave..." Now, those were times when popular religion was a matter of living in fear and trembling before the awesome wrath of God. So Alice put the paper in her pocket and kept on thinking on the fact of God being so loving, and her face radiated with joy. Her mother noticed her changed behaviour and asked Alice what was making her so happy and Alice showed her mother the sheet of paper with the printed line. Her mother looked at it for some time and said, "So, what did God give?" "I don't know," said Alice, "but if God loved us well enough to give us something, then we need not be so afraid of Him."

Love: What is love? What does it mean to say God loves us? To understand what the Bible means by God's love we must bear in mind that whereas the Greek language has three different words for three different types of love English has only one. In Greek we have (1) eros meaning romantic love (like the love between a man and a woman that leads to marriage), (2) philia meaning fellowship love (like the love for football which brings people together to form a fan club), and there is (3) agap or sacrificial love (like the love that makes a mother risk her own life for her yet unborn child). In romantic love we long to receive, in fellowship love we long to give and take, in sacrificial love we long to give. Now, with what kind of love does God love us? God loves us with agap or sacrificial love. "God loved the world so much that He gave." That is one big difference between God and us: God gives and forgives, we get and forget. Giving is a sign of agap. This is the kind of love God has for us. This is the kind of love we should have for one another. This is the kind of love that is lived in heaven. And where this kind of love is absent, what you get is hell.

Anecdote: A certain saint asked God to show her the difference between heaven and hell. So God sent an angel to take her, first to hell. There she saw men and women seated around a large table with all kinds of delicious food. But none of them was eating. They were all sad and yawning. The saint asked one of them, "Why are you not eating?" And he showed her his hand. A long fork about 4ft long was strapped to their hands such that each time they tried to eat they only threw the food on the ground. "What a pity" said the saint. Then the angel took her to heaven. There the saint was surprised to find an almost identical setting as in hell: men and women sitting round a large table with all sorts of delicious food, and with a four-foot fork strapped to their arms. But unlike in hell, the people here were happy and laughing. "What!" said the saint to one of them, "How come you are happy in this condition?" "You see," said the man in heaven, "Here we feed one another." Can we say that of our families, our neighborhood, our church, our world? If we can say that, then we are not far from the kingdom of heaven.

Practical: Today the Church invites us to reflect on God's love for the world and to be joyful because of it. God loves each and every one of us, so much so that He give us His only son. Today we are invited to say yes to God's love. It is sometimes hard to believe that God loves even me, But I believe it because I know that God loves unconditionally; no ifs, no buts. Then we can love God back and enter into a love relationship with God. Then, like little Alice, our faces will radiate the joy of God's love. Then we shall learn to share God's love with those around us. Then we shall learn to give to God and to one another.

Introduction : IV Sunday in Lent : Laetare Sunday

Message : Laetare Sunday or Rejoice Sunday sets a tone of joyful anticipation of the Easter mystery.  God pardons and raises up those who have been unfaithful, those who have loved the darkness rather than the light.  For God so loved the world that he sent his only son to deliver the world from exile.

March 19 Monday : Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Joseph is honored on 19 March since the end of the 10^th c; declared Patron of the Universal Church in 1870 by Pope Pius IX; patron of workers, carpenters, and of fathers; also of Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Vietnam: mentioned in the Roman Canon.

23^rd Friday : Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, bishop

Toribio, 1606; from Salamanca; as a layman he was the chief judge of the Inquisition at Granada; as archbishop of Lima he presided over the III Council of Lima(1583); established the first seminary in the New World; sought to alleviate poverty among the native population; contemporary of Rose of Lima; patron of Latin American bishops.

III Sunday of Lent:[2015]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

III Sunday of Lent:[2015]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

Introduction:  Keep our covenant agreement with Jesus Christ by becoming people of the new covenant, loving others as Jesus did, keeping our parish church holy and fully dedicated to divine worship and keeping our hearts cleansed, just, holy and pure temples of the Holy Spirit. 

