February 28, 1999Second Sunday of Lent |
Traditionally during Lent popular devotions in a parish have focused on the suffering and death of Jesus. The most popular of these are the Stations of the Cross. It became a popular idea to journey to the Holy Land and walk in the footsteps of Jesus during the time of the Crusades. When the pilgrimages to the Holy Land became too dangerous a substitute local devotion spread throughout Europe. It consisted of representations of critical events from Scripture or Tradition of Jesus' journey to Calvary. The representations varied in number from 5 to 20 until the 18th century when Pope Clement XII fixed the number at 14. In the mid-18th century the stations were allowed inside of churches. In the 1960s it became popular to add a 15th station representing the resurrection. Attending this devotion is still a way of walking with Jesus. It brings home the enormity of what He did to redeem us.
The second Sunday of Lent offers every year a version of the Gospel story of Jesus' transfiguration on the mountaintop. This story presents a most appropriate metaphor for conversion - which is the heart of Lent - "Return to me with your whole heart." Joel 2:12 All three readings reinforce this life long call for every Christian to turn from self-centered life patterns to a more God-centered life. The Gospel voice out of the cloud "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him ," underscores the Lenten emphasis on prayer, especially the "Lectio Divina" focus of prayer which includes Scripture reading & reflection on what personal meaning the Scripture has for us, followed by a period of quiet or focused prayer. The first reading this Sunday from Genesis also emphasizes listening to God as Abram hears God's call and responds. He is then ever willing to step out of the safe boundaries of family and home to allow himself to be guided by the word of God. "This alone makes Abram a character totally different from those who busied themselves with the building project at Babel. They looked for security in the defenses of a city and a tower constructed of brick and mortar. By contrast, Abram is open to finding security in God alone" (Homily Helps, February 28, 1999). The second reading from 2 Timothy further affirms the theme of conversion with the word that God not only saves us but he "called us to a holy life not according to our works but according to his own design."(2 Timothy 1:8)
God speaks to us in many different ways and circumstances. For example, while praying earlier this week with a few parishioners, we discussed the word we had received "to give God permission to awaken our hearts." Then while being prayed over, I heard what seemed to be an inspirational word from our Lord, "Give me permission to show you the Father's love." This inspiration, I believe, is intended not only for me but for others also, which is especially relevant to this last year before 2000 when the church in 1999 recommends special attention to God the Father. After this meeting, this word seemed to be confirmed as I read the following: "Jesus' revelation of the Father shows that the heart of our faith is not merely a matter of knowing God, but of relationship - of being loved and of loving. When we truly grasp the significance of this loving relationship, it transforms us. The power of the love of our God brings us to a fullness of life beyond our human experience. Beloved, think of the love that the Father lavishes on us, which enables us to be called children of God; and that is what we are. . . We are already the children of God; what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; but we know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for then we shall see him as he really is (1 John 3: 1-2)." Human words fall short of the mystery of God. But they begin to help us grasp the infinite greatness and love which reach out to us. In this Year of the Father, may we open ourselves more fully to the mystery which the image foreshadows." (Rob Ryan, Chariscenter USA Newsletter)
The following excerpt from a commentary on this Sunday's readings may help encourage us to set aside time this Lent for periods of prayer or extended time for even a 2-3 day retreat.
Lent: A Good Time to Reflect Upon My Life's Mountain Moments
We are all blessed with the gift of memory. If someone were conducting a survey, how would we answer the following questions:"What have been the moments in your life that have changed you? Moments that woke you up? Moments when you saw the light? Experiences that made you switch directions and start to live life in a new way?"
Our specific answers would be many, however, having an experience is not enough. We need to reflect upon our experiences - to be enlightened by them. Often we don't learn from life's mighty moments. Many of us miss too much beauty. Many of us repeat our mistakes.
The key to transfiguration, transformation, conversion, change, whatever word we want to use, is to see. The key is to step back, to "climb a mountain" so to speak, to reflect upon what has happened.
Absence can make the heart see and then grow fonder. Distance, delay, "stopping the world and getting off," getting away from it all, is often a very smart move. When a basketball coach sees the team losing the lead and then falling apart, he or she calls, "Time out!"
But "Time out!" is not enough. We need to see what's going right and what's going wrong. We need to see what happened and then have a clearer picture of what we want to see happen. Individuals, couples, families, parishes, companies - everyone needs to take time out to see where they are, where they have been, and where they want to go. And when we do this, when we take time out to see, to really see what's important, we can be transfigured. In fact, we'll want the moment to last forever.
However, like Jesus we have to come down from the mountain and back to earth. But we can come down different because now we have a vision. Transfiguration takes time - time out to get away from it all. Transfiguration calls for prayer - prayer on lonely mountains with Jesus. Transfiguration gives us new purpose - a clearer vision. (Markings, February 28, 1999)
The Second Sunday of Lent is always the glorious and beautiful account of the Transfiguration of Jesus, in the presence of Peter, James and John. A great Church (The Church of the Transfiguration) marks the place on Mt. Tabor where this vision is said to have taken place. There is a glorious mosaic behind the altar, which, when the sun shines in the church, gives one a hint of what the actual event must have been like.
The preface for the Mass of this day teaches us that this vision was not only a prefiguring of the Resurrection, but was also given to Peter, James and John to strengthen them for the dark days of the Lord's passion which were coming soon. This Gospel helps to focus on experiences of the Lord's presence which we have been gifted with, which were given to us to help through the routine and valley moments of life.
Speaking of this Gospel, the liturgical commentary entitled Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year notes that Jesus speaks with the authority of the beloved Son, which he delegated to his Apostles on the mountain in Galilee: ÔAll power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age' (Matt 28:18- 20). The mystery of the Transfiguration concerns the entire ChurchÑall Christians! The voice is addressed to us with a particular force during Lent when the insistent call to conversion resounds.
The first reading tells us that the Lord commanded Abram to leave his homeland and go to a new country. There God would make of him a great nation, and all would be blessed because him. In the second reading St. Paul tells Timothy that God saves all people and calls them to a holy life because of Christ who robbed death of its power and brought us life through the Gospel.
Today's passage from the Gospel is the story of Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain. With Moses (signifying the Law) and Elijah (representing the prophets) at his side, he was changed from an ordinary appearance to a glorified image before the eyes of his disciples Peter, James, and John. In this way he was shown to be God's favored Son.
Message:
Jesus, fully God and fully human, reveals himself in glory and gives us a glimpse of eternal life, already begun here and now in the dimensions of spirituality, evangelization, and community. This kind of transformation comes from -- and gives meaning to -- the cross (sacrifice, hardship). We focus on the virtue of hope because such a transformation is the loving, gratuitous gift from God -- the same gift that gave Abram the confidence to venture into the unknown and gave St. Paul the courage to talk about that trust in God's grace necessary for becoming holy.
Application:
We are confronted every day with attitudes and actions that have a tendency to knock us down. We embark upon a journey of penance during Lent, but can become discouraged or distracted. We work at relating to others, and we find ourselves misunderstood or misjudged, disregarded or distrusted. We trust leaders or co-workers and are betrayed or taken advantage of. Time and time again we are faced with the obstacles of life that get in the way of spiritual development, psychological stability, mental health, physical fitness, or relational well-being. The temptation, then, is to give up.
But our experience of the transfiguration -- overcoming human difficulties or triumphing over the negative effects of the "cross" -- gives us a new lease on life, renews us with energy and enthusiasm, rejuvenates our spirit, and revitalizes our mind. It is a source of hope which removes disappointment and discouragement.
All this happens because we choose to take the risk, like Abram, to go where we've not been before in our striving for holiness, to make purposeful changes in viewpoints and behaviors, and to "put to death" within us whatever keeps us from God and from others.
--Father Benet OFM
Sin is ... a wound inflicted upon the Church. In fact, every sin harms the holiness of the ecclesial community. Since all the faithful are in solidarity in the Christian community, there can never be a sin which does not have an effect on the whole community. If it is true that the good done by one person is a benefit and help to all the others, unfortunately it is equally true that the evil committed by one obstructs the perfection to which all are tending...
Reconciliation with God is also reconciliation with the Church, and in a certain sense with all of creation, whose harmony is violated by sin. The Church is the mediatrix of this reconciliation. It is a role assigned to her by her Founder, who gave her the mission and power of forgiving sins. Every instance of reconciliation with God thus takes place in an explicit or implicit, conscious or unconscious, relationship with the Church.
[TPS 37/5, 1992, 305]
The Church has the mission of proclaiming this reconciliation and as it were of being its sacrament in the world. The Church is the sacrament, that is to say, the sign and means of reconciliation, in different ways which differ in value but which all come together to obtain what the divine initiative of mercy desires to grant humanity.
She is the sacrament in the first place by her very existence as a reconciled community which witnesses to and represents in the world the work of Christ. She is also a sacrament through her service as the custodian and interpreter of sacred Scripture...
Finally, she is a sacrament by reason of the seven sacraments which, each in its own way, "make the Church." For since they commemorate and renew Christ's Paschal Mystery, all the sacraments are a source of life [and] a means of conversion to God and of reconciliation among people. [RP n. 11]
-- Pope John Paul II
As we enter the second week of Lent we are presented with a vision, that is, a goal to which we are called. Whenever we begin something new it helps to be given something upon which to focus. It is in this that we have hope.
The Lord Jesus shares that vision with Peter, James and John. It is the ultimate glory to which we are called; the purpose we have been created. We are offered that in the experience of the Transfiguration.
Daily challenges, routine and preoccu-pation often weigh us down. They are part of life. We need, however, to never loose sight of the bigger picture; that is, God has created us for Himself.
Lent is that graced time to refocus and recommit. As the Father says from on high: This is my beloved Son on whom my favor rests. Listen to Him (Mt. 17-5). Let us open our hearts and minds to these words during this week and let the perspective that Jesus gives help us to live with courage and conviction.
This time is filled with hope and that becomes clearer as we let ourselves be taught by our Lord. Open your heart! Let the Lord in and experience the divine love.
Fr. Ron
A friend of mine came back from a vacation to the Bahamas with a small sea shell. He put it on his desk as a reminder. He told me, "When things get crazy, this reminds me to stop, relax, and get back in touch with my inner core." That's not a bad prescription for Lent. Can you take some time each day with the Lord to get back in touch with your inner core? Dag Hammarskjould wrote in his autobiography "Markings": "The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you hear what is sounding outside of you."
Father Murphy
Ashes marked us as Catholics on Ash Wednesday, and people asked us why. It's a good question, especially when the Gospel says, "Go to your room...Don't do in public like the hypocrites..." What is our response?
Surely in part it must be that our interior disposition is what is critical. Do we have ashes on our foreheads in order to have others think, "Boy, he/she is really religious"? If so, we have our reward, as the Lord says in the Gospel, and probably our condemnation, too. But if we are willing to be marked for Christ and to let the ashes symbolize our interior desire to reform and come closer to Him, then we are living another part of the Sermon on the Mount: "Let your light shine, so that others may see your good works and give glory to God" (Matt. 5:16). The motto of St. Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits applies to us:
everything must be done for the glory of God and not for our own ego-building.
Easter will be here faster than most of us can think or imagine. Let's do a great job of preparing ourselves for a celebration of resurrection that also celebrates the empty tomb--not just that of Jesus but the "emptied tomb" of our own hearts. With His help, let stone be rolled away!
-Fr. David
1. GENESIS 12:1-4.
The first intervention of God in human history recorded in the Bible is the call of a desert tribesman called Abram. Abram believes in the Lord and his obedience is rewarded with God's promise that the world would become a better place because of his family.
APPLICATION: Abram became Abraham, our ancestor in faith, by letting go of all that was comforting and familiar to him. His trust in the Lord is our inspiration.
2. 2 TIMOTHY 1:8-10.
St. Paul urges Timothy to rely on the power of God in order to fulfill his mission. He encourages Timothy and all of us to be faithful even in hardship. The grace of God given by Jesus will deliver us from death and lead us to eternal life.
APPLICATION: No hardship should keep Christians from being faithful to their divine call not because of their own strength, but because of the power of God.
3. MATTHEW 17:1-9.
We hear the story of the Transfiguration. Jesus is the beloved Son of God, we are to listen to him. God uses this event to show that Jesus is the one final revelation of His law and word.
APPLICATION: The story of the Transfiguration is more than a past event. It is a promise that all of us and the world in which we live will be transformed from the dull, humdrum routine we experience into the garden of peace and justice as it was before Adam sinned.
Fr. Eugene R. Sinz
Second Sunday of Lent: OBEDIENCE - Abraham is the sign of obedience and faithfulness to God's will. St. Paul reminds us that the way of obedience can be difficult, but from Jesus comes the power to endure suffering. Jesus accepts God's will to obediently follow the Way of the Cross. Peter wants nothing to do with this way of suffering. He wants the glory. Our lives are often filled with anxieties, problems, and suffering. Like Jesus, can we see the value of our personal suffering? Can we allow God's will to work through our weakness? Can the "dyings" that we experience in our lives transform us, convert us into people who live for God and each other?
With this series of historical vignettes we review the history of the parish and archdiocese.
DECLINING DAYS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL
The throbbing momentum of a fresh, strong, flourishing parish life now began to ebb for the Old Cathedral. With the ever expanding commercial areas inexorably eliminating the old residential areas around the church, the Old Cathedral was rapidly receding in the wake of the swiftly growing city. In time the Old Cathedral assumed less and less importance in the religious life of St. Louis, and seemed almost to have outlived its usefulness.
The dignified hallowed old parish was soon left to dream of former glorious memories and traditions, while exposed to continuous deterioration.
Since 1853 there had been no new buildings erected or any material alterations made in the church properties as they stood then. Each succeeding year after the beginning of the decline of the parish, more new commercial buildings replaced the little homes that at the middle of the last century had made the Old Cathedral parish the most densely populated part of the city.
THE "KNOW-NOTHING" ATTACK:
As a rule the parish life ran a smooth and almost sluggish course, yet not a little excitement was occasioned by the activities of the "Know-Nothings" movement in St. Louis which reached its climax in 1854. One night a large and furious band of "Know-Nothings" attacked the Cathedral determined to burn the church. But an old Irish soldier, a veteran artilleryman of Waterloo, had mounted a brass cannon in front of the church, and "Know-Nothings", catching sight of it, fired some wild shots and fled. However, their shots did strike the cross on the steeple, and in the Old Cathredal Museum today may be seen a small piece of metal from this cross pierced by two bullet holes. There were no further attempts to molest the Cathedral property and the "Know-Nothings" wave of bigotry soon subsided.
Yet there were many solemn ecclesiastical functions to grace the declining days of the Old Cathedral. On July 25, 1854, Father Anthony O'Reagan was consecrated as Bishop of Chicago; on May 3, 1857, Father James Duggan was consecrated Coadjutor Bishop of St. Louis, and the Rt. Rev. Clement Smith as coadjutor to Bishop Loras of Dubuque. In 1862, a former pastor of the Old Cathedral, Father Patrick John Ryan, was consecrated Coadjutor to Archbishop Kenrick, later being transferred to Philadelphia. On May, 1859, Rt. Rev. James Whelan and the Rt. Rev. James O'Gorman were consecrated, the former becoming Bishop of Nashville, and the latter the Vicar Apostolic of Nebraska. Later in the same year, on July 24, Rt. Rev. Thomas L. Grace was consecrated, succeeding later to the See of St. Paul. On November 1, 1865, Father Patrick A. Feehan was consecrated for the See of Nashville.
Three men arrived at the pearly gates at the same time. One was a doctor, one was a medical scientist, and one was an insurance salesman. St. Peter asked each of them what their greatest accomplishment was in life. The doctor replied," I invented the mechanical heart and saved many lives." St. Peter said, "That is wonderful, go ahead and enter in." The scientist told St. Peter that he had developed the AZT drug for AIDS. St. Peter said, "That's wonderful, go ahead and enter in." The insurance salesman stepped up and declared that he had structured the HMO insurance concept. St. Peter thought a minute and said, "Go ahead and enter in, but you can only stay 3 days."
In Jesus' Love, Fr. John
