Scripture Reflections for Second Sunday of Lent

"Even before he mentions Moses and Elijah, Mark puts us in mind of them by saying that Jesus took his three disciples up a ‘high mountain’. This reminds us of Mount Sinai where Moses received God’s law; and it puts us in mind of Mount Horeb where the prophet Elijah received instructions from God. Both these men of God experienced powerful manifestations of God’s glory on these high mountains."

Fr. Simon Gaine. "The Final Word." Torch. February 22, 2021

"Saint Peter must have felt relief by his experience of the Transfiguration. A few verses before in Mark’s Gospel he had really been deflated by Christ’s words to him. Why? Peter in a moment of revelation had publicly acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah. And no doubt he had seen the implications of this announcement for himself. He could see himself as Christ’s right hand man in a thriving Kingdom of God. But then Jesus..."

Fr. David Sanders. "Light in the Darkness." Torch. February 21, 2018

"In Mark's Gospel we reach a turning point when Jesus went with his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. It is there that Peter professed his belief that Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one. Until then the Master had led his disciples gently and without shock. Now he began to teach them that the Son of Man (the way he regularly referred to himself) was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and..."

Fr. Columba Ryan. "Only Jesus." Torch. March 12, 2006

"The common theme of today’s readings is challenge for metamorphosis or transformation, especially during this Lent season. How? We have to transform our dull and sleepy spiritual life into dynamic Christian life during Lent. How? By cooperating with the grace of God or the strengthening of the Holy Spirit by prayer, fasting and sharing our blessings. Result expected? A renewal of our spiritual life during Lent by our Spirit-filled lives radiating Christ’s love and mercy..."

Father Lawrence Obilor. "The Shekinah of God’s Glory." A Catholic Moment. February 28, 2021

"One week into our Lenten journey, the Readings for this weekend’s Masses focus on passages that look ahead or anticipate Christ’s self-sacrifice on Calvary, which awaits us, as it were, in the “liturgical future,” on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The First Readings is one of the most pivotal texts in the Old Testament, the “Calvary” of the old covenant era. This is what the Jewish tradition calls the Aqedah, the “binding” of Isaac."

John Bergsma. "Premonition of Calvary." The Sacred Page. February 26, 2021

"Have you noticed how many events in the Bible happen on mountains? Mount Moriah; Sinai or Horeb; Galilee; the Temple Mount in Jerusalem… Golgotha. There are events of passion: the sacrifice of Isaac (Gn. 22) and the crucifixion. There are events of revelation: the giving of the Law, the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19-20) and the Transfiguration. Events of teaching: the statutes of the covenant (Ex 21-23) and the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) –..."

Fr. Bruno Clifton. "The Final Mountain." Torch. February 24, 2015

"Mountaineering is a transcendent experience. On a human level, we transcend the limitation of our fears, and discover the tenacity of the human spirit. As Edmund Hillary put it, 'It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.' But mountains have also long had a religious significance and have been regarded as places where God is encountered. From mountaintops, God reveals to Man that his human limitations and mortal fears can be transcended, and Man..."

Fr. Lawrence Lew. "The Three Peaks Challenge." Torch. March 4, 2012

"Our readiness to make sacrifices for those we claim to love is a good indicator of the true extent of that love. A sacrifice can take many forms; sometimes we are just being asked to take someone seriously, to give a person some of our time. In the Old Testament there are occasions on which God asks for sacrifices, but there are also moments when He indicates that the wrong kind of sacrifices are being..."

Fr. John Patrick Kenrick. "Not to Dazzle but to Die." Torch. March 8, 2009