Exegesis:   Like the desert (Lent week 1) and the mountain (week 2), the Temple (week 3) is a place of special encounter with God. But today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see his angry face. Jesus is not happy with what he sees precisely because the way the Temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community.

Why was this church building built? If such a question is asked here, the answers will be very interesting. Unexpected creative imaginations will be the result. But, the real answer is that it was built to be a temple. It was not built just to be a meeting place, or an auditorium, or a theater where we go to experience a drama. A temple is a building that is purpose-built. Our church building here has one chief purpose, namely to immerse us in the drama of our relationship with God. Note that I said “our” relationship with God, not “my relationship with God.” While we may come here for private prayer, the main reason is because this where we as God’s family play out our roles in the great drama of God coming to us and our going back to God our Father.

Each one of us here is a temple that is purpose-made. Because of our baptisms each one of us here is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Each one of us here was brought into being and designed by God for a purpose, namely the purpose of making Him present to others, especially when they enter into who we are. Each one of us here is a walking, living temple in which God is made present and available to others.

Joke:  John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill. Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent.

On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore. They decided to try and convert John to be a Catholic. They went over and talked to him and were so happy that he decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic. They took him to Church, and the Priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are Catholic." The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved.

The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and just at supper time, when the neighborhood was setting down to their tuna fish dinner, came the wafting smell of steak cooking on a grill. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! WHAT WAS GOING ON?

They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, 

"You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."

Practical Applications:  1) Let us remember that we are the temples of the Holy Spirit.  St. Paul reminds us that we are God’s temples because the Spirit of God dwells in us.  Hence, we have no right to desecrate God’s temple by impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy.  Let us cleanse it asking God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation. 

2) Our relationship with God must be that of a child to his parent, one of mutual love, respect and a desire for the family’s good, with no thought of personal loss or gain. 

3) We need to avoid a calculating mentality in divine worship.  We are not supposed to think of God as a vending machine into which we put our sacrifices and good deeds to get back His blessings.  Let us make our church a holier place by adding our prayers and songs to our parish worship and offering our time and talents in the various ministries.

Introduction : Third Sunday of Lent

Message: The law liberates and leads us to freedom.  It is to be trusted for it is a source of wisdom. Jesus speaks of the ultimate freedom to be won for us by his being raised up.  He is the sign of the power and wisdom of God.

Saints and Events in this Week: 9 – Ninth - Monday - Saint Frances of Rome, Religious;

III Sunday of Lent:[2012]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

III Sunday of Lent:[2012]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

Scripture lessons: Today’s first reading teaches us that the Ten Commandments are the basis of our religious and spiritual life, just as they formed a rule of life for the Israelites as the result of their covenant with Yahweh at Mount Sinai.  The responsorial psalm depicts the Mosaic Law’s life-enhancing attributes: it refreshes the soul and rejoices the heart; it is pure and true, more precious than gold.  The second reading reminds us that we must preach the divine folly of the crucified Christ and the spirit of the cross, especially during the Lenten season.  Today’s gospel gives us the dramatic account of Jesus' cleansing the Temple of its merchants and money-changers, followed by a prediction of his death and resurrection. The synoptic gospels place the "cleansing of the Temple" immediately after Jesus' triumphant arrival in Jerusalem on the back of a colt on Palm Sunday while John places it at the beginning of his gospel. Jesus cleansed the Temple renovated by King Herod in B.C. 20. The abuses which kindled the prophetic indignation of Jesus were the conversion of God’s Temple into a “noisy market place” by the animal merchants and into a “hideout of thieves” by the money-changers with their grossly unjust business practices – sacrilege in God’s Holy Place. Jesus' reaction to this commercialized faith was fierce.  Since no weapons were allowed inside the Temple, Jesus had to construct his own weapon, a whip of cords to drive out the merchants and money-changers from the Court of the Gentiles.

Lent Gospel Sum up: Like the desert in the first week of Lent and the mountain in the second week, the Temple in the third week is a place of special encounter with God. But today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see his angry face. Jesus is not happy with what he sees precisely because the way the Temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community. Two reasons can be given for this, namely, (a) the religious leaders had put rituals over morality, and (b) they had put particularity over universality.

Rituals over Morality: The religious administrators of the Temple worship took pains to see that worshippers were duly supplied with high quality cattle, sheep and doves for sacrifice. They even made sure that the “dirty” money people brought with them could be exchanged for the “holy” Temple money. At the same time, however, they were plotting against Jesus. If they took all that trouble to please God in worship, why couldn’t they take the trouble to investigate the claims of Jesus rather than condemn him so readily? For them pleasing God had become something you do in the rituals of the Temple and not in your relationship with people. This kind of religiosity makes Jesus really angry.

Joke: The story is told of a priest who was coming back to his parish house one evening in the dark only to be accosted by a robber who pulled a gun at him and demanded, “Your money or your life!” As the priest reached his hand into his coat pocket the robber saw his Roman collar and said, “So you are a priest? Then you can go.” The priest was rather surprised at this unexpected show of piety and so tried to reciprocate by offering the robber his packet of cigarettes, to which the robber replied, “No, Father, I don’t smoke during Lent.” You can see how this robber is trying to keep the pious observance of not smoking during Lent while forgetting the more fundamental commandment of God, “Thou shall not steal.”

Particularity over Universality: The second reason why Jesus was mad with the Temple priests was their practice of religious particularity over against universality, of exclusiveness over inclusiveness. Some knowledge of the design of the Temple will help us here. The Temple had five sections or courts: (1) holy of holies (2) court of priests (3) court of Israel (4) court of women (5) court of Gentiles. Though these were seen as five concentric circles of sanctity, the design made room for everybody in the house of God. It was a universal house of God “for all the nations” where every man or woman on earth would find a place in which to pray. But the Temple priests forgot that and thought that it was meant for Jews alone. So they decided to turn the court of the Gentiles into a “holy” market place for selling the animals required for sacrifice and for exchanging money. You could bring Roman money as far as the court of the Gentiles but not into the other four courts. The court of Gentiles was no longer regarded as part and parcel of the house of God, it had become a market place, pure and simple. Now it was this court of Gentiles that Jesus cleansed. In so doing he was making the point that the Gentile section was just as holy as the Jewish sections. God is God of all and not God of a select group. Like the Jews of the time of Jesus, some Christians today still think that God belongs to them alone and not to others as well.

Life Implications: A certain man died and went to heaven and St Peter was showing him round. St Peter pointed to different mansions: “Here are the Jews, here the Buddhists, here the Moslems, etc.” Then they came to a large compound surrounded by a high wall and inside they could hear singing and laughter. “Who are those?” asked the new arrival. And St Peter hushed him, “Hush! They’re the Christians – but they think they’re the only ones here.” Believers like these need a Temple court experience to awaken them to the universal love of God and bring them back to true worship.

Introduction  : III Sunday in Lent

Message : The law liberates and leads us to freedom.  It is to be trusted for it is a source of wisdom.  Jesus speaks of the ultimate freedom to be won for us by his being raised up.  He is the sign of the power and wisdom of God

Saints in this week : 17^th Saturday : Saint Patrick, Bishop

Patrick, 461 at Down; born about 389 of Romano-British origin, perhaps in Wales; founded metropolitan See of Armagh; authored Confessio; the famous Lorica(Lat., “breastplate”), a work praising Christ, is probably his; patron of Nigeria; apostle and patron of Ireland.

II Sunday in Lent:[2015]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

II Sunday in Lent:[2015]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

First Reading Exegesis:  In our first reading from Genesis, Abraham was put to test and he remained faithful to God. God did not require him to do anything that He Himself would not do. In fact, the command to Abraham to offer his only son was intended to foreshadow how God would offer his only beloved son for our sake in the future. God halted the sacrifice of Isaac because, Abraham’s faith was very clear by the fact that he was ready to carry out the will of God. Abraham listened to God, and then obeyed him. Abraham was ready to offer his only son Isaac to make God happy. He did not question or challenge God about the victim for the sacrifice. Instead, he left that question for his son Isaac to ask. Also, rather than ask God for anything, he was ready to offer God something very dear to him. Abraham considered his walk with God more important than any other thing. What do we learn from Abraham today? We must be ready to listen to God and, to do what he wants us to do as Abraham did.

Gospel Reading Exegesis: In the Transfiguration story in todays Gospel, Jesus is revealed as a glorious figure, superior to Moses and Elijah. The primary purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration was to allow him to consult his Heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death and resurrection.  God’s secondary aim was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of his Divine glory, so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah and might be strengthened in their time of trial. On the mountain, Jesus is identified by the Heavenly Voice as the Son of God. Thus, the transfiguration narrative is a Christophany, that is, a manifestation or revelation of who Jesus really is.

The meditation on the transfiguration during lent becomes for us a prediction of what lies at the end of Lent – the resurrection of the Lord.  This is what perhaps it meant for the three apostles who were taken up the mountain only six days after (Mk 9:2) Jesus had told them about his impending suffering and death (Mk 8:31).  This was important particularly for Peter, who could not simply accept the possibility that his hero – the Christ (Mk 8:29) – will have to suffer grievously (Mk 8:32). For him it is a big lesson that Christian life is a coincidence of opposites – death and life, suffering and triumph, struggling to climb a mountain and wanting to stay there, being exalted on the mountain-top and having to come down to the market place of daily life.

God shows us his willingness to offer his only son to us, and for our salvation. Today Christ is revealed through his transfiguration as the son of God who is with us. The only thing that God demands from us is: “Listen to him.” If we listen to Christ, God’s gift to us, and do what he wants us to do, we shall be successful in our journey with him this season.

Joke: An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers.  The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone and orders three more.  As this continued every day the bartender asked him politely, "The folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"  "It’s odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia.  We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank." Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers.  As this continued for several days, the bartender approached him with tears in his eyes and said, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother.  You know-the two beers and all..."  The man ponders this for a moment, and then replies with a broad smile, "You'll be happy to know that my two brothers are alive and well.  It’s just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.  Now I am drinking for the other two!" 

Practical Applications: Lent is a transformational season in the Church. This is, of course, why we hear the story of the Transfiguration read to us today. In Mark’s version the Apostles are witnesses to the event, but really didn’t understand it. Nor did they understand the reference to Jesus rising from the dead – the ultimate transformation that was to come. It would be a transformation that would transform the world. How can we transform ourselves during Lent? What do we have to do to turn ourselves from sin, the part of ourselves that pulls away from God?

Introduction:  Second Sunday in Lent

Message: Abraham offers the ultimate sacrifice of thanksgiving, the gift of his very son.  This sacrifice prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus who died for us all.  In his transfiguration, Jesus discloses a suffering messiah-ship.

Saints and Events in this Week: 3 – Third – Tuesday – Saint Katharine Drexel, Virgin; 4 – Fourth – Wednesday – Saint Casimir; 7 – Seventh – Saturday – Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs;

II Sunday in Lent:[2012]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

II Sunday in Lent:[2012]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

This Sunday's first reading is the covenant is the one that God made with Abraham. Abraham manifested a living faith in God, a quality of faith that the world had never seen before. He left his homeland of Ur and went to the land of Canaan out of faith in God. Though his wife Sarah and he were too old to have children, he believed God's promise that he would be the Father of many nations. He was ecstatic when Isaac was born, the son through whom Abraham would live on as the Father of many nations; yet he still trusted in God to be true to his promise even when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. When God saw the extent of Abraham's faith, his confidence that God would fulfill his promises, even though this meant killing his son, God stopped Abraham and then covenanted that not only would Abraham be the father of many nations but also that his descendants would be as countless as the stars of the sky or the sands of the seashore. God's return to Abraham for his faith was the promise that Abraham's memory, his faith, his very life would continue in countless numbers of people throughout the ages. And indeed, Abraham is recognized as the Father of the Faith not just by Catholics, but by all Christians, by the Jewish people and by the Moslem people.

