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Scripture Reflections for Second Sunday of Lent

Year C, Lectionary 27

THEMES: Abraham • Community • Disability • Divinity • Doubt • Encounter • Exodus • Expectation • Faith • Heaven • Holy • Holy Spirit • Identity • Journey • Lent • Listen • Longing • Mission • Mountain • Paul • Pray • Prayer • Repent • Resurrection • Revelation • Sight • Stubborn • Success • Transfiguration • Transformation • Trust • Unity • Wisdom •

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Bishop Robert Barron. "The Father in Faith." Word on Fire. March 4, 2007

Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14

Philippians 3:17-21; 4:1

“we must have confidence that if we imitate those who imitate Christ, others will come to imitate us, and no longer live as aliens on this earth but as citizens of heaven”

Fr. David Goodill. "Citizens of Heaven." Torch. March 7, 2004

“We may or may not be people of great privilege, but we might all be clinging to something that keeps us from knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection. Whatever it is, high office or low, count it as nothing besides the true privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord!”

Fr. Simon Gaine. "Our Commonwealth is in Heaven." Torch. March 11, 2001

Luke 9:28-36

“It is through Jesus that God now speaks to us. He is the Word made flesh and it is he who will lead us on a second and far greater Exodus not from slavery in Egypt but from the slavery of sin and death.” -Fr. Geoffrey Plant

“on this Second Sunday of Lent, we are also reminded of the need to ask ourselves the question, 'who am I?'...like Jesus we get the answer from going to God in prayer...the other place where we get the answer is from the scripture.” -Fr. Emmanuel Ochigbo

“people with disabilities or who suffer illness or weakness are often disvalued and discarded. It is a monumental tragedy, and it is the duty of Christians to bear courageous witness to the dignity of life despite ability, age, health status, or any other factor.”

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. "Second Sunday of Lent." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. March 13, 2022

“Notice the difference between what the disciples talked about—the three dwellings (staying)—and what Jesus spoke of—his exodus (moving). This is our choice—a deadly stop, trying to hold on to a past glory, or a Spirit-led journey with the Lord.”

Fr. Rick Bauer, MM. "Second Sunday of Lent." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. March 17, 2019

“Christianity is not so much about doing something as becoming someone. It is not primarily about a moral code but the transformation, the transfiguration, of the human person.”

Fr. Nicholas Crowe. "Fuel for the Fire." Torch. March 13, 2019

“When we pray – to God – a light must shine in the world of the spirit, and we are transfigured ourselves, and in such majestic company”

Fr. Duncan Campbell. "Glowing with God." Torch. February 16, 2016

“The message to us of this Gospel in its unlikely Lenten context is that the last word in the struggle of the Christian life does not in fact lie with struggle...the last word lies with seeing the glory of God.”

Fr. Aidan Nichols. "The Last Word." Torch. February 28, 2010

“Jesus is in the world today, in his Church, in you and me. Can the world around us see something of the glory of Christ in our lives?”

Fr. Michael Platts. "A Glimpse of What Lies Ahead." Torch. March 4, 2007

“before Jesus there was the Law and the prophets; Moses and Elijah. Things were pretty clear-cut and simple. It was written in stone or they had said it...But after Jesus our goodness and life becomes about a relationship with God directly and that means that things that seem to be written in stone may no longer be that way.”

Fr. Juan P. Ruiz. "The Gift of Doubt." Juan Point at a Time. August 18, 2022

Brooke Prentis. "Second Sunday of Lent." Australian Women Preach. March 13, 2022

Richard Rohr. "2nd Sunday of Lent—A Triptych of Transformation." Center for Action and Contemplation. March 17, 2019

Richard Rohr. "All In One Picture." Center for Action and Contemplation. February 21, 2016

Bishop Robert Barron. "The More." Word on Fire. February 24, 2013

Bishop Robert Barron. "Transfigured Prayer." Word on Fire. February 28, 2010

Overall Readings

“let us sit in the certainty of what our hearts tell us, these hearts that were created by God, for God” -Vivian Cabrera

“Some battles, Church, just ain't worth fighting for. I know one that is. It's my seat in the kingdom of heaven.” -Fr. Stephen Thorne

“God meets us right where we are, and in the ordinariness of our own lives, but we too have a responsibility to pause, to listen, and to open our eyes to see what God is asking of us” -Sr. Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF

“Jesus Christ wants to show us his divine glory. If we don't go up to the mountain with him and give him a chance to fill us with his graces we won't be ready when the future comes” -Cory Johnson

“Disciples then and now may be confused about what we are experiencing but we rely on God and Jesus to guide our attempts at responding to the circumstances before us” -Sr. Sarah Kohles, OSF

“if you think all you are is what you can do then you're missing the whole message that God has been trying to send us. You are his beloved, you are his chosen one and all you have to do is listen to Christ.” -Fr. Tony Ricard

“At the Transfiguration, the glory is visible. At Calvary, the glory is hidden under humility and sacrifice. Yet the greatest glory of God is his mercy, his self-gift of love. The Cross is the glory of Christ and the glory of Christians, since it signifies the ultimate self-gift of God.”

John Bergsma. "Beginning the New Exodus." The Sacred Page. March 13, 2022

“Jesus talked to Moses and Elijah. Peter spoke to Jesus. There was active verbal exchange. Encounters with God are not passive experiences.”

Mary Ortwein. "Encountering God." A Catholic Moment. March 12, 2022

“I may long for that infinity of love which is God’s own life, but also fear its fire; I thirst for God’s unbounded freedom but freedom is frightening”

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe. "Dare to be Free." Torch. March 9, 2022

“We have to converse with God. We have to take time and stop – look up to the Heavens, climb the mountain, or look out at the sea and just marvel. We have to take the time, wherever we are at, and get away and go on a mini-retreat – and let Jesus speak to us. Let Him transform us.”

Joseph LaCombe. "Listen to Him." A Catholic Moment. March 17, 2019

“Science has developed to such a degree that counting the stars of the sky is more possible than it once was – but do these new discoveries deepen our faith? The more we learn, the more we realize that there is so much we don’t know.”

Sr. Mary Grenough, MM. "Second Sunday of Lent." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. February 21, 2016

“The true prize of our lives begins in the Resurrection, the transformation of ‘our lowly body after the pattern of Christ’s own glorious body’, and achieves its fullness and rest in the vision of God, face to face”

Fr. Benedict Jonak. "Expectant Glory." Torch. February 24, 2013

Bishop Robert Barron. "Awaiting Resurrection." Word on Fire. March 13, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron. "The Glorified Body." Word on Fire. February 21, 2016

Bishop Robert Barron. "The Adventure of Faith." Word on Fire. March 7, 2004

Bishop Robert Barron. "Resident Aliens." Word on Fire. March 11, 2001

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