March 7, 2010
Third Sunday of Lent

THE MYSTERIOUS ONE
Last Sunday we gathered with Peter, John, and James at the mountain of Transfiguration and were summoned to listen to God’s chosen Son. This week the Scriptures draw us into the mystery of just who that God is. The first reading, perhaps one of the best known in the Bible, recounts the story of Moses and the burning bush, when the mysterious divine name is revealed. The responsorial psalm is a hymn extolling the attributes of God. Saint Paul and the Lord Jesus describe a God who judges and metes out punishment. No matter the lengths to which the scriptures go, we know that no amount of words will ever come close to capturing who God is. Our lives and our Lents are really journeys toward that mysterious One who will one day welcome us into the heavenly home that awaits those who put their trust in God alone.

February 28, 2010
Second Sunday of Lent

ALL ABOUT CHANGE
On this Second Sunday of Lent the scriptures remind us that when we have an encounter with our God, things are bound to change. In the first reading God tells Abram to raise his eyes to the sky, promising descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram’s act of faith in the Lord is sealed in covenant, forever changing the course of salvation history. In the Gospel story of the Transfiguration, always proclaimed on this Lenten Sunday, the Lord Jesus changes in appearance before the eyes of the apostles who, like Abram, raise their eyes to the spectacle in the sky. It is Saint Paul who brings it all together for us: “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body” (Philippians 3:21). Lent is all about change, all about conversion. Let us cast our own eyes to heaven, awaiting that day when we will be changed—when we will share in Christ’s glory.

February 21, 2010
First Sunday of Lent

REMEMBER
Once again the Church invites us to enter the desert of repentance. That desert, as today’s first reading reminds us, is also a desert of remembrance. This holy season summons us to remember all that God has done for us. Like the Israelites who recalled
their captivity and God’s work to free them from the Egyptians, we, too, recall those times when we were held captive by sin and experienced freedom through
the gift of God’s redeeming love.

Saint Paul tells us that the word of God is near us; it is in our mouths and in our hearts. May that sacred word prompt us to remember God’s great work of reconciliation in our lives and in our community. As this season of Lent unfolds, let us take to heart these
words of Saint Paul and spend these forty days calling upon the name of the Lord, asking for forgiveness and healing.

February 14, 2010
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving: these disciplines, prescribed by Jesus himself
in the Sermon on the Mount, along with strict instructions not to flaunt them in
public to win recognition and praise (Matthew 6:1-18), have been embraced by all
the saints at the beginning of every Lent for almost two thousand years. But
mention Lent, and many react with a grimace or slight shudder—even now, years
after official obligations have been reduced to a minimum! No wonder the
Eastern Rite’s “Lenten Announcement” sounds surprising: “Let us receive with
joy, O faithful people, the divinely inspired announcement of Lent! The Lenten
Spring shines forth! Begin the fast with joy! Let us fast from passions as well as
food, taking pleasure in the good works of the Spirit, and accomplishing them in
love!” Saint John Chrysostom, whose feast is September 13, elaborates: “Do you fast? Give proof by your works. If you see a poor person, take pity. An enemy, be reconciled. A friend gaining honor, don’t be jealous.” A positive approach! May the saints help us keep such a Lent!