Scripture Reflections for the Second Sunday of Lent

“Nothing here below, even those things and people that we love the most are the summum bonum, the highest good. And therefore whatever we love here below must be loved, as Augustine said, for the sake of God.”

“When we let go of our lives and we give them to God, offering them for God's purposes, our lives become richer, more joyful, more abundant”

“It is this need to share Christ’s cross if we are to share his resurrection that stumps the disciples, and it is something that often stumps us too”

“There is no sharp separation between heavenly and earthly, between divine and human in Jesus. When he is transfigured the divine glory breaks out through his humanity.”

“Peter’s mistaken attitude is one of exclusion, wanting to hoard the presence of Jesus for a select group of his immediate followers”

“The world we live in can at times be very terrifying with so much cruelty, so much injustice, even so much physical pain. It should be no part of our Christian faith to deny all this to pretend that everything is lovely and beautiful. It isn’t!”

“Where do you go to replenish, to open yourself to transformation that you will carry with you when you come down from the mountain?”

“The transcendent supernatural mystical is a contact with a person. It's the realm of God and God is a person who speaks to the heart.”

"The rich readings for this Sunday could take us in many directions. One of them is prayer. Prayer can have many forms and many definitions."

“Like Isaac, Peter, James and John we are called to climb the mountain of God’s glory. This journey can only be accomplished by those who are ready to live the experience of Christ’s transfiguration and allow themselves to be transfigured.”

“These stories help us recall a most essential and difficult piece- of Christian logic: that when we offer everything to God – all that we treasure, our whole selves – what we offer can be transfigured or resurrected, made more lasting and perfect than it was before”

“This is the mystery of our faith: God’s glory revealed through weakness, suffering, and humility. Any god can triumph by brute force; but a God who triumphs through humble sacrifice? Is this not a greater glory?”

“I think of the motley crew of humanity that we are, how we are all different – saints, sinners, different races, cultures, religions. But yet Christ is here in this world, with us, leading us up our respective mountains in our lives, guiding us, pulling us up.”

“The veil of glory, momentarily pulled back on the mountain of the transfiguration, is torn in two from top to bottom by the cross – the end of the journey Jesus is now making, the last mountain to climb”

“On Calvary, God’s love is revealed in the flesh. To ascend this mountain is to increase in the virtue of charity, conquering selfishness and fear, such that when we reach the summit we are finally able to see God face-to-face in the Crucified One.”

“True sacrifice is the fruit of a contrite heart. It simply means taking God seriously and being attentive to His will. It is the only way to His kingdom.”

“The mystery at the heart of the gospel is that through Christ we participate in the intimate union of love that exists between the Father and the Son. This is the good news. This is what we must hear and believe in above all else.”

“Lent is precisely the time when we put ourselves to that test, when we ask ourselves that question: do I love the benefits of God or do I love God?”

“God wants only what is for our good. Period. That's why obeying God is always a good thing for us.”

“It's summed up in his cross. He took all the negativity of sin upon himself and then swallowed it up in his own divine mercy.”

“The logic of the world says if you love something, you want something, you cling to it, you hang on to it, you grab it, you defend it. The Biblical law of the gift says no. You want your being to increase, you want your life to be enriched? Give it away as a gift.”