The covenant God made with Abraham he makes with us if we, like Abraham, do everything we can to cultivate a living faith. When you and I take a step of totally trusting in God to take care of us, though we have no idea how he could possibly do this under some present difficulty, then God responds both by caring for us and by giving life to our faith so that the world will witness our faith for more generations than we could ever imagine.

Joke : A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.

Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and messy. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

Elisha’s story: There is a mysterious story in 2 Kings that can help us understand what is going on in the transfiguration. Israel was at war with Aram, and Elisha the man of God was using his prophetic powers to reveal the strategic plans of the Aramean army to the Israelites. At first the King of Aram thought that one of his officers was playing the spy but when he learnt the truth he despatched troops to go and capture Elisha who was residing in Dothan. The Aramean troops moved in under cover of darkness and surrounded the city. In the morning Elisha’s servant was the first to discover that they were trapped in and feared for his master’s safety. He ran to Elisha and said, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” The prophet answered, “Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” But who would believe that, when the surrounding mountainside was covered with advancing enemy troops? So Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:8-23). This vision was all that Elisha’s disciple needed to reassure him. At the end of the day, not only was the prophet of God safe but the invading army was totally humiliated.

The Transfiguration: The Transfiguration of Jesus happened at a stage in his public ministry when he was pretty much in the same situation as Elisha. His foes were closing in on him and his disciples led by Peter were feeling very much like the servant of Elisha, afraid and anxious for their master’s safety. Just before the Transfiguration Jesus had asked his disciples whom the people and they themselves thought he was. Peter gave the correct answer the he was Christ the son of the living God. Jesus congratulated him and then proceeded to forewarn them and prepare them for his unavoidable suffering, death and resurrection. But Peter was not ready for this. He protested visibly; he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Jesus sharply corrected him, telling him that he was seeing things from a purely human point of view (Matthew 16:13-23). He needed, like Elisha’s servant, a vision from God’s point of view, to see that in spite of the death sentence hanging over the head of Jesus, God was still with him, God was still in control of events, God would see to it that in the end he triumphed over his foes as Elisha did. What Peter and his fellow disciples needed was for God to open their eyes and then give them a glimpse of God’s abiding presence with their master Jesus. The transfiguration was that experience.

The Transfiguration experience was, therefore, God’s way of delivering the disciples from a crisis of faith. The cause of their crisis of faith was the way in which they saw people and things around them. God helped them out of it by enlightening their vision so that, at least for a moment, they could see from God’s own perspective. Seen from below, in ordinary human light, people and things around us may look drab, commonplace and sometimes repulsive. But seen from above, in the light of divinity, the same people and things take on a more honorable, resplendent and lovable appearance. This glimpse into the true nature and divine aspect of persons and things can be called a transfiguration experience.

Conclusion : Where can one get this Transfiguration experience? Everywhere. Our Sunday worship is a good starting point. Outside the church, right from the church parking lot, we tend to see one another as competitors. On the road we see other road users as obstacles impeding our speedy arrival to our destinations. In the work place we see others as rivals vying with us for the ladder of success. But at Mass we have the singular experience of looking one another in the eye and calling them “brothers and sisters.” God sees us here as people of faith, people, human beings, who are begging God to help them grow in faith.  This is indeed a Transfiguration. The challenge for us is to live in the light of this awareness until we come together again next Sunday to renew our faith vision.

Introduction:  Second Sunday of Lent

Message: Abraham offers the ultimate sacrifice of thanksgiving, the gift of his very son.  This sacrifice prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus who died for us all.  In his transfiguration, Jesus discloses a suffering messiahship.

7^th Wednesday: Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyr

Perpetua, a noble lady and Felicity, her slave, at Carthage in 203 under Septimus Severus; names mentioned in the Roman Canon.

8^th Thursday: Saint John of God, religious

John of God, 1550 in Granada; shepherd, soldier, and entrepreneur before his conversion at age forty-two; laid foundation (1537) for the Order of Hospitallers, today numbering about 1300 religious; patron of hospitals and the sick, of nurses and booksellers.

9^th Friday: Saint Frances of Rome, religious

Frances of Rome, 1440; noble woman, wife and mother; founded a community of Benedictine women oblates committed to serving the poorest of the poor; patroness of widows and motorists.

I Sunday in Lent :[2015]: Gn 9:8-15; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15

I Sunday in Lent:[2015]: Gn 9:8-15; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15

After the stark, matter-of-fact statement that Jesus was tempted by Satan, Mark tells us that after John's arrest, Jesus begins his mission: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1: 15) Matthew and Luke in their narratives of the temptations include Jesus' triumph over Satan in a dramatic verbal exchange between them. Mark does not present the temptations in this way because his entire gospel is narratives of the trials that Jesus undergoes itself are temptations. Satan tempts him to doubt that he is God's beloved Son, and likewise tempts him to betray his mission on behalf of God's kingdom. Satan will use every means to tempt Jesus in order to save his own kingdom that has dominance in the world. Jesus is tempted by his own disciples. "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do,” Jesus said to Peter (Mark 8: 33).

He is tested frequently by enemies from among his own people and by the Romans. His own relatives say that he is out of his mind (Mark 3: 21). The most severe temptation comes when he appears to have failed in his mission; he is misunderstood, betrayed, and abandoned by his disciples; he is arrested, undergoes the humiliation and torture associated with a criminal's public execution; and finally he apparently has the experience of being forsaken by God while dying on a cross. Yet, his dying prayer in this dark night of the soul is also a cry of unconquered hope and trust (Mark 15: 34, Psalm 22).

The Letter to the Hebrews reveals the good news that the triumph of Jesus over the most severe temptations imaginable can be a source of hope and trust in the trials that we undergo. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (Mark 4: 15). "Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested” (Mark 2: 18). No one with the consciousness of freedom escapes the testing that reveals where the heart's true treasure lies.

Only the incidentals of the testing differ for each of us. The heroes of faith down to the present day triumph over their trials because they share the single-minded, childlike faith of Jesus. Jesus in his human consciousness and freedom loved God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength (Deuteronomy 6: 5). A person with a divided heart, on the other hand, easily fails in a test of faith, and particularly in a trial of suffering constantly asks God, Why? Further, the double-minded person demands some evidence of God's presence and care.

Joke : Two blonds who heard their pastor reading the verses: “ And He walks with me, And talks with me, And tells me I am his own..”   When they got into heaven and arrived at the Golden Gates, she, one of the blond was asked one question: "What is God's name?"      She replied, "Andy." 

"Andy? Why Andy?", she was asked.     She replied, "Oh, you know, I have heard my pastor reading, 'Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am his own.'

Then the second blond, looking at the facial expression of wrong answer from St. Peter, she answered:   I think God's name is Harold. "Our father who art in heaven, Harold be thy name"

Practical Applications: The Practical application of Mark's gospel is that we must pray as Jesus prayed if we hope to love God as he did with an undivided heart when our time of trial is upon us. Like Jesus before his great trial in the garden of Gethsemane, we may pray that if possible the hour of trial might pass by us. Nevertheless, with the power of his Spirit we must also pray: "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will” (Mark 14: 36).

Jesus then said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep” (Mark 14: 37)? Shortly after Jesus was arrested, Peter, standing among the crowd, was tested by the high priest's maid. Unprepared by prayer and fearful for his life, with a curse Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. At the Eucharist for the first Sunday of Lent a good prayer would be to ask the Spirit to heal the illusions, desires, and the doubts that divide our hearts. Only with this grace can we say the Lord's prayer with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength. And with Christ's Spirit we can live without fear because we trust that God's will for us can only be love.

Introduction: First Sunday in Lent

Message: Mindful of his covenant, the Lord promises never to destroy creation again by floodwaters.  The waters of baptism bring salvation and forgiveness through the death of Christ.  After fasting forty days and being put to the test, Jesus begins his public ministry.

Saints and Events in this Week:  23 – Twenty Third – Monday – Saint Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr;