Daily Liturgy
Sunday March 13, 2022
Second Sunday Of Lent
- A Transfiguring Light
- With Jesus on the Mountain
Greeting (See Second Reading)
The Lord Jesus Christ will transform
our perishable human bodies
and make them glorious like his own.
May his light and peace be with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- A Transfiguring Light
Once in a while, perhaps in a rare moment when we are very much discouraged, we deeply encounter the Lord in prayer, or we meet a kind and understanding person who lights up our face with the warmth of understanding and kind love. Such moments can keep us going for a long time. Would that the Eucharist, and our encounter with the Lord here, could be such a moment that keeps us going and disposes us to light up the lives of others.
- With Jesus on the Mountain
At one time or another we have all seen the face of a person light up by good news, or a moment of real happiness. One day Jesus’ face too lit up, became radiant and was totally transformed by the realization that his work and suffering would not be in vain. May we also know moments when our faces light up with deep happiness and when we bring this radiance to the faces and hearts of others. In this Eucharist we ask the Lord to work this transfiguration in us and to let us bring it to others.
Penitential Act
We are supposed to be children of light,
yet we often prefer the darkness of sin.
Let us humbly seek the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, light of the Father,
light up our faces and hearts
with your forgiving love:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, glory of the Most High,
light up our faces and hearts
with your strength and your friendship:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, light of the world,
light up the faces and hearts of all people
with the message of your Good News:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Brighten our life with your presence
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray
for Christ’s encouraging light on our way
(pause)
Great and holy God,
on his journey to his suffering and death
you gave to your Son Jesus
a glimpse of the glory that was awaiting him
when he would rise from the dead.
In the drabness and sufferings of our life
and in our frustrated efforts to transform this earth,
let shine on us and all our brothers and sisters
a ray of hope that lifts us up
and sustains us on the way to you
and on the often difficult road
toward your justice and love in this world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Gen 15:5-12,17-18): A Flaming Torch and a Covenant
At a time when Abraham’s faith is sorely tested, God gives him hope; he binds himself to Abraham by a covenant and by the flaming torch God shows that he is present.
Reading 1: Gn 15:5-12, 17-18
The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered 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.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14
(1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Second Reading (Phil 3:17—4:1 or 3:20-4:1): Transfiguration of the Christian in Christ
The saving grace of Christ will transfigure our humanity in the image of the risen humanity of the Lord.
Reading 2: Phil 3:17—4:1
Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord.
Or: Phil 3:20—4:1
Brothers and sisters:
Our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.
Verse Before the Gospel Cf. Mt 17:5
From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.
Gospel (Lk 9:28-36): A Flash of the Lord’s Glory
Before Jesus set out on his way to his suffering and death, a glimpse of his resurrection and glory shone in him, to strengthen him in his own loyalty and to encourage his disciples.
Gospel: Lk 9:28b-36
Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
Intercessions
Let Jesus lead us high up on the mountain where he wants to pray with us, and let us say: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
– That our Lord may give to his Church a bright vision of how it can unite all peoples and cultures, be enriched by them and manifest its one faith in a variety of languages and forms of expression, let us pray: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
– That our Lord may give to the leaders of nations a bright vision of the future and dispose them to transform this world by bringing it justice and peace, let us pray: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
– That our Lord may give a bright vision to those gifted with talents and possessions as to how they can share their goods and their love so as to transform poverty and misery into happiness, let us pray: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
– That our Lord may give to young people a bright vision of service and dedication, that their faith may teach them to transform this world by their hope and youth, let us pray: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
– That our Lord may give to those who suffer the vision of how to unite their pains and cares to those of our Lord bearing his cross, so that they may rise above their hardships, let us pray: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
– That our Lord may give to our Christian communities a vision of how they can be united, respect one another, learn to accept everyone and forgive mistakes and offenses, let us pray: R/ Lord, brighten our life.
Lord Jesus Christ, hear our prayers, show your face to us and accompany us in sorrows and joys on our way to your and our Father, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
bread and wine are the gifts
which we bring before you.
As Jesus’ appearance as a man like us
was transformed by the light of glory,
change this daily food and drink
into your beloved Son.
Help us to listen to his word
and nourish us with his body,
that we may be converted
to the mentality of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Christ our Lord is with us here in this Eucharist, in everyday life, even in our pains, questions and sorrows. We thank the Father for giving us Jesus.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
Jesus taught us how to pray
to our Father in heaven.
With God’s beloved Son we pray: R/ Our Father…
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
Reassure us in our trials
and help us to go without fear
the way of the victorious cross,
until you take us up in your eternal light
on the day of the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord,
of whom the Father said:
This is my beloved Son;
listen to him.
Happy are we to receive
his glorious body. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
in this Eucharist your Son Jesus has inspired us
with a bright view of how our struggles,
our efforts to change ourselves and our world,
lead to the joy of victory
over death and pain and evil.
Let the bread of your Son provide us
with the strength to join our Lord in his passion,
that we may also share in his glory
and bear witness that our faith is good news
of joy and light and life.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We heard today how a glimpse of his glory to come
lit up the face of Jesus and gave him the courage
to face his suffering and death.
Let his encouraging word in the gospel
also lift up our hearts to in moments of trial
and may we light up the face
of people who suffer.
Let the Lord give us this hope and love
and may almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in the peace and the light of Christ.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
Living the Memory of the Future
Read:
God promises the impossible; Abraham believes. In that faith, God counts Abraham as the upright man. Paul pleads with tears not to become enemies of the cross, but be steadfast in the Lord. Jesus reveals himself in Transfiguration to the inner circle of disciples, revealing their destiny as well.
Reflect:
Christians are called to be people of Memory—Anamnesis. Not an ordinary human memory that is all about recalling past experiences; but a sacramental anamnesis, a memory of the future that is our destiny. It is the dark memory of events that are ‘already but not yet’. If Abraham lived his life in faith and was counted upright, it was because he lived in memory of the future that was already but not yet realized in his present. On Mount Tabor, the disciples were given an experience that would remain etched in them as an anamnesis of their destiny: In the Transfigured Christ, they glimpsed who they will be.
Pray:
Pray today for a transfiguration from the wounding memories of the past to the anamnesis of our promised deification ahead.
Act:
Live today as someone already transfigured in Christ (=Having the Mind of Christ).
Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022;
written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF