My friends in Christ,
We are well into our lenten journey at this point. I hope whatever discipline you chose for yourself has been fruitful so far. If you haven’t gotten into the spirit of the season, it’s not too late. You can start today. Let us make sure we don’t fall into the temptation to just let Lent pass us by without giving it much thought. Lent is an essential time for our spiritual lives. We can use Lent the same way a farmer prepares his fields in the springtime. We need to prepare the fields now so that they will provide a bountiful harvest later. Just as the fields need to be plowed and rocks and weeds removed, we need to use this spiritual springtime to remove habitual sin, resentments, and bad habits that keep us from growing closer to Christ. We do this through prayer, mortification, and penance. We especially do this through the sacrament of Confession. If you have not been to confession for a while, especially if you do not know the last time you went, go as soon as possible.
Our Gospel today recalls for us Christ’s Transfiguration. Our Lord was Transfigured in order to reveal his glory and prepare the apostles to accept his cross and crucifixion. It reveals that Jesus Christ is God yet he still has to suffer and die for our sins. He did this so that they would remember it when they see him in agony on the Cross. On Mount Tabor, his divinity was clearly shown, and on Good Friday they will see his suffering humanity. This is the case for us now with the Eucharist. While the glory of God is not clearly seen when we see the host, it is still there. We must remember this every time we approach the altar to receive him in Holy Communion.
The account of the Transfiguration is always read on the Second Sunday of Lent. This is because it is something that we should reflect on as we enter the Lenten season. The words of Saint John Paul II can help us: “For the Transfiguration is not only the revelation of Christ’s glory but also a preparation for facing Christ’s Cross. It involves both ‘going up the mountain’ and ‘coming down the mountain.’ The disciples who have enjoyed this intimacy with the Master, surrounded for a moment by the splendor of the Trinitarian Life and of the communion of saints… are immediately brought back to daily reality, where they see ‘Jesus only,’ in the lowliness of his human nature, and are invited to return to the valley, to share with him the toil of God’s plan and to set off courageously on the way to the Cross.”
So let us use these next few weeks to accompany Jesus down the mountain and up to Jerusalem, where he will take all of our sins upon himself. Let us use this blessed season of Lent to pray with scripture. I suggest reading the Gospel of Mark. Learn about the life of Christ, meditate on the words, and seek to hear how the Lord is speaking to you. Offer up the various crosses of our daily lives in reparation for sin. Use this time to become closer to Christ. Let us prepare ourselves for his resurrection. Let us listen to our heavenly Father when he says: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Hound of the Lord 