Saturday February 19, 2022

Saturday of 6th Week in Ordinary Time

On the Mountain of Glory    

                                   

Introduction

Alarmed by the evil done to the Christian community by false teachers, James warns against the dangers of falsehood. This warning is valid today when words are so much manipulated to deceive and disguise.

After he has announced his coming suffering and answered Peter’s protest, Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of his intimate friends among the apostles who will also watch his agony in the garden. This is how he strengthens their faith. Then, he speaks again with them about his approaching passion. Let us ask the Lord in this Eucharist to give us courage in difficult moments.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
when your Son was transfigured
you gave eyes of faith to the apostles
to see beyond appearances
and to recognize Jesus as your beloved Son.
This vision gave them courage for the hour of trial.
When our faith and trust
seem to desert us in dark moments,
let your Son take us up to the mountain
and give us a glimpse of his light,
that with fresh courage and generosity,
we may see where he wants us to go.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

 

1st Reading – James 3:1-10

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 12:2-3, 4-5, 7-8

(see 1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

 Help, Lord, for no one loyal remains;
the faithful have vanished from the children of men.
 They tell lies to one another,
speak with deceiving lips and a double heart.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

 May the Lord cut off all deceiving lips,
and every boastful tongue,
 Those who say, “By our tongues we prevail;
when our lips speak, who can lord it over us?”
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

 The promises of the Lord are sure,
silver refined in a crucible,
silver purified seven times.
 You, O Lord, protect us always;
preserve us from this generation.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

 

Alleluia – SEE Mark 9:6

Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel – Mark 9:2-13

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

 

Intentions

–          For trust, that God is near to us in our deepest loneliness and in all trials, we pray:

–          For courage and constancy, that we may keep doing what is right and good even if it demands pain and effort, we pray:

–          For open hearts and hands for all those who suffer, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
all we see before us
is a piece of bread and a cup of wine.
Yet we believe that soon they will be changed
into your Son among us.
Let him come alive in us
and guide us by his Holy Spirit,
that with him, we may hear your call
and go through the hardships and joys of life
with faces lit up by hope,
and by the certainty that you have prepared for us
a glory and happiness that will last for ever.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God, in this Eucharist,
we have seen a glimpse of your Son’s glory
in the love shown us at his table
and in his encouraging words.
Let our lives reflect his light and life,
that each of us may be to his sisters and brothers
a firm support and a helping hand
and a road sign on the way to you,
our God, for ever and ever.

 

Blessing

May the Lord give us in difficult moments a glimpse of his deep love and nearness, and may we too, brighten the face of people in their troubles with a word and a smile of sympathy and warmth. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Catching Mist in a Matchbox

Look at Peter’s response at the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. “Let us make three tents here.” The Church, whose prototypal leader Peter was, has often had this temptation to capture the mystical within the four walls of a building, the eternal temptation to build external edifices to immortalize spiritual experiences. Good intentions, but not the best; for such attempts would be like catching the splendid mist emerging from the Niagara Falls in a little matchbox. When God graciously lets us glimpse his mystery, it is to spark a fire within us, imprint that memory in the sacred chamber of our hearts, and help us descend into the plain realities of everyday life. That inner spark will guide our spirits when dark clouds of Calvary come beckoning us. Hence, “templing” the experience must happen within our souls primarily, and not necessarily in bricks and mortars.

Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF