Todays Gospel

*Sunday 16th March 2025*

*Sunday of the Second Week of Lent*

*The Transfiguration*

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God, come to our assistance.

Lord, make haste to help us,

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Send the fire of your Holy Spirit deep within us.

Souls in purgatory, pray for us.

Angels and Saints, pray for us.

May the Lord bless us and keep us;

May the Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious to us;

May the Lord turn his face toward us and give us peace. Amen

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_1 Corinthians 9:24-25_

While all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, the award goes to one man. In that case, run so as to win! Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things. They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable.

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*Verse Before the Gospel*

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

*The Gospel*
Luke 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.

*The Gospel Reflection*

As we are presented with this glorious event of the Transfiguration this Sunday, there are numerous lessons we can learn from it.

The passage above presents us with two particular lessons.

First, Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep while Jesus was transfigured in glory and conversing with Moses and Elijah.

This line could suggest many things.

It could mean that Peter was weak and more concerned with his human condition than he was with attentiveness to the important journey he was invited to take with our Lord.

It could reveal a kind of spiritual sloth. It is easy in life to become weary of the journey and to become drowsy at the times that we should be most attentive to our Lord.

For example, think about any time when you knew you should pray but instead, sat daydreaming or distracted, or chose to fill that time with something mindless.

Peter and his companions, therefore, teach us that it is easy for us in our fallen human nature to “doze off” during those times when God wants to speak to us, *especially while at Mass.*

Another interpretation of this line comes from the Church Father, Saint Ambrose.

He suggests that this sleep of Peter and his two companions was primarily a result of them encountering “the incomprehensible brightness of the Divine nature.” As Jesus was transfigured, the initial vision was too much for them to comprehend, and so this vision began with them asleep as a symbol of the fact that we are all incapable of seeing the glory of God in our weakened state.

But then they became “fully awake,” which implies that it took time for them to open their eyes to see the glory of God.

This lesson teaches us that we all must wake up and work to become fully awake if we are to see the glory of God as He reveals Himself to us.

After becoming fully awake and encountering the incomprehensible brightness of the divine nature, Peter says, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” The Gospel writer then goes on to say that Peter “did not know what he was saying.”

Again, if we turn to Saint Ambrose, he points out that Peter’s experience is commendable because he not only had earnest feelings but also took the initiative of good deeds.

He wanted to build three tents so that Jesus, Moses and Elijah would remain with them.

But another Church father points out that Peter “did not know what he was saying” because he did not, at that time, realise that it was indeed his mission to build a dwelling place for Jesus, the Law and the Prophets.

It was his mission to build the Church, which was to be the future dwelling place of God on earth and the place in which we will encounter God throughout life.

You, too, are entrusted with the responsibility of building up the structure of the Church on earth so that many may encounter the full glory of God.

This will only happen if you continually seek to become fully awakened to the glory of God as He reveals Himself to you and, in the joy of that encounter, go forth to build up God’s Church by your earnest desire and intentional acts of charity.

Reflect, today, upon Peter and his two companions, James and John. Prayerfully ponder them asleep as Jesus was transfigured in glory.

Reflect upon them waking up and beginning to realise what was taking place before them.

Consider Peter’s excitement and amazement and the effect that had on him.

And then ponder how these disciples eventually did go forth to build the Church, the house of God, so that they and many others would come to meet Christ.

Pray that the witness of these disciples will inspire you to follow in their footsteps.

*PRAYER BASED ON TODAY’S GOSPEL*

My Transfigured Lord, the glory that shone forth from Your divine face in radiance must have been beyond human description. Your true glory in Heaven is something that I hope to one day behold. Please instill in me a desire to more fully understand Your glory and to work tirelessly to be an instrument of that glory to all I meet. Jesus, I trust in You.
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Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O Good Jesus, hear me.

Within your wounds hide me.

Permit me not to be separated from you.

From the wicked foe, defend me.

At the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you

That with your saints I may praise you

For ever and ever. Amen.

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Dear God, you are a God of peace. Your Son, Jesus, blessed the peacemakers, and I want to live as one. Make me a person who is not overwhelmed by bad news or worldly chaos. Please give me the courage to care for others, calm difficult conversations, and make wrongs right. Make me an instrument of your peace.
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Help us and we shall be saved, Lord God; leave us and we are doomed. May you remain with us always so that the fullness of life may be ours.

Listen with compassion to our prayers, Lord. The forgiveness of sins is yours. Do not look on the wrong we have done, but grant us your merciful kindness.

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in your mercy, grant us a safe lodging and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.

*CONCLUDING PRAYER*

Let us pray,

St. Patrick, your efforts to win souls for Christ succeeded through the guidance and protection of our Heavenly Father. Pray that I may always be guided by the Holy Spirit and that everything I do will be pleasing to God.

Lord, may our observance of Lent
help to renew us and prepare us to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever — Amen.

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Father, I thank you for you have heard my prayer ——————————————

*For those that wish to read and reflect on todays Readings:-*
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Lectionary: 27
*Reading I*
Genesis 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*

R. *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 II*
Philippians 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 saviour, 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.

*COMMENTARY on todays Reading:*

*First reading:-*

Abram is struggling with his faith.

He believes God is in charge of his life, but he’s struggling to believe that God can do what he has promised.

Without children, there is no future for Abram, and no future for those great promises God had made.

Abram is questioning the Word of God, the very Word on which he had staked his life before this, because he has come against a thick and impenetrable darkness.

He can’t see how God can possibly do anything about it.

Repetitions of God’s promises and evisible signs of God’s faithfulness leave us in the dark. And we continue to question God.

So did Abram.

In the darkness, God is saying, “I have a plan for your future. The road that stretches before into the darkness is all laid out by God.”

The darkness is ruled not by the forces of darkness and evil and chaos and chance, but by, the Sovereign Lord. He will keep his promise to those who walk with him in faith.

*Commentary on todays second reading;-*

Today, Paul continues to warn the Philippians about not being led astray in the living of their Christian faith and is utterly convinced that his whole life has now been taken over by Christ.

He deplores some who “live as enemies of the cross of Christ”. They are behaving in a way which negates all that Jesus did for us by dying on the cross.

Jesus’ death was our liberation, and these people want to go back to a stifling and arid observance of the Law.

Paul writes:

…their god is the belly…

This does not quite mean that they live to eat, but rather that they have given a quite irrational importance to dietary laws.

They act as if a person who eats ‘clean’ food is good, and one who eats ‘unclean’ food is bad.

Jesus had this accusation thrown at him more than once. He responded by saying it was not what went into the stomach that counted, but what came out of the mouth and the heart.

Paul continues:

…their glory is in their shame…

This is a veiled reference to the prominence that circumcision gives to the male sexual organ, something that in all modesty (‘shame’ in actual meaning) we normally keep out of sight.

Furthermore:

…their minds are set on earthly things.

The Law is something “earthly”. Although it was given by God on Mount Sinai, people’s goodness and virtue is being measured not by spiritual values, but by the external, physical observance of certain actions and rituals.

But it is different for the followers of Christ:

…our citizenship is in heaven…

That is, our eyes are focused not on the things we do in this world, including religious actions, but on God our Father, on Jesus his Son and our Brother, and on the Spirit that guides us into all truth and love.

*We live here, to “work on [our] own salvation” (Phil 2:12), but ultimately we do not belong here.*

We are on our way to a better home, where:

he will wipe every tear from their eyes… (Rev 21:4)

Jesus’ will “transform the body of our humiliation”, subject to weakness, decay and death, to be like his glorious Body.

Then, the glorified Christ, as Alpha and Omega, will draw all creation—us included—into total conformity with Himself, who is the image of the Creator God.

So hang in there, urges Paul:

…stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

They are not to be led astray by the “dogs” and “cutters” who do not understand the call of the Gospel and are creators of division.

Our communities, too, can be undermined by people who, perhaps with good intentions, actually act against the spirit of the Gospel.

Sometimes they are those who want to turn the clock back and restore old customs which the Church sees as no longer relevant in our day.

Sometimes they are those who neglect all tradition, and act in an individualistic and self-centred way, where freedom becomes licence.

It is only by constant listening to God’s Word, constant sharing and careful discernment of the signs of the times, that we can remain faithful to the true spirit of Jesus’ teaching and the Gospel.

In the last sentence today, Paul expresses his deep affection for the Philippians, arguably his favourite church community:

…my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown…

How would Paul value our community or our local church, if he were to come among us today?