General. We are trudging on in Lent, hopefully, in penance and repentance. Yet this does not mean that Lent is a time to think only of the Passion and Death of Jesus, ignoring his resurrection and ascension to the Father. All these events together constitute the celebration of the Eucharist which is a Divine Mystery and Liturgy in itself reminiscent of the central events of the Paschal Triduum towards which we are heading. By listening to God’s Word we will be purifying our soul to be able to encounter His Christ face to face in our individual resurrection event.

Genesis. The story of Abraham offering his son Isaac is a story of man’s obedience to God no matter what the requirements God seeks. For God saves when loyalty and obedience are shown to Him, just as much as God provides in any similar situation. God’s Providence is His gift to mankind, showing that He is the lord of history, and that anything that He wills happens. Our only reply is that His Will is ours too, our daily bread, and that we recognize Him as Providing Father in Heaven and on earth and, above all, in our individual lives.

Psalm 115. The Psalmist considers the servant of the Lord to be the happiest man on earth. No mental depression or physical illness can take away the joy of the down-trodden if only he can be sure of himself that he is fulfilling the Will of the Lord. To this end, the saving factor is Obedience and Perseverance, even if these two words do not make much sense in this age of self-assertiveness.

Romans. Jesus is God’s gift to man in a reasoning which is well above ours. God’s ways are certainly not ours and according to St Paul, in giving us Jesus how can He not also give us all we need with him? We now live both by God’s Law, the Torah of the Old Testament, which justifies us, and by the saving power of Jesus of the New Testament who rose from the dead and stands on the right hand of God interceding for us.

St Mark. The transfiguration of Jesus reminds us once more of the passing on from the Old to the New Testament together with the singleness of both Pacts intertwined together for the salvation of mankind. Jesus, the Son of God of the New Testament, stands gloriously between Moses (Torah – The Law) and Elijah (The Prophets) of the Old Testament. This is reminiscent of the transition from the old to the new economy and of the "newness" of Jesus and the change he brought about. Actually, the three faithful disciples began questioning Jesus’ expression about "rising from the dead", little understanding the concept of the event which changed the course of human history.

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