March 12, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

During the season of Lent, we focus on Christ’s suffering and death, but the passion of Christ cannot be separated from his resurrection. We wait in hope for Christ to come again, knowing that God is faithful to his promises. 

In both the New and Old Testaments, God communicates his presence through signs. The smoking fire pot that passes between Abram’s sacrifices represents God’s presence. On the mountain of the Transfiguration the cloud both hides Jesus from sight and reveals his identity as God’s Son. The smoking pot confirms that Abram will see God’s promises fulfilled. Jesus’ Transfiguration confirms what he has just told his disciples about his passion and death – namely that they will lead to his glory. 

Luke’s account of the Transfiguration is the only one that includes what Jesus, Moses, and Elijah discuss on the mountain. Their discussion recalls not only the Exodus of the Old Testament, when God brought his people out of Egypt into the Promised Land, but also Jesus’ coming exodus – that is, his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension. It is through Christ’s exodus from death to new life that we gain access to heaven.

In his Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul reminds his readers that to live a life centered in Christ we must embrace both the cross and the resurrection. It is at the final coming of Christ that he will give us glorified bodies like his own and bring all things into subjection to himself. Christ has already won the battle over sin and death, but until we reach the final victory, we must contend with our earthly bodies. 

Our Lenten practice of fasting reminds us of this truth. No matter how close we grow to God or how many spiritual favors he grants us, as long as we dwell on this earth, we will live in mortal bodies, subject to weakness and that desire deep within us that makes sin attractive. Therefore, as St. Paul writes, we must stand firm in the Lord. 

Without the cross there can be no resurrection. At Mass, Christ becomes present to us in a unique way, and yet his glory will be veiled under the appearances of bread and wine. It is not until Christ comes again that we will see him in his glory. We may experience hints of it now in our own “mountaintop” moments, but today’s readings remind us that we must persevere in faith like our father Abraham. With our eyes fixed on the Resurrection, we must endure both the crosses we choose, and the crosses chosen for us. 

God Love Ya!
Fr. Reilly