2nd Sunday of Lent
Today’s gospel reading gives us the story of the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. The transfiguration according to Saint Leo the Great removes the scandal of the cross from the hearts of Christ’s disciples, strengthens their faith, and prevents the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed. Hence, the story of the transfiguration we heard today in the gospel reading is to strengthen our faith in God and lead us closer to Him this Lenten season. But how can we come closer to Him this Lenten season?
As I explained in the homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent, we can come closer to God by my famous 4 “R”s -
Repentance, which involves an examination of conscience to find out our faults and sins then acknowledge them and the need to change;
Reconciliation, which entails being contrite and remorseful of our sins, being sincere in our need for change in our spiritual lives and confessing our sins in the Sacrament of Penance;
Reformation, which reminds us of the need to transform and change our actions and way of life to be like Christ’s so as to be faithful to Him and lastly,
Renewal, which means having a new mindset and new way of life that pleases and glorifies God.
Today’s gospel reading actually emphasizes the Reformation of our lives. We are urged by the transfiguration story to transfigure and transform our lives to be like that of Christ so as to attain His kingdom of heaven. Reforming our lives means tweaking various aspects and areas of our life for the greater glory of God, which means changing our everyday practices or lifestyles to be faithful to God. This includes avoiding those things that lead us sin or staying away from people who lead us to sin. We can also practice our faith more differently this Lenten season by not just doing the Lenten practices of Pray, Fasting and Almsgiving, but by doing them with love, sincerity and a call to repentance. We can also improve in our call to spirituality or discipleship by making better efforts in our daily spiritual exercises, meditation, examination of conscience, Scriptural and spiritual readings, acts of charity, works of mercy etc. These are some few examples of how we can reform our lives for the great glory of God and for our spiritual growth.
So let us pray to God our Father to grant us His graces, mercies and blessings this Lenten Season, to reform our lives, grow in our love for Him and strengthen our faith in Him, we ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
