Second Sunday of Lent. Year C - Sunday, March 13, 2022
(EPISODE:355 )

Readings for Sunday, March 13, 2022
FIRST READING: Gen 15:5-12, 17-18
Ps 27:1, 7-8a, 8b-9, 13-14. "The Lord is my light and my salvation"
SECOND READING: Phil 3:17–4:1
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 17:5). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! from the shining cloud the Father's voice was heard. This is my beloved Son, hear him.
GOSPEL: Luke 9:28b-36 - Transfiguration

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Second Sunday of Lent. Year C - Sunday, March 13, 2022 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-355-lent-2c-2022?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
(EPISODE:355 )
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* (Homily: Fr Paul Kelly)
This weekend's gospel of the Transfiguration of the Lord is a wonderful reminder that God's glory is around us all the time; in the people and events of life. But, it is not always as obvious as this moment that Jesus experienced, where his face literally shone like light.

We have probably all had "high-point moments," when something extraordinary and special happens to us; and it is as though "the veil between this life and the next" is temporarily parted, and we glimpse Heaven - and we gain a sweet taste of God's glory and wonder - but then those moments are gone and we are back to the everyday events of life. But, those high-point, (mountain-top), moments stay with us long afterward and spur us on; reminding us that God's glory is always present.

The spiritual writer Thomas Merton puts it this way: "every one of us walks around the streets of this town shining like the sun; if only we knew it…. "

Yes indeed! If only we realised this! The Glory and grace of God, shines in and around all of His beautiful creation, mostly lost under the cover of everyday bustle.

Saint Augustine, in his writings, describes a fascinating and beautiful moment; which in many ways is like a little 'taste' of 'transfiguration' in his own life story…….

It happened when Saint Augustine and his mother Saint Monica were just talking together while they stayed in a villa at the seaside port of Ostia in Rome, Italy. They were deep in discussion; sharing their faith and their hopes……..

Augustine writes:

"My mother and I were alone, leaning from a window which overlooked the garden in the courtyard of the house where we were staying at in Ostia. . . .Our conversation led us (to speak of many things)…….... And when we spoke of the eternal Wisdom, // longing for it //and straining for it with all the strength of our hearts//, for one fleeting instant //we reached out //and touched it. //...........Then with a sigh... //. we returned to the sound of our own speech, // in which each word has a beginning and an ending //- far, far different from your Word, Oh Lord, who abides forever, yet never grows old and gives new life to all things."

This beautiful little incident is like an echo of the Transfiguration of Our Lord on the mountaintop, where Jesus' divinity shines through for an instant in its fullness, and then everything returns to normal, and seems as ordinary as it was before……… But those who experience it are really never quite the same again. They are profoundly moved, to the depth of their being, by a deep experience of God's eternal grace.

This glimpse of glory is truly beautiful….

God gives us these occasional glimpses of his glory…… a divinity which, (by the way), actually surrounds us always, but we cannot always see it. Most times we do not recognize God's glory in the midst of ordinary life.

If God is not present and active in the ordinary moments of our lives, then it makes no sense. So thank goodness that this is precisely where God IS found.

And similarly, the GLORY of God in Christ was AS present and active when he was walking a dusty path between towns, looking just like any other ordinary traveller, as when he shone with pure light on that mountain top. This whole transfiguration incident is God's way of saying.. "See this profound experience of Glory... Good! now go back to the usual programme,..... but remember.,...this man is the Holy One.... he has my complete confidence and blessing.... This is my Son.... This glory is IN him always..!! ..... at every moment.. even in the mundane ...... even in the boring and tedious moments.... and even ultimately as he suffers and dies on a cross, seeming like just another common criminal.. But, Look deeper .. look beyond appearances. See the reality.

Equating a good spiritual life with only a continuous or even fairly regular "25,000-volt epiphanies" ignores the fact that we live our lives at the very effective "240-volt" level for everyday usage.

We must that God will give us what we need in due time and in the ways and times of God's choosing. If we only go around looking for the dramatic mountaintop experiences of spiritual life, (or for that matter, the extraordinary moments in life), we would miss the countless little moments of ordinary grace that fill up even the most ordinary or seemingly unexceptional day.

There are also many saints in the life of the church, who went years... sometimes decades... without any exceptional spiritual consolations, but continued to live the ordinary moments of graced life in exceptional devotion, faith, and good works.

God is constantly reminding us of what Augustine himself wrote as well….…. despite that wonderful moment of grace he described in his writings… he also wrote something even more profound…. "Loving God…….You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

God does not always act in ways according to our own expectations. God is in charge. We are humble servants whose "eyes are always on the hand of our master; waiting for the slightest movement, so we might leap up and answer whatever is requested…

and... at all times... "Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!"

+++++REFERENCES:

FR. PAUL W. KELLY

MISSION 2000 – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR C. BY MARK LINK S.J.

2010 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE.

THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

From Saint Augustine: Confessions (Book nine, chapter 10). [Augustine. Confessions. Trans. R.S. Pine-Coffin. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1961, page 197 (paperback edition).]

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Second Sunday of Lent. Year C (Sunday, March 13, 2022) (EPISODE: 355 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{Joy and peace to everyone}} welcome everyone, we gather - Reflect upon the Holy Scriptures and the values of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
I Confess……

tracks

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy" inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020.

[ Production - KER - 2022]

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Ps 27:1, 7-8a, 8b-9, 13-14. "The Lord is my light and my salvation"

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 17:5). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! from the shining cloud the Father's voice was heard. This is my beloved Son, hear him.
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Roman Catholic Reflections and Homilies

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Homily and Mass - Surfers Catholic Parish - Second Sunday of Lent. Year C - Sunday, March 13, 2022 (EPISODE:355 )

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