Fr. Ed Ruane, O.P. calls our attention to two readings in which Moses and Jesus beg for salvation for the people they love. This message is particularly relevant to us, whose hearts are always prone to hardness. He asks us to pray hard for a second conversion, that we be drawn more deeply into the…
“I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east.” Water and the Temple. This line from the prophet Ezekiel is an interesting one. When have we seen, in the gospels, water flowing out of the Temple? It is when Jesus has died, and a lance is thrust through Jesus. Blood and Water flows from his side.
“Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.” These words from the prophet Isaiah seem so necessary right now. All the words of Sacred Scripture seem so different in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Don’t we need a new heavens and a new earth so desperately these days?
We take precautions for a virus we cannot see, smell, touch or taste. We know of the power of an invisible virus. Just imagine what we can do if we become agents of grace. We cannot see Christ either, but the power of grace and his presence is most powerful. Reflections from my friend, Msgr. Richard Lavalley.
This Lent, we are called to uphold the foundations of our faith and teach them to others so that when the time may come, we will be ready to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven as the best person we can possibly be along with those that we have helped along the way.
Water. Will you drown in your sin or allow your soul to be refreshed?
There are just a lot of questions that make us truly uneasy. It is a scary time, and it may be easy to say not to panic, but the truth is the world is panicking and we don’t know who to trust anymore.
There is so much packed into the account of the Transfiguration I could probably have spoken 30 or 40 minutes this morning. (Don’t worry, I did not.) What is true is that the Transfiguration tells us all we need to know about Jesus. It helps us to cope with suffering and pain. It teaches us about the importance of prayer. Listen carefully to Jesus, and you will see more clearly the importance of this meeting of heaven and earth.
Every Second Sunday of Lent we hear an account of the Transfiguration. Why is this?
Life is hard. Its ongoing pressures, injustices, war, famine, disease, suicide, and depression. Making the right decision isn’t always the easiest one to make and we can be tempted time and time again into breaking ourselves and our ideals.
