DAILY- HOMILY

FEBRUARY 28, 2010
2ND SUNDAY OF LENT – C

GENESIS 15:5-12, 17-18
Then taking him outside, he said, 'Look up at the sky and count the
stars if you can. Just so will your descendants be,' he told him.
Abram put his faith in Yahweh and this was reckoned to him as
uprightness. He then said to him, 'I am Yahweh who brought you out of
Ur of the Chaldaeans to give you this country as your possession.'
'Lord Yahweh,' Abram replied, 'how can I know that I shall possess
it?' He said to 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.'
He brought him all these, split the animals down the middle and placed
each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide. And
whenever birds of prey swooped down on the carcases, Abram drove them
off. Now, as the sun was on the point of setting, a trance fell on
Abram, and a deep dark dread descended on him. When the sun had set
and it was dark, there appeared a smoking firepot and a flaming torch
passing between the animals' pieces. That day Yahweh made a covenant
with Abram in these terms: 'To your descendants I give this country,
from the River of Egypt to the Great River, the River Euphrates,

PHILIPPIANS 3:20--4:1
But our homeland is in heaven and it is from there that we are
expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transfigure the
wretched body of ours into the mould of his glorious body, through the
working of the power which he has, even to bring all things under his
mastery. So then, my brothers and dear friends whom I miss so much, my
joy and my crown, hold firm in the Lord, dear friends.

LUKE 9:28-36
Now about eight days after this had been said, he took with him Peter,
John and James and went up the mountain to pray. And it happened that,
as he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing
became sparkling white. And suddenly there were two men talking to
him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were
speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter
and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they woke up and saw his
glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him,
Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so
let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.' He did not know what he was saying. As he was saying this, a
cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the
cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud
saying, 'This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.' And after the
voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence
and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

REFLECTION
Is there anything that gives us hope these days? What goodness do we
see and experience that make us remain upbeat despite the various
trials that we face?

This theme of hope resonates well with the Transfiguration event of
Jesus which somehow underscores the reality that the Lenten season is
not supposedly a gloomy time but according to one of the prefaces, it
is a joyful season for it is a time to remember God's loving mercy. It
must be noted that the transfiguration event happens immediately after
the proclamation of Jesus of his imminent passion, death, and
resurrection. And like many of us, we seem to remember easily and
readily the bad news like the death and so, this becomes an
opportunity for the apostles to realize that Jesus' life will not
simply end with his death. Rather, there will be a resurrection. It
gives them hope and foretaste of what is still to come and thereby
must have lifted drooping spirits. More importantly, the
transfiguration gives us a complete understanding of the Lenten season
which we would readily associate as gloomy because what is highlighted
especially in our culture is the suffering and death. The truth of the
matter is that the Paschal Mystery of Jesus is the suffering, death,
and resurrection. The crucifixion and death is not the end of the
story of Jesus. Rather, the resurrection is the culminating point of
the story of salvation.

Aside from the fact that the Transfiguration gives us hope, it sends
too a very important message which is none other than these two words:
"Listen to him." Listen to Jesus. But how are we able to do this when
there are just simply many competing voices urging us to do this or do
that? How do we really know that we are listening to Jesus when our
prayer seems to be dry as if there is nothing happening? We just have
to look at the fruits of our prayer. Is there goodness coming from us?
Are we more understanding and loving? Are we able to have patience
with those whom we easily find irritating? Are we less judgmental and
suspicious of the actions of people especially when someone who has
not been good suddenly shows some acts of kindness?

We all have our Transfiguration experiences when in the most
unexpected circumstances, we gain insight and are given strength to
move on amid all the anxieties and problems in life. And in such
moments, the message is simple: Refocus on Jesus. Listen to him. This
is indeed an appropriate reminder as we celebrate the joyful season of
Lent leading to glorious Easter.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Brenda
- Arnold Cabatingan
- Walter Stamatelaky
- Lydia Pe
- Renan Lacida
- Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, SJ
- Abraham A.
- Francis Torres
- Luis Torres
- Mon Torres
- Jessy
- Jo Marcelo
- Huey
- Juvy Ong
… for the personal intentions of
- Pauline
- Grace
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Julian S. Lola, Jr.
- Birthday: Dea D. Suyosa
- Birthday: Stephen S. Yu
- Birthday: Lily L. Yu
- Birthday: Angel G. Doble
… for the healing and peace of all families

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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