Year C

March 16, 2025

On this page you will find:

The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download , in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel , a spiritual text and a commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut

2nd Sunday of Lent

In those days,
The Lord spoke to Abraham in a vision.
He brought him out and said to him:
"Look at the sky,
And count the stars, if you can… »
And he declared:
"Such will be your descendants!"
Abram had faith in the Lord
And the Lord considered him righteous.

Genesis 15:5-6

Readings from the Mass

https://www.aelf.org/2025-03-16/romain/messe

Mass leaflet

Universal Prayer

Lectio Divina
Consult this page for a prayerful preparation for the liturgy and then read the meditations below.

Meditation

The Gospel reading for the liturgy of this second Sunday of Lent recounts the Transfiguration of Jesus (cf. Lk 9:28-36). While he is praying on a high mountain, his appearance changes, his clothes become dazzling white, and in the light of his glory appear Moses and Elijah, who speak with him about the Passover that awaits him in Jerusalem, that is to say, about his passion, his death, and his resurrection.

The apostles Peter, John, and James, who had gone up the mountain with Jesus, witnessed this extraordinary event. We imagine them wide-eyed at this unique spectacle. And it certainly must have been so. But the evangelist Luke observes that "Peter and his companions were very sleepy" and that "when they awoke," they saw the glory of Jesus (cf. v. 32). The three disciples' sleep seems out of place. Moreover, these same disciples also fell asleep in Gethsemane, during Jesus' anguished prayer, when he had asked them to stay awake (cf. Mk 14:37-41). This drowsiness is surprising at such important moments.

But upon closer reading, we see that Peter, John, and James fall asleep before the Transfiguration begins, that is, precisely while Jesus is praying. The same thing will happen in Gethsemane. This is clearly a prayer that lasted for a long time, in silence and contemplation. We can imagine that they, too, were praying at the beginning, until fatigue and sleep overcame them.

Brothers and sisters, doesn't this unexpected sleepiness resemble so many of our naps that come during moments we know to be important? In the evening, perhaps, when we would like to pray, to be with Jesus for a while after a day spent running errands and busy with other things. Or when it's time to share a few words with family and we simply don't have the energy. We would like to be more awake, attentive, active, not to miss precious opportunities, but we can't manage it, or we manage it in one way or another, but only a little.

The high point of Lent is a favorable opportunity in this regard. It is a time when God wants to awaken us from our inner lethargy, from that drowsiness that prevents the Spirit from expressing itself. Because—let us remember this well—keeping our hearts awake does not depend solely on us: it is a grace, and it must be asked for. This is what the three disciples in the Gospel demonstrate: they were good, they had followed Jesus up the mountain, but with their own strength they could not stay awake. This happens to us too. But they awaken precisely during the Transfiguration. We can think that it was the light of Jesus that awakened them. Like them, we too need the light of God, which makes us see things differently; it draws us in, awakens us, rekindles the desire and the strength to pray, to look within ourselves, and to dedicate time to others. We can overcome the weariness of the body with the strength of the Spirit of God. And when we fail to overcome this, we must say to the Holy Spirit: “Help us, come, come Holy Spirit. Help me: I want to meet Jesus, I want to be attentive, awake.” We must ask the Holy Spirit to awaken us from this drowsiness that prevents us from praying.

In this Lenten season, after the difficulties of each day, it will do us good not to turn off the light in our room without placing ourselves under God's light. Pray a little before going to sleep. Let us give the Lord the opportunity to surprise us and awaken our hearts. We can do this, for example, by opening the Gospel, allowing ourselves to be filled with wonder at the Word of God, because Scripture illuminates our path and sets our hearts ablaze. Or we can gaze upon the Crucifix and marvel at God's boundless love, which never tires of us and has the power to transform our days, to give them new meaning, a different light, an unexpected light.

May the Virgin Mary help us to keep our hearts awake to welcome this time of grace that God offers us.

POPE FRANCIS

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's Square

Sunday, March 13, 2022

The Gospel for this Sunday

presented to children

(and to those who resemble them)

Interview with Bernadette Dumont

for Magnificat

(I highly recommend subscribing: here )

From the luminous cloud, the voice of the Father resounded: "This is my beloved Son, listen to him!"

◗ Do we know on which mountain Jesus was transfigured?

Most experts believe it to be Mount Tabor. Located in the heart of Galilee, about fifteen kilometers from Nazareth, Mount Tabor rises dramatically from a plain that stretches as far as the eye can see. As a result, it appears much higher than its approximately 600 meters in altitude.

◗ Who was Jesus praying to when he was transfigured on the mountaintop?

He prayed to God, his Father and our Father.

◗ Jesus transfigured, what does that mean for us?

This is a prefiguration of the risen Jesus and, at the same time, of the glorious fulfillment of humanity in the kingdom of God. This means that the Transfiguration revealed to the three disciples both the glorious future of Jesus and, through him and in him, that of each one of us.

◗ Why do Moses and Elijah frame the transfigured Jesus and speak of his departure?

They speak of his departure and his "passage" because the Law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (represented by Elijah) testify that Jesus will attain, through his Passion and death, the glory of the resurrection. Thus, a few days later, in Gethsemane, the same three friends, Peter, James, and John, who today contemplate the face of Jesus, transformed and radiant with glory, will see him exuding tears, sweat, and blood.

◗ What does this have to do with Lent?

This Gospel gives us the entire program for Lent:

– at the Transfiguration as at Gethsemane, everything happens while Jesus was praying;

– the transfiguration invites us to ask ourselves the question: can I reach with Jesus the glory of the resurrection, without myself going through a way of the cross? In the Gospel of Saint Luke, just before the Transfiguration, Jesus answers precisely this question: “Whoever wants to follow me must deny himself and take up his cross daily” (Lk 9:23).

– at the transfiguration, God the Father speaks directly to us, and he says to us about Jesus: “Listen to him!”, for he is the eternal word of the living God.

Conclusion?

To pray, to renounce oneself, to take up one's cross, to listen to Jesus speak to us in his Gospel: there is no more beautiful Lenten program. Without forgetting – of course – that "taking up one's cross" means, certainly, suffering in communion with the passion of Jesus all the difficulties of life, but also choosing sacrifice rather than being unfaithful to Jesus' commandment, and finally, above all, giving one's life for those one loves.

Catechist and author of children's books, Bernadette Dumont is a mother and grandmother.

Better understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle Thabut

Better understanding the Gospel

with Marie-Noëlle Thabut

AN UNEXPECTED MESSIAH

A few days before the Transfiguration, during a time of prayer with his disciples, Jesus asked them the crucial question: “Who do the crowds say I am?” Peter was able to answer: “You are the Christ (that is, the Messiah) of God.” But Jesus immediately clarified things: the Messiah, yes, but not as expected; glory, yes, but not in the way men understand it; glory, that is, the Presence of God, but on the cross, the glory of love and no other: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Luke 9:22)

About eight days later, Jesus led his disciples Peter, James, and John up the mountain; he wanted to pray with them again. It was during this moment of prayer on the mountain that God chose to reveal the mystery of the Messiah to these three privileged individuals. For here, it was no longer men—the crowd or the disciples—who offered their opinions, but God himself who provided the answer and allowed us to contemplate the mystery of Christ: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him!”

This Mount of Transfiguration brings to mind Mount Sinai; and indeed, Luke chose his vocabulary to evoke the context of God's revelation at Sinai: the mountain, the cloud, the glory, the resounding voice, the tents... We are therefore less surprised by the presence of Moses and Elijah alongside Jesus. When we know that Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai in God's presence and that he came down with such a radiant face that everyone was astonished.

As for Elijah, he too walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain; and it was there that God revealed himself to him in a totally unexpected way: not in the power of the wind, the fire, the earthquake, but in the gentle whisper of the light breeze.

Thus, the two Old Testament figures who had the privilege of witnessing the revelation of God's glory on the mountain are also present at the manifestation of Christ's glory. Luke is the only evangelist to specify the content of their conversation with Jesus: "They spoke of his departure, which was to be accomplished at Jerusalem." (In reality, Luke uses the word "Exodus"). Clearly, it is impossible to separate the glory of Christ from his Cross. It is not without reason that Luke uses the word "Exodus" when speaking of Christ's Passover. Just as the Passover of Moses inaugurated the Exodus of the people from slavery in Egypt to the land of freedom, the Passover of Christ opens the path to liberation for all humanity.

“This is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him!”: “Son,” “Chosen,” “Listen to him”: these three words expressed, in the time of Christ, the diversity of the images under which the Messiah was imagined: a Messiah-King, a Messiah-Servant, a Messiah-Prophet. I will address them one after the other.

The title "Son of God" was bestowed upon kings on the day of their coronation: "You are my Son; today I have begotten you" was one of the phrases used in the coronation ceremony. "Chosen" is one of the names of the servant of God spoken of by Isaiah in the "Songs of the Servant": "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one" (Isaiah 42:1). As for the expression "Listen to him," it alludes to the promise God made to Moses to raise up a prophet after him: "I will raise up for Moses a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth..." (Deuteronomy 18:18). Some inferred from this that the awaited Messiah would be a prophet.

"Listen to him" is not an order given by a demanding or domineering master... but a plea... "Listen to him" means trust him.

Peter, marveling at the transfigured face of Jesus, spoke of settling down: “Master, it is good for us to be here! Let us put up three shelters…” But Luke clearly states that “Peter did not know what he was saying.” There was no question of settling away from the world and its problems: time was short; Peter, James, and John, these three chosen ones, had to hurry to join the others. For God’s plan was not limited to a select few: on the last day, all of humanity would be transfigured; as Saint Paul says in the Letter to the Philippians, “we are citizens of heaven.”