Second Sunday of Lent

Posted on by Cassie

Jesus just told His disciples that He would lead them to the cross.  He knew it would not be easy for them to follow a crucified Messiah, so He wanted to give them a glimpse of what awaited them on the other side of the cross.  The Transfiguration was an anticipation of the glory of Jesus which He would enter through His death and resurrection.  It was also an anticipation of the glory His disciples would experience if they walked the way of the cross with Him.

The dazzling white, the high mountain, the cloud, the voice from the cloud, were all images from the Old Testament that showed the glorious presence of God with His people.  The two central figures from the Old Testament were also there: Moses, as the great lawgiver, and  Elijah, representing all the prophets of old.  Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s plan, the one to whom both the law and the prophets pointed.

The voice of God speaks:  He identifies Jesus as His son and urges us to “listen to Him.”  We too can have our mountaintop experiences of God, times in which we are overwhelmed with awe and joy in God’s presence.  Yet we cannot depend on there brief experiences to last and sustain us.  We must listen to all the words of Jesus and move with Him in the way He leads us.

Praise the Father for making us His beloved sons and daughters.  Ask Him to strengthen us in our struggle with suffering and death.  Look with hope to our future transfiguration when God will raise us from the dead and take us into glory.

God Bless

Msgr. Powell

 

Palm Sunday – The Passion of the Lord

Posted on by Patrick Leyden

Today’s reading of the Passion ended on the dismal note of death— Jesus died and His tomb was sealed with a stone.  Sometimes that is the way our day ends: on a dismal note, for we still suffer our pain, hurt from our losses, or feel terribly lonely.

However, Passion Sunday is not the last word of the Jesus story.  Rather, it is only the first word of a Holy Week that will reach its climax next Easter Sunday.  The final word will not be the death of Jesus, but His rising from the dead.

So too, no matter how many of our days seem to end in a depressing way, they are not the last word of our story.  Rather, they are only a prelude to triumphs we have yet to experience in this life, and they point to that ultimate victory which will be ours in the next life.  There we will again process with palm branches, not to mark Christ’s triumph entry into the earthly city of Jerusalem, but our own victorious entrance into the heavenly city of Jerusalem.

God Bless

Msgr. Powell

 

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Posted on by Patrick Leyden

Jesus had something to say about living and dying. He made claim that he is the resurrection and the life, and that whoever believes in Him will never die.  Our Lords assertion is just as relevant today as in the first century because death is just as destructive in our day as it was then.  Close to home we see our dearest relatives die from cancer  and our youth are killed in car accidents and drug overdoses.  We read about people in other parts of the world being wiped out by war, starvation and disease.

We also experience other forms of death whenever we see marriages end in divorce, religious Vocations terminated by departures, and careers cut short by unemployment.  We suffer a kind of death every time our environment gets polluted, parochial schools close from the lack of funds, and big cities decay from crime and violence.  Indeed, we too need  to hear that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Because we experience death in so many ways, we can’t help but wonder: Is there any meaning to life, or is it just an absurd existence?  Is there some glorious destiny for us, or is this all just a futile endeavor?

In today’s gospel Jesus answers these questions.
He tells us that death is not the last word and we are called to eternal life.  Like Lazarus, we will rise  from the dead.  Jesus comes to tell us that life has meaning and value.  If we have faith like Martha and Mary, we will see the glory of God.  No matter how devastating death may seem, with Martha and Mary we make a leap of faith and say: “Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Messiah the Son of God.  You are the resurrection and the life.”

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell