Each year on the Second Sunday of Lent we climb the mountain of the Transfiguration with Jesus, Peter, James, and John. The Transfiguration event is a very significant moment in the public ministry of Jesus. It comes just after he begins to prepare his disciples for his impending passion and death. Our Lord also instructs the disciples that they, too, must be willing to take up their crosses and follow him. This kind of talk from the Master must have been incredibly difficult for the Twelve to hear and accept. Nothing that they had experienced as disciples of Jesus up to that point would have prepared them for this! Then, with their minds still reeling from all that Jesus had just told them, Peter, James, and John accompany him up the mountain and experience first-hand the glorious Transfiguration. The presence of Moses and Elijah and the voice of the Father serve to powerfully reinforce all that Jesus has revealed to the disciples.
The account of the Transfiguration today gives us a glimpse of the glory to come...the glorious celebration of Easter that awaits us after this Lenten journey and the glorious destiny that awaits us at the end of this life. So, whether our initial Lenten resolve is beginning to waver or we are struggling with the greater challenges of discipleship, may our reflection on today’s gospel strengthen our resolve to keep Lent faithfully and to answer our call as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Last weekend at the 10:30AM Mass at Holy Family we are celebrated the Rite of Sending for our catechumens and candidates. Catechumens are those individuals who are preparing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil and then be confirmed and receive First Holy Communion; our catechumens are: Lisa Butz, Taryn Emery, and Adelynn Knight. Candidates are those who either have already been baptized but have never received the other two sacraments of initiation or have been baptized in another Christian tradition but wish to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church; our candidates are: Sean O’Barto, Jennifer Weinman, and Faryn Wolff. At the Rite of Election at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg last Sunday afternoon, Bishop Kulick officially called our catechumens, along with those from throughout the diocese, to the Easter Sacraments and called our candidates, along with those from throughout the diocese, to continuing conversion for full reception into the Church. Please keep them in your prayers during this Lenten Season as they enter their period of final preparation for the Easter Sacraments.
On Wednesday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph. While many traditions and pious customs have grown up around him over the centuries, Sacred Scripture tells us precious little about his life and biography. We know that he was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus. The genealogies of Matthew and Luke tell us that Joseph was of the lineage of the great King David and we also know also that he was a carpenter. There are no utterances of St. Joseph to be found anywhere in the pages of Scripture and his appearances are few. But those appearances tell us much about him and they give us much to emulate in our own lives. There are two related qualities of St. Joseph that we would do well to reflect upon as we continue our Lenten journey. Joseph was a good listener and a just man.
In the Infancy Narrative of St. Matthew’s gospel, we encounter Joseph listening for God’s call and message and then responding, as only a just man can do. Too often in our prayer lives we quick to speak and slow to listen. Yes, it is important for us to speak to God, to pray for those things we need, but it is just as important for us to listen to God to allow him to speak to us. St. Matthew also tells us that Joseph was a “just man”. To be just is to be completely open to all that God calls to do. Joseph became holy by opening himself totally to God. [Saint of the Day, St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2009, p. 74] Let us honor St. Joseph this week by being slow to speak and quick to listen to God in our daily prayer and then seek to be completely open to all that we are called to do.
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