Palm Sunday Gospel A

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” 
· How did Jesus know this? This is another manifestation of one of the gifts of the Spirit which Jesus exercised: the gift of word of knowledge. Can you imagine the reaction of the disciples when they experienced this as Jesus had said? What would have been your reaction?

This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
· The prophesy is found in Zechariah 9:9. Read it. It reflects the humility of a great person as he rides not on a stallion but on a donkey.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” 
· The disciples and the accompanying pilgrims going to Jerusalem recognize that Jesus was the Son of David prophesied in the scriptures, the Messiah. Their actions are a response to this conviction.

And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
· Can you picture the consternation in the city when this throng of people, shouting and waving branches, enter Jerusalem. It was a procession akin to that of a victorious king after a battle.
· See yourself among the pilgrims and then among the people in Jerusalem, what do you feel and experience? What application do you make in your life?

We continue reflecting on Pope Francis's message to the world.

"The Lord asks us and, in the midst of our tempest, invites us to reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything seems to be floundering. The Lord awakens so as to reawaken and revive our Easter faith. We have an anchor: by his cross we have been saved. We have a rudder: by his cross we have been redeemed. We have a hope: by his cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one can separate us from his redeeming love. In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side. The Lord asks us from his cross to rediscover the life that awaits us, to look towards those who look to us, to strengthen, recognize and foster the grace that lives within us. Let us not quench the wavering flame (cf. Is 42:3) that never falters, and let us allow hope to be rekindled."

We can't look to ourselves or to the government to save us. We should only look to Jesus, who on the cross embraced the corona virus of the world, which represents our sins. As he, through his death destroyed sin and its eternal effect, so he has and will destroyed every corona virus that seeks to put fear in our lives. He died but rose again. This is the good news that should give us hope.

Last Friday night Pope Francis spoke to the world concerning our present crisis. I will share with you over the next few days some of the highlights of his message.

“'Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?' Lord, you are calling to us, calling us to faith. Which is not so much believing that you exist, but coming to you and trusting in you. This Lent your call reverberates urgently: 'Be converted!', 'Return to me with all your heart' (Joel 2:12). You are calling on us to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing. It is not the time of your judgement, but of our judgement: a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others."

How appropriate these words are, so much to the point. Either we trust in God or we do not. It is not a time to bargain, but to surrender our will so as to more fully embrace his will. We are not in charge. God is the Lord of the universe. We belong to him whether we live or die. Recognizing this and acting on it is the path to the Lord.

Recently, in one of his daily homilies Pope Francis said: "In these days there's so much suffering. There's a lot of fear. The fear of the elderly who are alone in nursing homes or hospitals, or in their own  homes, and don't know what will happen. The fear of those who don't have regular jobs and are thinking about how to feed their children. They foresee they may go hungry. The fear of many civil servants. At this moment they're working to keep society functioning and they might get sick. There's also the fear, the fears, of each one of us. Each one knows what their own fears are. We pray to the Lord that he might help us to trust, and to tolerate and conquer these fears."

First of all, we must acknowledge and face our fears. Secondly, we need to remind ourselves that fear can devastate us if we allow it. Thirdly, we need to turn to the Lord, who is always present to us as our  provider and protector. Fourthly, we need to encourage each other during these times. Fifthly, instead of letting fears become all-encompassing, focus on the many blessings we have and are receiving in the midst of this crisis: the blessings of life, of one another, of health, etc. As Jesus said to Jairus: "Fear is useless. What is needed is trust."

As we continue our journey to the cross and resurrection, especially during this trying crisis that could lead to despair, I chosen the following words of Pope Leo the Great for our daily reflection.

"No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one i s beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance....The business of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive with all the love of our heart to be like our Redeemer, and to follow his example. Everything that he did or suffered was for our salvation: he wanted his body to share the goodness of its head."

In the midst of every crises stands the cross of Jesus as our hope. What can separate us from the love of God? Definitely not this or any crisis. The Lord is still present with us and within us. We are to keep our eyes on the cross of the Lord.

As we celebrate this Solemnity of the Annunciation, we are really acknowledging the mystery of the Incarnation. The Son of God took our flesh, God became man. Reflecting on this, I share with you the words of Pope Leo the Great.

"He took the nature of a servant without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity. He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was the condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself."

There is much to ponder in this mystery. It centers around the question "why". Why did God acted so drastically? One word alone helps us understand. Love. "God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten Son." This is the Feast of Incarnate Love. Thank you, Lord, for your tremendous love for us!

Fifth Sunday of Lent: Gospel A

So the sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death,  but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
Lazarus will in fact die. But his will not be his ultimate fate because Jesus will raise him to new life, affording an opportunity for others to glorify God by means of the miracle.

" Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
The delay of Jesus proves fatal for Lazarus at the moment. This period of waiting is not a              mistake or miscalculation, but part of Jesus’ plan to generate faith in the disciples. Raising the dead to new life will have a more profound effect on them than raising the sick to health.

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 
Jews during NT times customarily wrapped the dead with a shroud, tied strip of cloth around their extremities and anointed their bodies with fragrant oils and spices..

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles  away. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (But) even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." 
The resurrection of the dead on the last day was currently held by all in Judaism except  the Sadducees.

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."
• Martha professes her faith in Jesus.

He became perturbed  and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see." And Jesus wept. 
• The humanity of Jesus is very clear in this event, even knowing what he was about to do.

So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" 
• Though Martha professed faith earlier, now when Jesus called her to exercise that faith, she faltered. The reality of death was too real.

So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father,  I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,  "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go." 
• Jesus’ love for Lazarus was real and visible. Do we recognize that same love for us? How have I experienced in the past this unconditional love?

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him
• When and where has my faith in Jesus as “the Resurrection of the Life” been tested in the past?
• When I face the death of a loved one, does my faith in the above promises of Jesus sustain and comfort me?

I was just told a story of a priest in Italy who was on a respirator fighting for his life. Then, he heard that there was a young married man with children in need of a respirator, but none was available. The priest told the doctor to give his respirator to the young man, so he can live for his family. Shortly afterwards, the priest died. Heroism is alive and well in the midst of so much gloom. 

This reminds me of the words of Jesus: "Greater love has no one, than to lay down his life for a friend."  We may not be called to lay down our physical life, but we are called to seek the good and well-being of others. This is the great commandment. What can I do today to exercise this commandment? Call someone who is alone? Reach out to those who are isolated? Encourage someone who is depressed? Send a note to someone I haven't spoken to for years? The possibilities are endless. The call to love is the voice of God to us at this moment in our lives. It is a fundamental message of Lent.

On reflecting on the Gospel passage where Jesus healed the man born blind, Pope Francis shared these thoughts. "One thing is true. In Jesus' presence, the true sentiments of the heart come forth. Our true attitudes come out. This is a grace. Because of this St. Augustine was afraid to let Him pass by without realizing it....May it provoke our sentiments to come out so we might understand well what St Augustine tells us. 'I am afraid when the Lord passes, because he might pass by and I may not recognize it and convert myself."

Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Jesus is in our midst. Rather than focus on fear, we need to become more attentive to his presence in the small things of our daily life where he shows himself. It may be an inspiration to call someone. It may be a thought of spending some time in prayer. It may be something you see on TV which turns your attention to him. Jesus is passing by. Don't miss the grace moment in each present moment of the day. 

It is so easy for us to limit our prayer during any time of crisis or serious need to the prayer of petition. This is normal. But we need always to begin with thanksgiving before petition. Thanksgiving focuses us on the blessings God has given us. Petition focuses on my concerns. 

What would happen if we end our day with making a list of what we are grateful to God for that day. We don't have to cover everything, but just the more important graces God gave us that day. Gratitude of the heart would put our petitions into perspective.

Our prayer would then reflect the prayer of the psalms. "I will praise God's name with a song; I will glorify him with thanksgiving." (Ps 69)

Someone sent me the following prayer that I felt I should share with you.

"Father, in the Name of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I call forth Your Presence and Power to be injected into the very molecular and biochemical structure of the coronavirus. May Your Presence and Power destroy the mutation capabilities and transference of the virus upon humanity. And I thank You and I praise You! Amen"

Man can do whatever he can to control this pandemic situation. But only God can destroy it from spreading further. Our help is in the name of the Lord! On this Solemnity of St. Joseph, we hope to follow his example of faith and trust in the will of God in spite of the circumstances around us.

"Lent is the “sacramental sign of our conversion” (cf. Roman Missal, Oration, Collect, First Sunday of Lent); those who make the Lenten journey are always on the path of conversion. Lent is the sacramental sign of our journey from slavery to freedom, always to be renewed. It is certainly a demanding journey, as it rightly should be, because love is demanding, but it is a journey filled with hope. Indeed, I would add: the Lenten exodus is the journey in which hope itself is formed. The difficulty in crossing the desert — all the trials, temptations, illusions, mirages ... — all this serves to forge a solid, steadfast hope, on the model of that of the Virgin Mary, who, in the midst of the darkness of the Passion and death of her Son, continues to believe and to hope in his Resurrection, in the victory of God’s love." (Pope Francis)

These words of Pope Francis apply primarily to our Lenten journey of deeper, inner conversion to the Lord. But, in our present world-wide crisis, they are applicable. As we continue to turn to the Lord in the hope of being spared and delivered, we have the assurance that we will participate "in his Resurrection, in the victory of God's love." Death itself cannot prevent this, because we share in the life of God, which is eternal. With St. Paul we can say: "Death, where is your sting...where is your victory." Our hope is in the Lord!

Fourth Sunday of Lent  Gospel A

As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 
● There was a common understanding at the time that serious sickness, such as blindness, was due to punishment for sin, either one’s own sins and the sins of one’s parents.
Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash  in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see. 

● As the light of the world Jesus heals the blind man first to physical sight.
● The washing in the Pool of Siloam is seen as a foreshadowing of the Sacrament of Baptism which frees us from the darkness of sin and brings us into the life of God.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am." So they said to him, "(So) how were your eyes opened?" He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went there and washed and was able to see." And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know." 

● The man first acknowledges Jesus simply as “the man” who performed a miracle.  Last Sunday’s Gospel Jesus evangelized a Samaritan woman. She began her spiritual journey with the negative comment about Jesus being a Jewish man.

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay  and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."  So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath." (But) others said, "How can a sinful man do such signs?" And there was a division among them. 

● Keeping the Sabbath was more important to the leaders than the healing of one born blind.

So they said to the blind man again, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." 

● Notice the progression: first he acknowledges Jesus as a man who performs miracles; now he states that he is a prophet (one who speaks the word of God).

Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?" His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for him self." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him." 

● Are there times we keep silent or try to avoid speaking the truth for fear of what others may say or do?

So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise!  We know that this man is a sinner." He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see." So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from." The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.  It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything." They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out. 

● He next testifies that Jesus was one come from God with miraculous powers.
● Notice the process: The blind man’s sight is restored, but the leaders become progressively more blind to the truth of who Jesus truly is. The man’s journey began as a blind man in darkness, but leads him to a man of great spiritual insight.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him. 

● As the light of the world, Jesus enlightens the man so that he sees spiritually enough to profess belief in him as the Messiah.  The journey of faith is complete. He has been evangelized.

Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind." Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.”

● The leaders claimed they see, but in reality they were spiritually blind to the truth of who Jesus was. In fact, they refuse to see. Is that true of us sometimes?

● What have I learned from this passage? How does Jesus desire to bring me into a new level of understanding: leading me from darkness into a deeper understanding in faith concerning who he is?

● How do our unrepentant sins keep us in darkness? Does Jesus want to give us the same spiritual insight as he gave the man born blind?  What holds us back?
● What has our spiritual journey been like?

Over the centuries, the human race has experienced pandemic disasters, human-initiated genocides and horrific natural catastrophes. God does not cause these. Nor does God take pleasure in them. However, in each God allows us to recognize that we are helpless without him. 

As a people we have turned away from God in so many ways. We have chosen to defile the commands of the Lord for our own self-interest. Many have chosen a secular and individualistic approach to morals and life, implicitly and explicitly saying they don't need God in their life. The human being is the center of life and can do all things, even create or manipulate life. 

How far will we go before recognizing our total dependence upon God? When we will begin to fall on  our knees and express ourselves like the prophet Daniel. "We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and turned from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name." (Daniel 9:5-6)

This is a time of prayer before the Lord for his all-powerful intervention to deliver us from the present and future afflictions. Let the experts find cures. We will pray.

"Lent is a journey of hope. Indeed, this prospect is immediately evident if we consider that Lent was instituted in the Church as a time of preparation for Easter and that, therefore, the whole meaning of this 40-day period is illuminated by the Paschal Mystery toward which it is directed. We can imagine the Risen Lord who calls us to come out of our darkness, and so we set ourselves on the path toward the One who is Light. Lent is a journey toward the Risen Jesus; it is a period of repentance, also of mortification, not as an end in itself, but rather aimed at enabling ourselves to rise with Christ, to renew our baptismal identity, that is, to be born anew 'of the spirit', by the love of God (cf. Jn 3:3-6). This is why Lent is, by nature, a time of hope." (Pope Francis)

How easy is it to forget why we started the journey of Lent in the first place. Our focus is to be better able to enter into the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (the death and resurrection of Jesus).  To put away sin which brings death, so as to share more deeply in the life of Jesus. To prepare ourselves to renew our Baptismal promises, acknowledging God as Our Father, Jesus as our Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit as the One who sanctifies and anoints us. As a time of hope we fix our sights on the newness that is ours in God. 

"Lent is the time to start breathing again. It is the time to open our hearts to the breath of the One capable of turning our dust into humanity. It is not the time to rend our garments before the evil all around us, but instead to make room in our life for all the good we are able to do. It is a time to set aside everything that isolates us, encloses us and paralyzes us. Lent is a time of compassion." Pope Francis

What is this life we need to breathe in afresh? Is it not the life that comes from God, which is love. And if we breathe in love, what is it that we are to exhale? Is it not the effects of sin within us? The breathe of God renews and transforms us by helping us deal with the disease of sin within us. 

We are becoming more aware of the effects of the corona virus that is ravaging the world. We should become more aware of the corona virus of sin that has been devastating us from the beginning of creation. The former virus may cause physical death. But the later virus will cause eternal death. Lent is a time of grace to address the cause of this eternal death, namely sin, in our lives.

"Many people think that they are achieving great things in external  works such as fasting, going barefoot and other such practices which are called penances. But true penance, and the best kind of penance, is that whereby we can improve ourselves greatly and in the highest measure, and this consists in turning entirely away from all that is not God, or of God in ourselves and in all creatures, and in turning fully and completely towards our beloved God in an unshakable love so that our devotions and desire for him become great."  - Meister Eckhart 

As we continue in this the second week of Lent, do we see any changes in ourselves in regards to turning away from what is not of God to turning more fully towards pleasing the Lord in all things? If so, continue in this direction. If not, renew your commitment to confront areas of sin, so that we can experience the presence of God in a fuller way. For confronting sin is the real focus of Lent. For when we confront sin, we, through the grace and power of Jesus' death and resurrection, are confronting Satan. 

Imagine a rusty bolt on a door that has sagged on its hinges. For years, that bolt has never been shot efficiently, except by hammering it or by lifting the door a little and wriggling it home with effort. But let a skilled worker unscrew that old bolt, rub it with emery paper, bathe it in paraffin, polish it with fine sand, oil it generously and reset it with nicety. That bolt will now move with the touch of a finger, with the pressure of a feather. You could almost blow it open and shut. That is what Lent is all about; resetting the bolts on the doors of our hearts.

What causes this bolt to perform inefficiently is improper care. What causes us to live inefficiently in our relationship with God is sin. Sin creates a callousness within us. It creates a false sense of well being. Lent is our annual time to address sin in our lives, from the very root of sin. 

Notice the worker doesn't just continue the same process as before. Instead, he goes to the heart of the problem. We can cover over our sins or we can cleanse our minds and bodies and embrace the will of God in a given area.

"The real purpose of Lent is finding what God wants of our lives and sacrificing our pleasure, our ideas, our plans, our goals, our egos, for God's will and way." (Morton Kelsey)

We are sons and daughters of God. We belong to him by virtue of creation, redemption and sanctification. Our true happiness lies in be in union with him now, so that we can be in  union with him eternally. If love involves doing what pleases the other for the other's sake, then seeking the will of God for us and acting on it is the greatest love.

Jesus modeled this for us. In his humanity he sought the Father's will in all things, to the embracing of the cross for our salvation. We are called to imitate Jesus by seeking the will of the Father in all things.  Like Jesus we will struggle. "Father, take away this cup; not my will but yours be done."  Pray for the grace to embrace God's will in each present moment.

Jesus said: "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." What does this mean? Many of the scribes and Pharisees based their relationship with God on eternal observances and practices, even doing these radically. But Jesus pegged them when he said their hearts were far from the Lord in fact.

What is the righteousness Jesus expects from his disciples? I think St. Paul best summed  it up. "Whatever  you do in word or deed, do all  in the name of the Lord (in love), giving thanks to God the Father through Christ." Paul is merely summing up the two great Commandments Jesus taught. Love God with your whole heart, mind and strength and love others as Jesus has loved us.

Our righteousness is to be based on love not obligation, on an interior attitude of love, not on a mere eternal observance. What is your motive and reason in what you do? Is our relationship with God a "have to" or a choice in love?

We are given three prongs for Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Jesus spoke of them as important aspects of our spiritual journey. Concerning prayer, he said that multiplication of words publicly to be heard and seen was not praying. Someone has identified authentic prayer in these words. "Authentic prayer is fundamentally a prophetic experience, one in which the human creature can listen 
to the voice of the Lord in silence." (Fr. Pietro Bovati)

Yes, prayer is a dialogue between ourselves and God. But most of the time it turns out to be a monologue, with us doing most of the speaking. We spend much of our time petitioning God for our needs and the needs of others. There is nothing wrong with this. Jesus said to ask and we will receive. 

