In this second Sunday of Lent we hear in the Gospel about the Transfiguration. That moment where God the Father reveals a glimpse of the glory of the future. Imagine what this must have been like for the three apostles chosen to see this vision. How awe inspiring. How shocking. How glorious. How confusing for them. What did it mean? Sometimes putting yourself in the position of those in the Gospel helps us to contemplate what God is saying to us through His Word.

The transfiguration can also be viewed as one of the first moments of Adoration. We are truly blessed that we have the Blessed Sacrament and the tradition of adoration and benediction. A place to sit in silence, prayer and thanksgiving. A place pour our hearts and needs to Jesus who suffered so much for us.

It can be so hard to trust that God has ‘got this’ and accept the sufferings and difficulties that come with our lives. It can be easy to loose hope when you are in the trenches of something that seems so unfair. Yet sometimes He gives us little glimpses into what might be. Moments of grace. Moments of wonder. Moments of sudden clarity. The Transfiguration is one of those moments. A moment where God reminds us that he is there and that if we trust, obey and love Him “all things work together for good ” ( Romans 8:28)

Gospel Reading Audio 

Reflection on the Gospel by Anne Maree Quinn

reflection sheet

We have provided a number of reflection questions based on the video above. You don’t need to answer them all. They are just a guide to help you reflect on what was said. You can pick as many or as few as you wish. It really depends on the time you have through the week and what really spoke to you. Click the image to download the sheet.

Further reading

Here we are listing a number of other resources that you might like to look at. Of course you don’t need to use any at all or even just in Lent! It is mainly for those who wish to delve more deeply into themes or ideas that have been looked into this week.

Scripture
Click here for the other reading from Mass today.
If you would like to look them up in your own Bible they are:
Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a,10-13,15-18
Psalm 25:4-9
1 Peter 3:18-22

Prayer 

Adoration is a beautiful way to spend time with Our Lord. You don’t even need words. There are various versions of the story of St John Vianney and a man he always saw at the back of the church, but the heart of what the man said, when question as to what he was doing is so simple and yet so profound. He said, “I look at Him and He looks at me.” That is all we need to do. Make time for Him, because as we heard in the Gospel “it is good to be in the presence of the Lord”.  Here is an article from our blog on what regular Adoration has meant to one woman.

This is a beautiful pastoral letter on Adoration written last year by Archbishop James Conley of the Archdiocese of Lincoln, in the USA,  We would really encourage you to read it. In it he says that the “Eucharist is love made visible”. Such a wonderful image. If you can go and spend this time with Christ, you will be spending time with love. How is that not something that we all desire !?

Books
(You can buy these books from anywhere you like –  links are given just for information)

John Paul’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and his dedication to adoration is very well known. In 2003 he wrote his encyclical on the relationship of the Eucharist with the Church, Ecclesia de Eucharista. 

Joan Carroll Cruz has a very famous book that looks at all the approved and documented Eucharistic Miracles that have occurred throughout the Church’s life. It is sometimes helpful to our very human selves to be a little like St Thomas the Apostle and want to ‘see’ the body of Christ. Although there is also room for us to be like St Louis, King of France, who’s faith was so strong that he said that he didn’t need to see the Eucharistic Miracle that happened in his town because he already knew that it was the body of Christ.

21 Ways to Worship is a great handbook for those who are held back from going to Adoration because they simply don’t know what to do.

Not trusting God can be crippling. This book by Hallie Lord walks through how she came through to the other side of her fears.

Articles/Blog Posts

Although we posted this on our blog a couple of weeks ago, this article by Bishop Egan in the UK very much worth the read. It is about the importance of church’s remaining open during the day.

This past week we celebrated the feast of the Chair of St Peter. A chair? Why? Here’s some help.

This is a post about learning to trust God from the experiences He gives us. In this case, from the perspective of a mother giving birth.

Anne Maree spoke of praising God, and about St John Paul II encouraging us to order out lives to praise God. This is an article from Fr James Schall SJ on the importance of praise and it’s links to our own salvation.

Audio

This is the audio of the pastoral letter of Archbishop Conley mentioned above.  click here.

Fulton Sheen made a holy hour every single day of his priesthood. Here is a talk he gave at a retreat where he speaks about adoration and how this kind of prayer changes a person.

This is a short video where Bishop Robert Baron talks about the mysterious providence of God and uses the childhood experience of the comedian Stephen Colbert as an example. God does not just put suffering out there for no purpose. As he says the benefit of someone else’s suffering “might be for the sake of someone who is not born yet.” We just cannot see the whole picture.

Lenten Music

Below is a YouTube playlist of Lenten music for this week. It is meant to be a tool for prayer, but also can be played through your day to help keep the season in mind. Apologies for any advertisements that may interrupt your listening!