OT XXVII [C] Hb 1:2-3; 2:2-4; II Tm 1:6-8, 13-14; Lk 17:5-10

All three readings for today speak about “Faith” and how it works in our lives. They give us three dimensions of Faith. The theological virtue of Faith enables us to believe something to be true and therefore worthy of trust simply because it has been revealed to us by God.

Sometimes our faith never gets beyond the mustard-seed stage because we have the wrong idea of what it really is. Faith involves believing in Christ and his goodness. But it's a kind of belief that also requires action. It is one thing to know something notionally, another to be able to take that knowledge to heart, to dwell upon its significance, so allowing it to calm fears, nurture hope, and strengthen resolve in courage to face such difficulties and sufferings as still lie ahead. 

The word "faith" is derived from the Latin word "fides" [FEE-days]. This is the same word at the root of the Latin motto used by the United States Marines [mr-eenz]: "Semper Fidelis" - always faithful. Faith always implies being faithful - it implies a commitment to another person, a trusting commitment. And that means sticking by that person's side. For us, that person is Christ.  Faith in Christ means following Christ.

Picture a man on a sinking ship.  He may believe in a life-preserver. He may remember cases of people being saved because they were wearing a life-preserver when their ship went down. He may be a physicist, and understand the laws of hydro-dynamics that make the life-preserver work. He may understand perfectly how the Velcro straps function and where to attach them. But if this man doesn't actually put on the life-preserver and strap himself in - his faith is absolutely useless. If we want to move mountains and to experience God's power doing wonders in our lives, we have to put what we believe into practice, more and more, day after day - "Semper Fidelis".

The Responsorial Psalm we heard today gives us one surefire way to activate the power of faith: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart." Faith is practical. If we believe in God's wisdom, love, and power, we will obey him. We will follow where he leads.  And he is always leading us somewhere - always making his voice heard. The most common way he does so is through our conscience. Our conscience is like an inner radio station that is always tuned to God's voice. But it's not the only station out there, and, unfortunately, it's not always the loudest. Sometimes we turn up the station of peer pressure and fashion really loud, or the station dedicated to self-indulgence, irresponsible pleasure, and other soothing but deadening sounds. That's why the Psalmist tells us: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

Christ wants us to experience the power of faith in our lives. One way to nourish our faith is through reading and studying the Bible. It is easy for us to take the Bible for granted. We have been listening to readings from the Bible every Sunday since we could walk. And yet, this familiarity can actually backfire - it can make us treat this treasure like a trophy: letting it gather dust in the closet. There is no other book in the world like the Bible.

It was written by about 40 different authors though out   15 hundred years, and yet, it tells one consistent story: the story of God's saving love for mankind. Every part of the story, every one of the 72 books in the Bible, although it was written by a human author, was composed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Bible is the Word of God like no other book: when we read it with that in mind, reflecting on it, studying it - it feeds our faith.

Each one of us should have a favorite book, chapter, and verse in the Bible. Each one of us should know the Bible story as a whole. We should constantly be digging into it. Sister Lynn is going to start soon a bible study on the Gospel of Mark after Thursday evening Masses; Consider  joining it. The Bible is one of God's greatest gifts to us.  It is an inexhaustible fountain of supernatural wisdom.  Ignorance of Bible is ignorance of Christ. Without knowing Christ, we cannot believe in him or trust him with our lives.

Sometimes we don't experience the full power of faith in our lives because we have the wrong idea of what faith really is - we think a mature faith makes for smooth sailing in life, when in fact, it doesn't.

Doubleday book publishers put out a book of letters written by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta to her spiritual directors. The public and the media were shocked by these letters. Everyone thought that Mother Teresa was the happiest person in the world, that her faith was so strong that nothing bothered her. And that is exactly the wrong idea of what faith is. Mother Teresa is a saint. Her faith was mature, strong, and contagious - it moved mountains, and it's still moving mountains. But it didn't make her crosses disappear. Her faith was so strong that she fulfilled her promise never to deny God anything that he asked - but it didn't take suffering out of her life. For fifty years she struggled with an interior darkness and the feeling of being abandoned by God.

There is a movie being released this week If you can get a ticket it is worth going.

Faith is increased by serving others like Mother Theresa, not by being served. Realizing that faith does not grow by itself, just like a seed that is sown does not grow on its own without water and sun light, let’s employ everything that is in our power to make it grow. May the Lord who rewards strong faith help us to make our faith grow to withstand all the challenges in our life.

 OT XXVI [C]: Am 6:1a, 4-7; 1Tm 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31

We often hear people say that they will get to heaven because they haven't committed any really, really heinous crimes. "I'm a good guy," they say, "I haven’t murdered anyone or sold weapons to terrorists." This attitude is not a Christian one. We do not go to heaven because we do not do any grave sins. We go to heaven because Christ wants us there and we live according to his commands pleasing him doing good and avoiding evil.

As Jesus teaches us in this story of Lazarus and the rich man, salvation and eternal life are not just about avoiding so-called "big" sins. That's a negative, passive approach to life. But Christ is not passive. Christ is active. He came to earth to save us. He took the initiative. He came to seek out the lost sheep. He came to light the fire of faith in a dark world. Being a Christian means following in those footsteps. It means much more than simply avoiding gruesome crimes.

Being a Christian means living like Christ, living for his Kingdom, living for others. It is interesting that when Jesus was asked which were the most important commandments, he didn't choose the negative ones, the "thou shalt not" ones. Instead he listed two active, positive, creative commandments: love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

The rich man in this parable had no particularly damaging "sins of commission" on his résumé. He was a pretty good guy. And yet, he failed to enter into eternal life. Why? Because of his "sins of omission". Day after day, he closed his heart to a neighbor who was in dire need of help. He spent his life becoming an expert in self-centeredness.

There is a story told by a rabbi. One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi. The Rabbi led him to a window. “Look out there into the street. What do you see?” asked the rabbi. “I see men, women, and children,” answered the rich man. Again the rabbi led him to a mirror. He asked, “Now what do you see?” The man replied, “Now I can only see myself,”.

Then the rabbi said, “Look, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, and you see only yourself.”

That is the problem with most of us. When we begin to love money and wealth and life’s luxuries, we become insensitive to the needs of others. The moment we stop seeing the misery of the one next to us we become self-centered.

In 1993, Steven Spielberg came out with a movie called Schindler's List. It's a true story of a rather mediocre Catholic businessman, Oskar Schindler, who lived in Poland during World War II. When the war started, he saw it as an opportunity to make money. He made friends with some of the German officials and worked out a deal with them to use Jewish prisoners as free labor for his munitions factory. Since he didn't have to pay his workers, he was able to rake in a handsome profit. But little by little his eyes opened to the horrors of the Nazi regime. His heart changed, and he started using his factories and his connections with German officers to save his Jewish workers from the Holocaust. He used the money he had made during the early part of the war to "buy" more and more Jewish workers, just so he could save their lives.

By the end of the war he was as broke as he had been at the beginning, but he had managed to save hundreds of Jews from being massacred.

In the last scene of the movie, when the Germans are fleeing as allied troops approach the town where the factory is located, we see Schindler surrounded by the workers whom he had saved, and they are thanking him. But then Schindler starts to cry. He looks around at the faces of the people he saved, and he tells them, "I could have done so much more." He holds up his gold watch, and says, "This could have bought someone's freedom." He cries out that if he had started sooner he could have saved twice as many. Every face he sees makes him think of another face that he could have saved if he had been less self-centered. He is completely distraught. Schindler had experienced firsthand the destructive power of the sin of omission.

A Sunday-school teacher asked the class, "can any of you tell me what are sins of omission?"

"Yes, sir," said the small boy. "They are the sins we ought to have done and haven't."

We know sin of omission is not that, it is the omission or failure to do the good we are obliged to do. In the confiteor in the beginning of the Mass, we said, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault… Sin of omission is as grave of a sin as sin of commission. But we seldom focus on them.

One way to avoid falling into the sin of omission is simply to purposely keep our eyes open for opportunities to serve those around us. Even making the commitment to perform at least one voluntary, selfless, Christ-like act of service every day can help keep the passive, sin-of-omission mentality at bay. Imagine if the rich man in the parable had been granted another chance, would he have changed, and been able to change his own brother from Hell? We do not know for sure, but Jesus said, they have the scriptures as warners for them. There is no greater warning than God’s own warning in the Scripture. How are we taking those warnings? Let’s pray today that the Lord may grant us the clear eyes and wisdom to look at and understand God’s clear warnings to us and not fail to look at the Lazaruses in our community.

 

 

Sunday-V-Ordinary Time :C- Is. 6:1-2a, 3-8; 1 Cor. 15:1-11; Lk. 5:1-11

 

One of the few creatures on earth that can out-jump Michael Jordon is the Impala. This is an African deer with a supercharged spring. It has a vertical leap of over 10 feet and can broad-jump over 30 feet. You would think that the zoos of the world would find it impossible to keep such an animal enclosed. Not so! It’s rather easy. The experts discovered something about the Impala. It will not jump unless it can see where it is going to land. Therefore, a solid wall even 6 feet tall is a sufficient enclosure. — Lots of Christians have the Impala problem. They won’t take a leap of Faith unless they have all the answers in advance about where the leap will take them. But God is looking for some bold believers who, even in the face of the unknown, will leap when the Spirit says leap, will fly when the Spirit says fly, will launch out when the Spirit says launch out —  all to the glory of the Lord. Why must we be willing to launch out into the deep with the Lord? Because, our Lord was willing to launch out into the deep for us. Today’s Scripture passages present Isaiah, Paul, and Peter who dared to make a leap of Faith.

In a vision, Isaiah was given to see the glory of God dwelling in the Temple of Jerusalem. Isaiah saw how an angel took a live coal from the fire on the altar, and touched his lips with it. Isaiah understood that by so doing, God was cleansing him of his sins, so as to render him fit to be his messenger. Strengthened by this act of God’s goodness, Isaiah readily offered himself for the work, God was calling him to, saying, “Here I am, send me.”

Acts of the Apostles tells the story of Paul’s call. After his dramatic conversion, Paul dedicated his life for the one who called him. And he exclaimed: for me to live is Christ and death is gain.

The Gospel reading narrates the call of Peter. After a fruitless night’s labor Peter obeys Jesus’ command to lower the net for the catch and he was overwhelmed by the great catch of fish. Jesus changes his name from Simon to Peter and gives him a new mission, to catch men.

The responses of Isaiah, Paul and Peter were surprising. The prophet Isaiah viewed himself as a great sinner among sinners, and unworthy of being in the Divine Presence of Yahweh.  Paul, still full of guilt for having persecuted the Christians, viewed himself as being unfit of being called an apostle.  And Peter begged Jesus to get away from him because he was a sinful man.

God responded to their feeling of sinfulness by cleansing them of their sins, and by reassuring them of His help at all times. Once reassured by God they went through their task humbly and courageously, enduring innumerable trials, always convinced that God would make up for their weakness.

Today, God is calling us to do His work, regardless of whatever setbacks we may have, to accomplish His intended mission, here in this parish or out in other places. Follow the voice of Jesus’ calling and answer, “Here am I, oh Lord, use me in your service today.”

Each of us has a unique mission in the Church. God has a different call for each of us. Because each of us is unique, each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill. God will use all of us, and particularly what is unique in us, to bring this mission to fulfillment. Our response must be like that of Isaiah: “Here I am, Lord…send me.” — “I’ll do it. I’ll play my part. I’ll speak to that neighbor, that coworker, that friend, that relative.

It is not true that Christ’s invitation to become “fishers of men” is addressed only to the apostles and their successors (the bishops together with the priests and religious). Every Christian is commissioned to a ministry of love and justice by virtue of his/her Baptism. One of the documents of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ), in paragraph no. 31 describes all of us very clearly as, “the faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ’s Body and are placed in the people of God and in their own way share the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ and, to the best of their ability, carry on the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.” In addition to this, Vatican II’s Apostolicam Actuositatem (The Apostolate of the Laity), no. 3 says, “Incorporated into Christ’s Body through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, the laity are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself.” It is even stated that where lay involvement is lacking, “the apostolate of the pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect; where lay responsibility is absent, the Church is incomplete,” (Apostolicam Actousitatem nos. 10, 21, PCP II).

Today let’s recognize our Christian spirituality as one for discipleship, which means making a positive response to God’s call to take his presence to others by reaching out to serve our brothers and sisters.

 

EASTER VI:  Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; I Jn 4:7-10; Jn 15: 9-17

In 1941, the German Army began to round up Jewish people in Lithuania. Thousands of Jews were murdered. But one German soldier objected to their murder. He was Sergeant Anton Schmid. Through his assistance, the lives of at least 250 Jews were spared. He managed to hide them, find food, and supply them with forged papers. Schmid himself was arrested in early 1942 for saving these lives. He was tried and executed in 1942. It took Germany almost sixty years to honour the memory of this man, Schmid. Said Germany's Defence Minister in 2000, saluting him, "Too many bowed to the threats and temptations of the dictator Hitler, and too few found the strength to resist. But Sergeant Anton Schmid did resist."

This is the central theme of today's Gospel. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." The hero Schmid went beyond what even Jesus encouraged. He laid down his life for strangers. 

 We are chosen to be the ambassadors of God's love. But, we live in a world that encourages everything but love. Children are taught to compete with one another. Parents encourage them to defeat their friends by getting at least one mark more, by submitting one project extra, and so on. In our frantic attempt to gain popularity as the first, we ignore the sublime values of love and sacrifice.

Jesus laid down his life and taught: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." This sacrificial love was imitated by many great men, like Schmid, Maximilian Colbe, and the noble martyrs.

Jesus gives the assurance that "Love will always bear fruit." At times it may appear to us that to do good to certain people is waste of time; people are often ungrateful, and on occasions those to whom we have done good turn against us. But, we should not get discouraged; because we do not know when, how and where love will bear fruit. It is the assurance of Jesus that "Love will bear fruit." The love that Jesus bestowed on his disciples bore fruit; they travelled to the ends of the then known world announcing the love of God, and doing good to the people. It bore fruit in the life of Schmid. It bore fruit in the life of Mother Theresa. It bears fruit in our lives.

May God help us in our attempt to show his love to our brothers in small little ways.

Today we have the relic of St. Joseph here. The Church believes the power of intercession of St.Joseph in the lives of a Christian. It is reasonable to think that if Jesus grew up with St. Joseph and he called him father and if Joseph provided Jesus with everything he needed as a boy, then, if St.Joseph asks him for something, surely we can reasonably imagine that Jesus would hear the prayers of St.Joseph than anybody else except Mary.

Several saints like St. Teresa of Ávila to St. Gertrude to St. Faustina were blessed by St.Joseph’s appearances and intercession.  

In the 16th century, St. Teresa of Ávila said he appeared to her when she was having trouble establishing a particular convent. She wrote in her autobiography, “Once, when I was in a difficulty and could not think what to do, or how I was going to pay some workmen, Saint Joseph, my true father and lord, appeared to me and gave me to understand that money would not be lacking and I must make all the necessary arrangements.

 

When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.

Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks.

After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.

Engineers still marvel at this carpenters accomplishment. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. It is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood (Not found anywhere around in the state)  and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. I myself have been there to see that about 10 years ago. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the full-length movie titled the staircase. I watched on youtube.

 

Just as St.Joseph took care of the Holy Family many years ago, St. Joseph will continue to take care of the temporal and spiritual needs of his children here on earth; he will continue to intercede for us before our Lord.

In 2005 Pope Benedict XVI said, “To St. Joseph’s intercession I entrust the hopes of the Church and of the world. May he, together with the Virgin Mary, his spouse, always guide my way and yours, so that we are able to be joyful instruments of peace and of salvation.” 

At the close of the Mass we will say the litany to St. Joseph.

 

 

LENT V [B]: Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

Several years ago Catherine Marshall wrote an article called “When We Dare to Trust God”. She told how she had been bed-bound for six months with a serious lung infection. No amount of medication or prayer helped. She was terribly depressed. One day someone gave her a pamphlet about a woman missionary who had contracted a strange disease. The missionary had been sick for eight years and couldn’t understand why God let this tragedy happen to her. Daily she prayed for health to resume her work. But her prayers were unanswered. One day, in desperation, she cried out to God: “All right I give up. If You want me to be an invalid, that’s Your business!” Within two weeks that missionary was fully recovered. Catherine Marshall was puzzled by that strange story. It didn’t make sense. “Yet” she said, “I couldn’t forget that story.” Then one morning Catherine cried out to God: “God I’m tired of asking you for health. You decide if You want me sick or healthy.” At that moment, Catherine said later, her health began to return. — The story of that missionary woman and the story of Catherine Marshall illustrate what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel. “Unless a grain of wheat dies, it cannot bear fruit.” Or to put it another way, unless we die to our own will, we cannot bear fruit for God.

 

During his public ministry, Jesus had made it clear that one condition for being his follower was bearing the cross. "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me" (Lk 9:23). As his passion draws near, he energetically reiterates this same condition: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit."

To be a Christian is to be where Christ is: "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be." And where is Christ? He is always pouring out his life for others on the cross, giving himself for the good of others through self-forgetful love. The Eucharist is the extension throughout history of Christ's self-sacrifice on Calvary. And so, that's also where we should be: giving our lives for God and our neighbors.

Christ's great commandment was to love others as he has loved us. He taught this lesson by example on the cross, and with words during the Last Supper: "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13). St Paul learned this lesson well; he was always talking about the cross. He wrote to the Corinthians: "...the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ" (1 Cor 2:2). As followers of Christ, we should expect crosses, difficulties, and even, at times, persecution.

To be a true Christian involves not just wearing a crucifix or hanging one on the wall, but bearing the sign of the cross in the very marrow of our lives. All Christians bear the sign of the cross on their souls, even before they experience persecution and suffering in their life. Our souls are actually sealed, stamped, with the sign of Christ in two sacraments that we all receive: baptism and confirmation.

Even if a baptized and confirmed Christian rejects his friendship with Christ later on, dies without repenting, and ends up in hell, he will still bear the seals of baptism and confirmation on his soul. The demons will be able to recognize that he had been a Christian.

In ancient Rome, the soldiers of the Emperor used to receive a permanent, tattoo-like mark on their shoulder.  It was a sign of their special identity and mission - Roman soldiers, even after their time of service was finished, retained many privileges and responsibilities in the Empire. They also carried a special lead seal around their neck, which was used as a kind of passport throughout their travels. When we were baptized, we were marked in our very soul with the sign of Christ - he became our Lord, protector, and Savior, snatching us out of Satan's grasp.

And then, when the bishop made the sign of the cross on our forehead with the sacred chrism at confirmation, we were sealed as Christ's soldiers, with all the privileges and responsibilities that entails. Whether or not we believe in Christ, we will still have to bear crosses.

Life in a fallen world is full of crosses, no matter what. No one is an exception when it comes to suffering and struggling in life. But as Catholics, members of Christ's mystical body, we can find meaning in these crosses. The trick to doing that is to carry them with Christ, instead of trying to carry them alone. The cross that Jesus carried wasn't really his cross. He had never sinned, never had a selfish thought or performed an evil act. The cross that he carried, the sin that he atoned for, was ours. And this is our comfort: we are never alone. In the midst of life's joys, Jesus is at our side. And in the midst of life's crosses, Jesus is also at our side. The cross becomes unbearable and unfruitful only when we forget this. So, the key question is: How can we remember?  How can we avoid the deep frustration and sadness that come from trying to carry our crosses alone? We must become men and women of prayer. Prayer must become as important for our souls as breathing is for our bodies. There is no other way.

Jesus is with us now, because we are gathered in his name. And through the Eucharist he is about to come among us in an even deeper way. As he does, let's pray as the Greek visitors in the gospel prayed: "Father, we would like to see Jesus, so that we never have to carry our crosses alone.

 

LENT II Gen 22: 1-18; Romans 8: 31-34; Mk 9: 2-10

A man and a woman had a little daughter. They lived for her. They were shocked when they discovered that she became chronically ill and her illness resisted the efforts of the best doctors, they became totally discouraged and inconsolable.

Soon she passed away. The parents were completely distressed, and they shut themselves off from their family and friends. But, one night the woman had a dream that she was in heaven. There she saw a long procession of little children processing like little angels before the throne of God. Every child was dressed in a dazzling white robe and they each held a lit candle. However, when the woman saw her daughter, she noticed that her candle was not lit.

The mother ran up to her, embraced her, and then asked her how it was that her candle was the only one that was not lit. She said, “Mother, they often relight it, but your tears always put it out.”

Just at that moment the woman woke from her dream. They decided to embrace their loss with Christian hope and that they would no longer extinguish their daughter’s little candle with their useless tears.

The gospel account of the transfiguration of Jesus tells us that our sufferings will lead to the transformation of our lives. Jesus takes his closest disciples up the mountain, alone, to give them an insight into who he is and prepare them for the trials to come.

If the Lord subjected Abraham to a trial, Our Lord takes his closest disciples up the mountain to prepare them for an upcoming trial: his Passion and death.

Our Lord gives his disciples a glimpse of his divinity. They’ve followed him and had faith in him, and now he gives them a deeper insight into who he truly is and to strengthen their faith. Elijah and Moses, through their appearance, show the disciples that Our Lord is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets.

Transfiguration established Jesus’ glorious identity as the beloved Son of God, and placed his divine Son-ship in the context of Jewish expectations about the kingdom and the resurrection. While praying, Jesus was transfigured into a shining figure, full of heavenly glory. This reminds us of Moses and Elijah who also experienced the Lord in all His glory. Moses had met the Lord in the burning bush at Mount Horeb (Ex 3:1-4). After his encounter with God, Moses' face shone so brightly that the people were frightened, and Moses had to wear a veil over his face (Ex 34:29-35).

Luke mentions the topic of the conversation of Jesus with Moses and Elijah: they talked about the suffering Jesus was about to undergo in Jerusalem. Then the voice of the father was heard “This is my beloved son; Listen to him”. Assured of his Father’s love, Jesus was determined to carry out his Father’s plans to save the world.

Like Jesus, we are also assured of the Father’s love in our sufferings. Our sufferings are designed to strengthen us. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” says Helen Keller. Every challenge, every difficulty, every moment of suffering, is an opportunity for transformation and spiritual growth.

Jesus’ real transfiguration took place on His resurrection after his passion and death. When we suffer by standing with the underprivileged; when we accept suffering for the sake of justice; when we accept suffering for the sake of a co-worker who is not able to defend himself or herself; or when we accept suffering to build a strong family, we are preparing our way for our final glorification.

The main purpose of today’s readings is to give us an invitation as well as a challenge to put our Faith in the loving promises of a merciful God Who sent His Son to die for us and to transform our lives by renewing them during Lent. Our transformed lives will enable us to radiate the glory and grace of the transfigured Lord around us by our Spirit-filled lives.

The primary purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration was to allow him to consult his Heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death and Resurrection.  Secondary aim was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of Jesus’ Divine glory so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah and might be strengthened in their time of trial.  

Just as Jesus’ Transfiguration strengthened the apostles in their time of trial, each holy Mass should be our source of heavenly strength against temptations, and our renewal during Lent. In addition, our holy Communion with the living Jesus should be the source of our daily “transfiguration,” transforming our minds and hearts so that we may do more good by humble and selfless service to others. May the Lord strengthen us to renounce our sins and transform us to a holy life.

 

OT III [B]Jon. 3:1-5, 10; 1 Cor. 7:29-31; Mk. 1:14-20

 

Billy Graham was in a certain town years ago, and he wanted to mail a letter, but he had no idea where the Post Office was. So he stopped a little boy walking the street and asked him if he could direct him to the nearest Post Office. Well, the little boy said, “Yes sir, go down to the red light, turn right, go two blocks to the second red light, turn left, go one block, turn back to the right and you will be right there.” Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “Son, if you will come to the Convention Center this evening, you can hear me telling everybody how to get to Heaven.” The boy said, “Well, I don’t think I’ll be there, Mister; you don’t even know your way to the Post Office.”

The very first command Jesus ever gave to any disciple was: “Follow Me.” For that is where discipleship begins and ends, in following Jesus. Because he knows and he is the way to the Father/heaven.

Jesus didn’t say, “Come and fish with me.” He said “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” Following Jesus is true discipleship.

In the ancient world fishing was a metaphor for two distinct activities: judgment and teaching.  “Fishing for people” meant bringing them to justice by dragging them out of their hiding places and setting them before the judge. And “fishing” was also used of teaching people, of the process of leading them from ignorance to wisdom. Both cases involve a radical change of environment, a break with a former way of life and entrance upon a new way of life.

 

No matter to what life, work, or ministry God calls us, He first calls us to conversion, to reform, to repentance – to the process of continually becoming new people. The mark of genuine repentance is not a sense of guilt, but a sense of sorrow, of regret for having taken a wrong turn. For Jesus, repentance is not merely saying, “I’m sorry,” but also promising, “I will change my life.” Real repentance means that a man has come, not only to be sorry for the consequences of his sin, but to hate sin itself. We often think of repentance as feeling guilty, but it is really a change of mind or direction — seeing things from a different perspective. Once we begin to see things rightly, it might follow that we will feel bad about having seen them wrongly for so long. But repentance starts with the new vision rather than the guilt feelings. By true repentance we are giving up control of our lives and throwing our sinful lives on the mercy of God.  We are inviting God to do what we can’t do ourselves — namely to raise the dead — to change and recreate us.  The word “Repent” is used in the present tense — “Keep on repenting!”  “Continually be repentant!”  This means that repentance must be the ongoing life of the people in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is the theme of Jesus’ preaching. This Kingdom is any society where God’s will is done as it is done in Heaven. Hence, a person who does the will of God perfectly is already in the Kingdom of God. Being in the Kingdom offers us a new healing and freeing access to God, already to be tasted in Jesus’ own ministry. Matthew, as a devout Jew, consistently uses the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven,” while Mark, writing for Gentile converts, uses the phrase “Kingdom of God,” without any scruples about using God’s name. We probably shouldn’t interpret the “Kingdom of God” as Heaven where God rules.   In telling us that the Kingdom has come near, Jesus is telling us that we can dwell in this Kingdom now, provided we repent or turn away from the idols that crowd our lives and do the will of God as it is done in Heaven, thus allowing God to reign in our lives.

A Russian youth who had become a conscientious objector to war, through reading of Tolstoy and the New Testament, was brought before a magistrate. With the strength of conviction he told the judge that he believed in a life which loves its enemies, which overcomes evil and which refuses war. “Yes,” said the judge, “I understand. But you must be realistic. These laws you are talking about are the laws of the Kingdom of God, and it has not come yet.” The young man straightened and said, “Sir, I recognize it has not come for you, nor yet for Russia or the world. But the Kingdom of God has come for me! I can’t go on hating and killing as though it had not come.”

In a way, the Russian youth summed up what we believe about the Kingdom of God. –How soon will the plan of God for his Kingdom be realised? It depends much on how earnest we are to be on God’s side and cooperate with his plan.

Let us be shining lights in the world as Christ was and make a personal effort to bring others to the truth and the light, so that they may rejoice with us in the Mystical Body of Christ, the invisible Kingdom of God.