March 13

Second Sunday of Lent

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Give a Mass Offering

Mass Intentions

Sat, 4:00 PM – Patrick John Vassallo / Bob & Pat Vanderhoek
Sun., 7:30 AM - Alice Jastrem / Karen Markoff
Sun., 10:30 AM - Betty Jane Mascolo / Claude & Mary Anne
Sun., 5:00 PM - Robert Coughlin / Leigh Marquis

Prayer for Spiritual Communion

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.


Readings

First Reading

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.” “O Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them. As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14.

R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Second Reading

Philippians 3:17—4:1

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

cf. Matthew 17:5

From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.

Gospel

Luke 9:28b-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.


The Lord is my light and my salvation.
— Psalms 27:1a

Reflection

This Sunday, the Second Sunday of Lent shows us a glimpse of heaven. But that vision of heaven comes at the price of faith in God and faith in His plan for our lives. In our first reading today, we see Abram putting his trust in God for the second time. He has already left his home in Ur of the Chaldeans to travel many miles to a place where he is challenged in many different ways. Once again, he puts his trust in the Lord when He promises to give Abram’s descendants the land he is now living in despite the fact that as an old man he and his wife Sara have no children. Talk about a test of faith! Miraculously, they do have a child, who has a child, and so on, until indeed, Abram becomes Abraham and is in fact, the father of many descendants.

The gospel is perhaps an even greater test of faith for Peter, James, and John when they join Jesus in climbing a mountain, where he is transfigured in their sight and appears in radiant glory standing between Moses and Elijah – the two key figures for the Jews from the Old Testament. The apostles received a vision of Christ’s true glory on the mountain, but they did not understand what it meant. It was only after the resurrection that they truly understood what they had seen. The Transfiguration also has an important implication for each of us which is brought out by Saint Paul in the second reading. Paul tells us that Christ will transform our mortal bodies and make us like his own in glory. The Transfiguration didn’t just give the apostles a glimpse of their glorified Lord – they also got a glimpse of what they too would be like when they joined him in eternity. That glory awaits those of us who have been faithful to God in this life. This season of Lent is about making us aware of what we need to do to be able to attain God’s perfection and ultimately the glory which awaits us in heaven. Let us trust in the Lord always.

Peace,

Deacon Dare


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