Sunday, March 13, 2022

- March 12, 2022

Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”

Psalm 27, verse 1:

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?

This verse is and should be our declaration of faith. Let us commit it to memorization and repeat it to ourselves daily or when fear and doubt rears its ugly head within our depths. Doing this will help us trust the Lord and develop a true relationship of love with the Trinity through prayer. God will become our sanctuary and we will be able to put away our fears and rest in the arms of God.

We will no longer have to pretend that we are not afraid for we will trust the Lord with our whole being offering our lives, families, time and treasure with total peace. We will be able to sleep and awaken easily. The old Navajo adage will no longer apply to us; you cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep; due to our faith in God.

Through our reliance in Him we will be able to say with King David, “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.” (Psalm 27:13-14).

ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[1]

CHAPTER I

DIES DOMINI

The day of rest

64. For several centuries, Christians observed Sunday simply as a day of worship, without being able to give it the specific meaning of Sabbath rest. Only in the fourth century did the civil law of the Roman Empire recognize the weekly recurrence, determining that on "the day of the sun" the judges, the people of the cities and the various trade corporations would not work. Christians rejoiced to see thus removed the obstacles which until then had sometimes made observance of the Lord's Day heroic. They could now devote themselves to prayer in common without hindrance.

It would therefore be wrong to see in this legislation of the rhythm of the week a mere historical circumstance with no special significance for the Church and which she could simply set aside. Even after the fall of the Empire, the Councils did not cease to insist upon the arrangements regarding Sunday rest. In countries where Christians are in the minority and where the festive days of the calendar do not coincide with Sunday, it is still Sunday which remains the Lord's Day, the day on which the faithful come together for the Eucharistic assembly. But this involves real sacrifices. For Christians it is not normal that Sunday, the day of joyful celebration, should not also be a day of rest, and it is difficult for them to keep Sunday holy if they do not have enough free time.

Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”[2]

AT the Introit to-day the Church asks of God the grace to fall -no more into sin: Remember, O God, Thy bowels of compassion, and Thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world, lest at any time our enemies rule over us; deliver us, O God, from all our tribulations. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In Thee, O God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed; (Ps. xxiv.).

Prayer.

O God, Who beholdest us destitute of every virtue, preserve us both inwardly and outwardly, that we may be defended from all adversities in body, and purified from all evil thoughts in mind.

EPISTLE, i. Thess. iv. 1-7.

Brethren: We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. For you know what precepts I have given to you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor: not in the passion of lust, like the gentiles that know not God: and that no man overreach, nor circumvent his brother in business: because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have told you before, and have testified: for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification.

Explanation. St. Paul exhorts all Christians to live chastely and honestly, and continually to aspire to higher perfection. Such is the will of God, Who has called us to holiness, and will punish severely all impurity and injustice.

Prayer. Grant, O Lord, that, according to my vocation, I may never be addicted to earthly and fleshly lusts like the heathen, who know Thee not, but may live in modesty, chastity, and holiness, and adorn my name as a Christian with good works. Amen.

Traditionally for this Sunday Paul exhorts us to keep up our progress and we hear the story of the Transfiguration as a heartening foretaste of Christ's ultimate triumph.

GOSPEL. Matt. xvii. 1-9.

At that time: Jesus taketh unto Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun: and His garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him. And Peter, answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo a voice out of the cloud saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face: and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them: Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.

Why was Jesus transfigured before His disciples on Mount Tabor?

1. To give them a manifest proof of His divinity.

2. To prevent all doubt on their part when they should see Him on Mount Calvary.

3. To encourage all the faithful to patience under agony and suffering.

4. To show us how our glorified bodies shall rise from the dead (i. Cor. xv. 52).

Why did Moses and Elias appear with Our Lord? To testify that Jesus was the Savior of the word spoken of by the law and the prophets.

Lenten Calendar[3]

Read: Today’s Gospel shares the story of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

Reflect: “The Transfiguration reminds us that the joys sown by God in life are not finishing lines; rather they are the lights he gives us during our earthly pilgrimage in order that “Jesus alone” may be our Law and his word the criterion that directs our existence.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, February 28, 2010)

Pray: Pray for strength today to continue your Lenten promises and fasting with this prayer from Catholic Relief Services. . . .

Act: It’s the second Sunday of Lent, but there are three more to go. Rededicate yourself to your Lenten promises today and enter the week ready to tackle what’s ahead.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Part Four: Prayer in the Life of Faith

17 The last part of the catechism deals with the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of believers (first section). It closes with a brief commentary on the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer (second section). In them, in effect, we find the sum of the goods that we should expect and that our heavenly Father wants to grant us.

The Week ahead

· Thur. Mar 17^th St. Patrick’s Day

· Fri. Mar 18^th FAST Full Worm Moon

· Sat. Mar 19^th Feast of St. Joseph

· Sun. Mar 20^th Third Sunday of Lent-Spring Begins

Plan ahead for:

· Bird Watching- With about 10,000 species of birds and only a handful of people who can claim having seen over 7000 of them, bird watching is become a popular recreation activity. It’s believed that bird watching is an expression of the male hunting instinct while others links it with the male tendency for “systemizing”. Either way, bird watching is a great, safe way to enjoy nature.