{"id":2062,"date":"2017-03-12T12:24:02","date_gmt":"2017-03-12T16:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2017-03-12T12:27:04","modified_gmt":"2017-03-12T16:27:04","slug":"2nd-sunday-of-lent-year-a-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/2nd-sunday-of-lent-year-a-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

2nd<\/sup> Sunday of Lent, Year A<\/a>
\nGenesis 12:1-4a
\nPsalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
\n2 Timothy 1:8b-10
\nMatthew 17:1-9
\nMarch 12, 2017<\/p>\n

In our responsorial psalm verse today we sang, \u201cas we place our trust in you<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 We come here to place our trust in God is \u201cupright<\/em>\u201d and \u201ctrustworthy<\/em>\u201d but sometimes we are not sure.\u00a0 By that, I mean we are not sure what God wants us to do.<\/p>\n

Abram, who will become known as Abraham, is the example of complete trust in the Lord.\u00a0 \u201cThe Lord said to Abram:\u00a0 Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father\u2019s house to a land that I will show you<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father\u2019s house is what was familiar to Abram.\u00a0 He knew what to expect there.\u00a0 God tells him to go to a land that He will show him.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t even tell Abram where the land is.\u00a0 Abram could have been afraid.\u00a0 What is Abram\u2019s response?\u00a0 He \u201cwent as the LORD directed him.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Would you do the same?<\/p>\n

I like to think that if I knew it was the Lord<\/em> I would do it but I said \u201cif\u201d.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t trust God.\u00a0 Rather, I have to admit that even as a priest, sometimes it can be hard to know what is God\u2019s will versus my own desires or just pressure from others.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it can be hard.\u00a0 I try not to let any \u201chardship\u201d discourage me.\u00a0 For if we are doing God\u2019s will we can remember Paul\u2019s words to Timothy, \u201cBear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t make everything easy but He will give us the strength we need to do whatever He asks of us.<\/p>\n

It is here that I turn to the story of Jesus\u2019 transfiguration.\u00a0 In the gospels there are times when Jesus goes off to pray by himself and we don\u2019t know anything about what happens then.\u00a0 This time, as Jesus goes up on the high mountain, He takes Peter, James, and John with him.<\/p>\n

On the mountain, the three disciples see something incredible.\u00a0 They see Jesus transfigured, \u201chis face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 That alone would be an incredible experience, to see Jesus as we will see him in Heaven.\u00a0 Yet, there is more.\u00a0 Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus.<\/p>\n

Peter, amazed by what he sees, says, \u201cLord, it is good that we are here<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Peter is right.\u00a0 They have been given an incredible blessing to see Jesus in his glory, a new step in their faith.\u00a0 Clearly, this must strengthen faith and trust in Jesus.\u00a0 Moses\u2019 presence signifies that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.\u00a0 Elijah\u2019s presence signifies that Jesus is the fulfillment of what the prophets foretold.\u00a0 Point being – We can believe in Jesus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Peter is so amazed at what he sees that he offers to make three tents.\u00a0 He wants the experience to last.<\/p>\n

Then, they hear God\u2019s voice, \u201cThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can place our trust in Jesus.\u00a0 Peter, James, and John are blessed by their experience and we are blessed that their experience is written down that we know of it.<\/p>\n

It is a blessing for us to being able to reflect on this scene but how can we experience God\u2019s presence today?<\/p>\n

We experience God\u2019s presence in listening to his words as recorded in the Bible.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we read from the Bible at every Mass (and some of our prayers come from scripture passages).\u00a0 We can also read the Bible on our own.\u00a0 We can read as a story.\u00a0 We can read as God\u2019s teaching.\u00a0 We can read it as prayer in Lectio Divino.<\/p>\n

We receive Jesus himself in the Eucharist.\u00a0 It is not simply bread and wine at Communion.\u00a0 It is the Body and Blood of Jesus.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We can also experience God in private prayer.\u00a0 Here I want to turn to what we call \u201cContemplative Prayer.\u201d\u00a0 As soon as we hear this phrase, we might think of cloistered nuns and monks in monastery who spend their whole day in prayer.\u00a0 That can seem impossible for us but contemplative prayer does not require us to be nuns or monks.<\/p>\n

In thinking about private prayer, we might tend to think of prayers we say like the Rosary, St. Michael\u2019s Chaplet, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, or other devotions.\u00a0 Our petitions of need that we offer to God are also prayer.\u00a0 These are important prayers and they can certainly help us be aware of God\u2019s presence in our lives.<\/p>\n

All these types of prayer can involve us using lots of words.\u00a0 Contemplative Prayer is not about words.\u00a0 It is about seeking simply to be aware of God\u2019s presence.\u00a0 In fact contemplative prayer (more specifically centering prayer) calls us to let go of all the thoughts that come into our hearts.<\/p>\n

The first time I heard that my response was to think it impossible.\u00a0 I have so many thoughts going through my head that I can\u2019t imagine a time without thoughts but I gave it a try.<\/p>\n

I have to admit it isn\u2019t easy but when I am successful (by God\u2019s grace) it is awesome.\u00a0 It is a blessing to be able to let go of all the thoughts and simply be aware that God is with me.<\/p>\n

The form of contemplative prayer that I was taught calls for 20 minutes a day, twice a day.\u00a0 I don\u2019t do that often.\u00a0 Actually, lately, I don\u2019t get to it much at all but when I do, I am blessed.<\/p>\n

Now you don\u2019t start out at twenty minutes, twice a day.\u00a0 You might start with just five minutes and learn the process of getting yourself centered.\u00a0 I can\u2019t give you all the instructions here, partly because it would take too long, but also, honestly, because I don\u2019t remember it all.\u00a0 If you want to find out more, you can go to my own website (www.renewaloffaith.org<\/a>) and look under the (contemplative\/centering<\/a>) prayer section or Google contemplative and\/or centering prayer.<\/p>\n

More simply, I encourage to just begin by including a couple of minutes of silence in your prayer.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to do all the talking.\u00a0 Just be still and let the Lord come to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 Matthew 17:1-9 March 12, 2017 In our responsorial psalm verse today we sang, \u201cas we place our trust in you.\u201d\u00a0 We come here to place our trust in God is \u201cupright\u201d and \u201ctrustworthy\u201d but sometimes we are not sure.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A – Homily’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[82,260],"tags":[265,266,264],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-xg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2062"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2066,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions\/2066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}