Vol. 35 No. 16                                                (Cycle A)     2nd SUNDAY OF Lent     Jesus in his glory ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Remember your mercies, Lord, your tenderness from ages past. Do not let our enemies triumph over us; O God, deliver Israel from all her distress. INTRODUCTION Today we are invited to look at for a brief moment Jesus in his heavenly glory. His divine glory in awesome majesty and in dazzling brightness is made visible to the disciples in the context of Jesus’ impending suffering and crucifixion. The purpose of this experience was to strengthen their faith as they would soon face Christ’s humiliation and death. PENITENTIAL RITE Dear sisters and brothers, to prepare ourselves for the transformation that God does in our lives through this Eucharist, let us recall to mind the ways by which we have tarnished the glory of God in us.(Pause) Lord, you invite us to meet you in our suffering and trials. Lord, have mercy. Lord, you change us by your grace from glory to glory. Christ, have mercy. Lord, you offer us love and eternal life at this Eucharist. Lord, have mercy. OPENING PRAYER Let us pray. God our Father, help us to hear your Son. Enlighten us with your word that we may find the way to your glory. We ask this... FIRST READING (In this reading Abram was asked by God to leave behind everything and to go to an unknown place fully relying upon the promises made to him.) A reading from the Book of Genesis (12:1-4) The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (32) Response : May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you. For the Word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine. Our soul is waiting for the Lord, the Lord is our help and our shield. May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you. SECOND READING (Paul assures us that God calls every one to share his holiness and glory, not because of our merits but because of the merits of Jesus.) A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to Timothy (1:8-10) Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Mt 17:5) From the bright cloud the Father’s voice was heard: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” GOSPEL (Jesus is transfigured before his disciples and reveals to them his divine glory.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (17:1-9) After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here: if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.” This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God, / the Father Almighty, / Creator of heaven and earth. / I believe in Jesus Christ, / his only Son, our Lord. / He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit / and born of the Virgin Mary. /He suffered under Pontius Pilate, /was crucified, died, and was buried. / He descended to the dead. / On the third day he rose again. / He ascended into Heaven, / and is seated at the right hand of the Father. / He will come again to judge the living and the dead. / I believe in the Holy Spirit, /the Holy Catholic Church, / the communion of saints, / the forgive-ness of sins, / the resurrection of the body, / and the life everlasting. / Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear sisters and brothers, In Jesus we have become God’s beloved children. Let us pray that we may listen to Jesus and share in his glory. Response : Father, help us listen to your Son. 1. For our Pope, bishops and priests that they may always and perseveringly listen to the promptings and inspirations of the Holy Spirit and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ through their lives. 2. For all the Christians that they may always commit themselves to follow Jesus Christ and come to experience his glory in their lives. 3. For religious harmony that all the people may come to experience the holiness of God and come to live in peace, unity and love. 4. For all the world leaders, that they may always follow the path of justice, peace and equality and liberate the people from present social evils. (Pray for personal/local needs) Cel: Merciful God, you revealed the mystery of your presence in the person of Jesus Christ, your only Son. Open our hearts that we may listen to him and come to experience his glory. We ask this… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, make us holy. May this eucharist take away our sins that we may be prepared to celebrate the resurrection. We ask this... PREFACE (P 13) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. On your holy mountain he revealed himself in glory in the presence of his disciples. He had already prepared them for his approaching death. He wanted to teach them through the Law and Prophets that the promised Christ had first to suffer and so come to the glory of his resurrection. In our unending joy we echo on earth the song of the angels in heaven as they praise your glory for ever: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON This is my Son, my beloved, in whom is all my delight: listen to him (Mt 17:5). PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, we give thanks for these holy mysteries which bring to us here on earth a share in the life to come. We ask this... LITURGY AND LIFE Lent is a time for knowing Christ, following Christ, and living Christ more fully. According to today’s readings, Lent is about listening to God, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him”. Lent is about responding to God’s call as 75-year-old Abraham did in our first reading. Lent is about living more wholeheartedly the “holy life” that St Paul talks of in the second reading. Today’s Gospel, the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain is a companion to last Sunday’s Gospel, the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Each year the temptation is on the first Sunday of Lent, the transfiguration is given always on the second Sunday. These two Gospels go together to reveal the true identity of Jesus, and so too, our true identity as his disciples is being transformed into Christ’s image. Last Sunday we became aware that, like Jesus, we too are poor, hungry and tempted. Today Jesus – last week’s poor, dependent one – glows with God’s presence. God’s voice says, “You are my beloved Son”. Today we are reminded that, like Jesus, we are also chosen and beloved. We remember today that the glory glowing in Jesus’ face belongs also to us and that this Lenten journey is a journey of transformation into Christ’s likeness. Today’s transfiguration experience is deeply consoling for Jesus. It prepares him for the hard times ahead. The experience is consoling for Peter, James and John as well. They say: “This is wonderful, can we stay here?” This Gospel message can be of an experience of consolation for us too. Consolation is the warm experience of God’s presence and love in our hearts. All of us experience this not all the time, but at least from time to time. It is an experience of God’s presence in a way that moves us, maybe even moving us to tears. God’s consoling experiences are very important for us because it encourages us and gives us hope in our struggles and difficulties. These are most valuable especially when God seems far away and the road ahead seems hard. Let us listen and pay attention to our experience of God, our consolation, during this Lent. Sometimes those consoling experiences come when we are alone. We just know God is real and close, and we find new hope. Sometimes consolation comes when we are together at prayer. You and I need to know that our prayerful presence helps people experience God’s care. Let us pay attention to the mount Tabor experience of our daily lives, of our consoling experience of God – alone and together – and let God’s consolation encourage us. We pray during this Lent: “Lord, as we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, you bring the image of your son to perfection within us.” * * * Illustration: A rare disease caused Rocky Dennis, a 16-year-old boy, look very awkward. His skull and the bones in his face got disfigured and grew larger than they should. His grotesque appearance caused his school friends to shy away from him and others began to laugh at him. However, Rocky was happy and was friendly with everyone. One day Rocky alongwith other students were taken to a science museum where there was a “mirror gallery”. As the boys got into this house of mirrors they began to laugh seeing their distorted appearance in the mirrors. Suddenly Rocky saw something which startled him. One mirror distorted his grotesque face in such a manner that it appeared to be normal and even strikingly handsome. Others also noticed it. For the first time, Rocky’s friends saw him a whole new way. They saw from the outside what he is on the inside: a truly beautiful person February 2008 READINGS OF THE WEEK (Psalter Week 2) 18 Mon (V) Dn 9:4b-10; Ps 78:8.9.11&13; Lk 6:36-38 19 Tue (V) Is 1:10.16-20; Ps 49:8-9.16bc-17.21&23; Mt 23:1-12 20 Wed (V) Jer 18:18-20; Ps 30:5-6.14.15-16; Mt 20:17-28 21 Thu (W) St Peter Damian Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1:1-2.3.4&6; Lk 16:19-31 22 Fri (W) Chair of St Peter (F) 1 Pt 5:1-4; Ps 22:1-3a.4.5.6; Mt 16:13-19 23 Sat (R) St Polycarp (M) Mi 7:14-15.18-20; Ps 101:1-2.3-4.9-10.11-12; Lk 15:1-3.11-32