Second Week of Lent 2018
Chaplain Tim's Reflection
Today's Reflection rings in my heart a special way. Just ten years ago, I journeyed to the Holy Land. One of my most favorite memories was the ride up to Mount Tabor. At the top of this very large mound of earth is the Franciscan Monastery. The view is breathtaking - see picture on right.
In this week's Sunday readings we hear when Jesus took St. Peter, St. James and St. John up to Mount Tabor and revealed to them His Divinity. Recall the story when Jesus was transfixed in his glorified body. Present with Our Lord was Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets). All these things which we read about at Mass were the proof from the Eternal Father that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of the scriptures which preceded him. He wanted the Jewish people to believe in Our Lord. You know the story!
What did the Eternal Father want us to know? In our reflection for today, I want to emphasize how much he was telling us not only about Our Lord but also who we are as adopted sons and daughters of this God-man. We are meant for Glory! Our bodies will resurrect and unite with our souls and live forever. That's what God will do for us if we live rightly and have the knowledge that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. 
All of these things from this reflection should be shouted from the housetops. How much should the Feast of the Transfiguration be made known today?
This is the backdrop against our culture which is becoming "transhuman" (Click here for explanation) The current culture is distorted and most confusing for our youth. Let us be clear and united in who we are as the gifts of God's creation, called to a higher state of glory rather than working to make ourselves into what we want.
The Following Lenton meditation comes from:
The Living Gospel, by Ann M. Garrido
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
BEGIN
Be silent. Be still. Pray, "Open my heart, 0 Lord."
PRAY
I will walk before the LORD, in the land of the living. 
—Psalm 116:9
LISTEN
Read Mark 9:2-10.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
—Mark 9:7
Two Beloved Sons
Each year on the second Sunday of Lent, the Church recalls the Transfiguration—that moment on the mountaintop when the disciples' glimpse, ever so briefly, Jesus in his full glory, a foreshadowing of the resurrected Christ. From the cloud, the voice of God echoes: "This is my beloved Son." What makes Year B in the lectionary cycle unique is that only in this year is the Transfiguration story paired with the story from the Hebrew scriptures of the akedah, or "the binding of Isaac." This is the ageless story in which Abraham—seconds from slaughtering Isaac—hears, "Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son." The stories juxtaposed draw our attention to two sons—each the beloved of his respective father. Yet there are some significant differences. One is ready to die to appease a demanding God, who turns out to not want such sacrifices. One is ready to die to appease a demanding humanity, which, it turns outs does. One does not seem to have a say in the matter. One does and still chooses to lay down his life freely, trusting that when humanity sees what it has done, it will recognize the evil of its actions and forever change its ways.
Two beloved sons are lifted up by the lectionary today. Yet the voice in the cloud suggests we are to imitate the latter. Acknowledging Jesus, the voice says, "listen to him".
ACT
Do I think of the sacrifices of daily life as my life being taken from me or my life being freely given? I will engage in a task I find difficult today out of the spirit of freedom – I choose this!– rather than a spirit of obligation or drudgery – I have to do this.
PRAY
Give me the freedom of Jesus, O Lord, for the sake of what is right and just.
Source: Garrido A., The living gospel, 2018, Ave Maria Press