2nd SUNDAY OF LENT

This is my Son, my chosen one.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Remember your mercies, Lord, your tenderness from ages past. Do not let our enemies triumph over us; O God, deliver Israel from all her distress.

PENITENTIAL RITE

Today’s readings and the feast of the transfiguration remind us of the changes that can take place to people when they surrender to God in faith. The transfiguration is a foretaste of the transformation that can happen when one submits to God. It is also the guarantee of our future heavenly glory. Instead of surrendering we can live, as St Paul points out with tears, as enemies of the cross with our minds set on earthly things. What is our option: heavenly or earthly glory? (Pause.)

I confess...

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. God our Father, help us to hear your Son. Enlighten us with your word, that we may find the way to your glory. Grant this...

FIRST READING

(God makes a covenant with Abram, promising him numerous descendants and large areas of land.)

A reading from the book of Genesis (15:5-12,17-18)

The Lord brought Abram outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess." But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great River, the River Euphrates."

This is the Word of the Lord

PSALM (26)

Response: The Lord is my light and my help.

The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord, is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?

R.

O Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer. Of you my heart, has spoken: "Seek his face." R.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. Dismiss not your servant in anger; you have been my help. R.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord! R.

SECOND READING

(Against the background of worldli-ness, St Paul reminds the Philippians of heaven and heavenly realities.)

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians (3:17-4:1)

Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

This is the Word of the Lord

ACCLAMATION (Mt 17:5)

From the bright cloud the Father’s voice was heard: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

GOSPEL

(In the transfiguration of Jesus, the glory of his resurrection and our own future glory are revealed.)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (9:28-36)

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men stood with him.

And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah" —not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the comm-union of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Cel: Dear sisters and brothers, our God is a God of covenant, of friendship. This encourages us to come before him confidently with all our needs and desires.

Our Response:

Lord, be gracious to us and bless us.

1. We pray for all our Church leaders, especially for our Pope and Bishops. In their ministry of leadership may they give primary importance to listening to your word. R.

2. We pray for all civil authorities, that they may become instruments of genuine transformation of society at various levels. R.

3. We pray for all Christians that they may not live as enemies of the cross but accept the cross and follow Jesus and be transformed into Christ. R.

4. We pray for the brightness of your transfiguration to dispel the darkness of our minds and the despair of our hearts. R.

Cel: Lord God, our light and our hope, we take refuge in you. Do not reject us but graciously grant our humble requests. We ask this…

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Lord, make us holy. May this eucharist take away our sins that we may be prepared to celebrate the resurrection. We ask...

PREFACE (P 13)

COMMUNION ANTIPHON

This is my Son, my beloved, in whom is all my delight: listen to him.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Lord, we give thanks for these holy mysteries which bring to us here on earth a share in the life to come.

We ask...

LITURGY AND LIFE

The transfiguration is the summer lightning of the coming Resurrection. Also of our own resurrection, for we too are to partake of that transfigured life. To be saved means to share in the life of Christ. We too shall rise again, and our bodies will be transformed by the Spirit, which itself is transformed by God.

Such is the eternal life in which we believe. "Eternal" does not mean merely endless; we are that as spiritual creatures of God anyway, "by nature". But the general indestructibility of the soul is not yet the blissful, eternal life that Revelation describes. That comes to us from God. Actually, "eternal" life has nothing to do with the length of that life; it is not the opposite of transitory life. Perhaps we come closest to the truth when we define it as life, which participates in the life of God.

In the new life such eternity exists for all, whether one is a great saint or the least "in the kingdom of God." The differences exist within eternity itself, where, admittedly, they are as great as the differences in love. This eternal life does not wait till after death to begin. It already exists. The essence of Christian consciousness is founded on its presence—through faith. Whatever our measure, something of it is always behind our living and our dying, whether given by grace or seized by faith: something of that flaming arc which broke through for the first time on Tabor, to reveal itself victoriously in the Resurrection.

—Romano Guardini