More thoughts on the Transfiguration

 

Second Sunday of Lent

Matthew 17:1–9

Friends, today’s Gospel celebrates the transfiguration. Christ came not just to make us nice people or morally upright folks but rather to give us a share in his divine life, to make us denizens of heaven, people capable of living in that new environment. What gave the first Christians this conviction? The answer is the resurrection—and the great anticipation of the resurrection, which is the transfiguration. This ordinary Jesus somehow became transformed, elevated, enhanced in his manner of being.  The first thing we notice is that his appearance becomes more beautiful. These somewhat grubby bodies of ours are destined for a transfigured, elevated beauty.  Secondly, in his transfigured state, Jesus transcends space and time, since he is talking with Moses and Elijah. In this world, we are caught in one moment of space and time, but in heaven, we will live in the eternal now of God’s life.  Have you ever noticed that even as we appreciate all that is wonderful about this life, we are never really at home? There is a permanent restlessness about human life. But a higher, richer, more beautiful, and spiritually fulfilling life awaits us. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on loving our enemies

 

First Week of Lent

Matthew 5:43–48

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. The first reason we love our enemies is because this is the best way to test the quality of our love. Love is not primarily an emotion but an act of the will. It is willing the good of the other as other. A second reason to love your enemies is that they tell you about yourself. There is a very good chance that the people who most bother you are those who most reveal to you unsavory truths about yourself.  Third, perhaps the person you consider your enemy is actually pointing out to you the inadequacy of your own life. Maybe he is right and good, and it’s you who are off-center. Could it be that your enemy is in fact a kind of saint who is indirectly indicating your own weakness and lack of moral courage? A final reason to love your enemies: You might win them back. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on the Transfiguration of Jesus

 “Coming down the mountain”

“This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”—the words from the Father, as we contemplate the Transfiguration of Jesus on this second Sunday in Lent. This is a moment of complete affirmation and loving support for Jesus. This loving affirmation prepares Him for the future, for the way he will be called to live out all the events of his life on his journey to Jerusalem: his suffering, death, his self-gift. We will see, as we continue our Lenten journey, that He never” forgets” who He is. He will be encouraged by those affirmations, especially in those moments of trial and suffering.

For us, too, in times of trial or suffering, memories of those moments of “transfiguration” and confirmation are meant to buoy us up on our journey with Jesus as our companion. He shares our journey with us.

As Jesus comes down the mountain from this beautiful experience, he tells his friends that the “whole story” had to be lived out so that we could know/trust that God’s love and companionship will prevail in our lives as well.

Peter says, “It is good for us to be here.” The Father says, “Listen to Him.” Entering into this scene through our imagination, and joining Jesus and the disciples could offer us a joyful and loving opportunity to unite with Him in His journey, and to take to heart these words from God meant for us as well: “You are my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”



Len Kraus, S.J.

Thoughts on celebrations

 

Celebrating Life

From: Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective

Celebration is not a party on special occasions, but an ongoing awareness that every moment is special and asks to be lifted up and recognized as a blessing from on high. There is Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and the many feast days of the Saints. There are countless birthdays, anniversaries, and memorial days. And then there are days to welcome and to say farewell, to receive guests and to visit friends, to start a project and to finish it, to sew and to reap, to open a season and to close it. But even these moments do not exhaust the full meaning of celebration. Celebration lifts up, not only the happy moments, but the sad moments as well. Since ecstatic joy embraces all of life, it does not shy away from the painful moments of failure, departure, and death. In the house of love even death is celebrated, not because death is desirable or attractive, but because in the face of death life can be proclaimed as victorious.

Reflection Question: In what ways do I resist celebrating the difficult or sorrowful moments of life, and how might God invite me to see their meaning?

Thoughts on prayer

 

First Week of Lent

Matthew 6:7–15

Friends, the Gospel for today is a great moment, for in it the Son of God teaches us to pray. Our teacher is not just a guru, a spiritual sage, or a religious genius, but the Son of God. This is why the Our Father is the model of all prayer. A desire to pray is planted deep within us, the desire to speak to God and to listen to him. We can forget to pray, neglect to pray, become lazy in prayer, but we can never really lose the desire to pray. And so let us attend carefully to the first words of Jesus’s great prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Our basic problem is getting our priorities mixed up. We seek all kinds of worldly things—money, pleasure, power, honor—all of which are unsatisfying. What we should desire, first, is God. This is precisely what the prayer to hallow the name of God is all about. It’s not that God’s name isn’t in fact hallowed, but we’re praying that we might keep it that way, that we might honor God in all things. We’re praying for a radical reorientation of our consciousness. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on joy

 

Joy is a Divine Gift

From: Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective

The joy that Jesus offers his disciples is his own joy, which flows from his intimate communion with the One who sent him. It is a joy that does not separate happy days from sad days, successful moments from moments of failure, experiences of honour from experiences of dishonor, passion from resurrection. This joy is a divine gift that does not leave us during times of illness, poverty, oppression, or persecution. It is present even when the world laughs or tortures, robs or maims, fights or kills. It is truly ecstatic, always moving us away from the house of fear into the house of love, and always proclaiming that death no longer has the final say, though its noise remains loud and its devastation visible. The joy of Jesus lifts up life to be celebrated.

Reflection Question: What practices help me remain connected to Jesus' joy even in times of pain, loss, or injustice?

“Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”   - Nehemiah 8:10

Thoughts on the Chair of St. Peter

 

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

– Jesus to St. Peter (Matthew 16:18-19) 

What is the Chair of St. Peter?   While an actual chair exists in Rome that some believe was used by St. Peter, the Chair of St. Peter represents the papacy, the unbroken succession of popes throughout the Church’s 2,000-year history. Given by Christ Himself to St. Peter in the Gospel of Matthew 16:13-18, Peter’s supreme pastoral office is passed to each of his successors as Bishop of Rome.   The feast of the Chair of St. Peter is usually celebrated on February 22. However, it’s not on the Church calendar in 2026 since it falls on a Sunday.

Today, we encourage you to read our special page dedicated to the Chair of St. Peter, where we answer questions such as: What is the role of the papacy? Who was the next pope after St. Peter? Can the pope contradict the Bible? Where is St. Peter buried? On the page, we also offer a free eBook, Praying With the Popes, to guide you in prayer through the words of St. Peter’s successors. We hope that this page and eBook will help deepen your understanding of the gift Christ gave His Church through the papacy.   In Christ,   Your EWTN Family Copyright © 2026 EWTN, Inc. 5817 Old Leeds Rd, Irondale, AL, 35210. All rights reserved