Second Sunday of Lent

Dear Parishioner,

The second week of Lent we often read the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Somehow this seems like a strange reading to have during Lent. Jesus is glorified on Mt. Tabor as Peter, James and John look on. What is the purpose of this event? Was it to encourage the apostles as the time of the Passion of Jesus approached? Was it a preview of the resurrection?

Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Did Moses represent the Law while Elijah represented the prophetic part of the Scripture. Jesus, of course, was the word made flesh. Were these two Biblical figures affirming Jesus’ importance? We also could speculate that they were appearing with Jesus because neither one of them seemed to die in the expected way in the Bible. Moses simply faded into the desert. Elijah rode to heaven in a fiery chariot. Did their appearance on the mountain mean that Jesus was also not going to experience death in the usual way?

The apostles hear a voice from heaven affirming Jesus as God’s chosen one. We read about a similar voice at the Baptism of Jesus and we hear of mystical events at the time of Jesus’ death. At those times the veil between heaven and earth seemed to open. Heaven touched the earth in a special way.

At the end of this wonderful story we hear that the apostles looked up and saw only Jesus. None of us will experience what the apostles experienced on Mt. Tabor. Our faith is based only on the stories of Jesus and our own personal experiences of Jesus. It does not seem like very much at times, but our faith flows out of this. The words of Jesus to St. Thomas in the Gospel of John (20:29) reassure us today. “Blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe.”

During this Lenten Season, we look for Jesus through prayer and penance so that we can believe more deeply. We seek him. May our spiritual practices help us to find the one for whom we long.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark

P.S. Fr. Sebastian is in Canada right now. Originally, he had planned to be gone for the month of February. He is trying to finish his PHD work on his Canon Law degree. He would like to get this done because his visa will be running out this year and he will probably need to return to Uganda. He is trying to get done and get back to us as soon as he can. Until then, I am the only priest at Sacred Heart. With the help of Msgr. Wellman and other priests we will maintain the Mass schedule and liturgical schedule as it is. Please be patient if I cannot respond to your needs as rapidly as you might want. Thank you for your patience.