1.
Gen 22: 1-2,9-13,15-18
|
2.
Rom 8:31-34
|
Gospel:
Mk 9: 2-10
|
Lord give me the grace to change myself
There was once a wise
man who reflected about himself with the following thoughts: " I was a revolutionary when I was young
and all my prayer to God was: ' Lord, give me the grace to change the world.'
As I approached middle age and realized that half of my life was gone without
changing a single soul, I changed my prayer into: ' Lord, give me the grace to
change all those who come in contact with me, just my family and friends and I
shall be satisfied.' Now that I am old
and my days are numbered, I have begun
to see how foolish I have been. My one prayer now is: " Lord, give me the
grace to change myself.' If I had prayed
for this right from the start I should not have wasted my life."
Dear brothers and
sisters today we begin the second Sunday of Lent with the gospel account of the
transfiguration of Jesus. He takes Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor and
gives them a little glimpse of His glory. The divine glory shines from the face
of Jesus, He is transfigured before them or He changes in appearance when He
prays to God. And then the voice of the Father from the clouds reveals who
Jesus is: " This is my son, my
beloved. Listen to Him." God the Father reveals that Jesus is not only a
man, He is also God.
The intention of this
vision is to strengthen the faith of the apostles. It s because a few days
earlier, Jesus told them that He is going to suffer and die in Jerusalem. St.
Matthew, in hi Gospel, says that when Peter heard this, he says to Jesus:
" God forbid it, Lord! That must never happen to you." Jesus then
said to Peter: " Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle on my way,
because these thoughts of yours don't come from God but from man," (
Matthew 16: 22-23).
We can reflect this gospel
by remembering the Four T's of life. The first T is, Test. It is not easy to climb a mountain but the climb is its
reward. To climb a mountain is also to test our own perseverance and patience
to go on climbing. Therefore we can say that life if full of tests. The exams,
unfortunately never end when school ends. On this earth, our abilities are
constantly tasted. Our patience is often tested, our love of members of our families is tested
sometimes every hour of the day! Even our faith is tested.
Bishop Fulton Sheen
once gave a talk, he said that the greatest test the western people face is
whether or not they will divide their loyalties between Christ and the world.
In other words, the greatest test they face is, " Will I compromise my
faith?"
Reflect and think of
how many Catholics today disagree with the Church on fundamental issues of
faith and morals: On bishops speaking about political issues; on the necessity
of coming to Mass every Sunday; on the sinfulness of contraception and
abortion; on the reality of the
Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ of Christ. According to a survey only
30% of all Catholics believe in the teaching s of the Catholic Church on the
Eucharist. Think of how many Catholics have compromised their faith in supporting
political candidates who actively promote the sinful behavior that is
destroying our country at the present time. These of course, are just some of
the ways that the faith can be tested and compromised.
The second T is Trust. God is telling us to trust Him
when we climb on the mountain of life. We should not give up. We should go
slowly, step by step, one win at a time as some coaches of basketball are
saying. He is telling us to leave our
emotional and spiritual baggage behind
and travel light. If we trust Him we will be able to let go of our
worries in life, burdens, burdens of wealth and possession especially our greed
to have more. Instead of putting our treasures in the commercial banks, why
don't we look at the treasures we bank in our hearts?
In our everyday life we
are invited to be men and women of thanks, therefore the third T is Thank you. When we thank you, mean it
as it should be coming from the heart.
The last T is Testimony. Let us look at the situation
of our country today there is political and economic upheavals. Some people
especially our legislator are clamoring for charter change because for them
this is the only way to make our country better. Some are complaining the bad
leadership of their presidents, constitutional change etc. As I look at it there should be a political
transfiguration which is God's way of telling us that even if we succeed, a
despotic and corrupt government and the succeeding political structures will be
no better unless there is a deeper change. In our lives we don't need Charter
Change ( ChaCha), what we need now is the other ChaCha or Character Change.
That change must come from within, an inner revolution of attitudes and values
from those who govern as well as those who are governed. This is the greatest
testimony that we can give about our changed life.
Let us understand that
no one stays at the mountain forever. Sooner or later we must descend and go
back to realities and make our changed life a testimony for others so that
others may have a deep experience. I read a certain book about 40 rules of
living and these can help us in giving testimonies for others. I will share
some of these rules for living like: Give people more than they expect and do
it cheerfully; when you say, " love you," mean it, When you say,
" I am sorry," look the person in the eye; Never laugh at anyone's
dreams; love deeply and passionately, you might get hurt but it's the only way
to live life completely; Don't judge people by their relatives; talk slow but
think quick; Remember the 3 Rs; Respect for self, respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions; Don't let little dispute injure a great
friendship; smile when you are picking up the phone, the caller will hear it in
your voice; Spend some time alone; open your arms to change but don't let go
your values; Read more books watch less television; live good and honorable
life; disagreements with loved one deals with current situation and not to
bring up the past; be gentle with the
earth; Pray, there's immeasurable power in it; Mind your own business; if you
make a lot money, put it to use for helping others while you are living. That
is wealth's greatest satisfaction and many more.
0 Response to "HOMILY FOR THE 2nd SUNDAY OF LENT IN YEAR B"
Chapisha Maoni