But this is prayer at the lower level of the ladder. The height of prayer is being still in the presence of the Lord and being present for the Lord. The focus of this form of prayer is totally God. It is the hardest form of prayer. "Be still and know that I am God." 

It is the prayer of the man who was seen sitting in Church for a long period of time without moving his lips in prayer or reading the scriptures, just smiling. When ask, what was he doing, he simply said: "I look at him and he looks and me and that's enough."  Try it.

God says through the prophet Isaiah: "My word shall go forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will achieving the end for which I sent it." Jesus explains that further when he said: "Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day".

How often do we hear the word of God but not hear it? We hear the sounds but do not allow that word to fully enter into our hearts and become effective. Either that word of God will bear fruit leading into eternal life or it will judge us for not acting on it. 

Next time we are at Mass, attentively listen to God's Word, reflect on it and act on it. That word will be effective to the extent we do this. Or in the words of St. Paul: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."

Second Sunday of Lent Gospel A

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 
· Why these three? Over the course of time they became Jesus’ inner circle. They will be invited by Jesus to go aside with him in the Garden to pray. They were the first to be ch
       chosen as disciples. Why Andrew was not included, we don’t know.

And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. 
· Put yourself in the place of the three. What do you think you would have thought or felt at this sight? What would be your initial response?

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. 
· Moses represented the Law and Elijah the prophets. Jesus had said that he would fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
· What do you think they were saying to Jesus? Probably, talking about his upcoming suffering and death.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 
· How we would want the joy of the present moment to last forever! Peter wanted to stay there and go down the mountain.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 
· The Shekina glory of God is sometimes depicted as a bright cloud. They probably had remembrances of the time God appeared to the people at Mt Sinai in the desert.
· When did God say this about Jesus? At his baptism.
· How well do we listen to the Lord? What were they to listen to? Jesus had predicted his passion, death and resurrection and they did not want to hear of it. The Father confirms this message through the transfiguration and through his voice.

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.
· Would you react any differently, if you thought God had revealed something to you?

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 
· How often this is the message Jesus has to give the disciples during or after some experience. Recall the time they saw Jesus walking on water and they thought it was a ghost. Recall his post resurrection appearances.

And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 
· The vision revealed the divinity of Jesus, which the apostles did not fully understand and would not until the resurrection. If they would not, even after this experience, how would others? Would you have?
· What lesson do you take from this passage and apply to your life?

One of the consistent major themes of Lent is the call to forgive and be forgiven. Jesus preached forgiveness of others as a door for us to be forgiven. Recall the parable of the unjust servant. He was forgiven his enormous debt by his master. But in turn he refused to forgive a small debt owed him by another servant. 

Recall in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Then Jesus says according to Matthew's Gospel: "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." (Mt 6:14-15)

In another place, Jesus said:"The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you."

Is there someone who has offended  you in the past that  you have a hard time forgiving in the present? If you wish to be forgiven--which you do not deserve--how can you refuse to forgive another--which he too may not deserve. Forgiveness is not based on worthiness but on mercy and compassion. For there go I but for the grace and mercy of God.

Should I not forgive the other in thanksgiving to God for the all Compassionate's forgiveness to me? Am I greater than God to withhold forgiveness? 

Throughout our lives we experience the tests of the Lord and the temptations from the Devil. God tests us to perfects us, to bring us into a deeper relationship with him. As fire brings out the purer metal, so the fire of God's test brings out the best in us. On the other hand, the Devil tempts us to separate us from God, to use our weaknesses and vulnerabilities to focus us on ourselves rather than God. The tests of God seeks to lead us into fuller life; the temptations of the Devil seeks to bring us into eternal death.

In the First Sunday of Lent's readings, we had another example of this. God created man and woman in his own image and likeness, but they were still creatures dependent upon God. Their identity was being in relationship with God. The test God put before them to perfect their union with him was they could partake of all of creation except the fruit of the tree of good and evil. 

The temptation from the Devil was to tell them they did not have to be dependent on God, but they could be like God or equal to God. This was not their true identity. He was saying to them to be other than they were. That was the first lie. The second was to tell them that they would not die if they chose their will over God's. 

Can we distinguish in our lives the different tests and temptations that come our way? Do we know how to embrace the tests and avoid the temptations? Only by God's grace and our cooperation can we do this. Pray for that grace.