Gospel Mk 9:2-10
Jesus
took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by
themselves. And
he was transfigured (1) before
them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller (2) on earth could
bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing (3) with Jesus.
Then
Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let
us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then
a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is
my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly,
looking around, they no longer saw anyone but
Jesus alone with them.
As
they were coming down from the mountain, he
charged them not to relate (4)
what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son
of Man had risen from the dead.
So
they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead
meant.
The difficult words
(1) Transfigured
means changed in
appearance, or glorified
(2)
A fuller
is someone who cleans
and whitens wool for a living.
(3) Conversing
means to be having a
conversation.
(4) To
relate means to tell
something to someone, to talk about something..
This week spotlight
Isaac’s sacrifice
God
asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, to test his faithfulness. Does
Abraham love God to the point of offering him his only child?
When
God sees that Abraham is prepared to give his only son as a gift,
he stops
him and has him sacrifice a ram instead. God put Abraham to the test. This sacrifice foreshadows Christ's sacrifice
on the cross at Calvary.
This Sunday's Gospel tells us about the Transfiguration.
This was a mysterious episode when Jesus showed his closest apostles that he
had truly been sent by God. The shining light around him and his white clothing
were the sign of God’s presence. Jesus was with Moses and Elijah, who are in
the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. Although the apostles did not
understand what was going on, they would remember the Transfiguration of Jesus
at the moment of the passion, and this would give them strength and courage.
Reflection
This Sunday, Jesus’ apostles have an
extraordinary experience. God shows them who Jesus truly is. Before their
astounded eyes, Jesus is transfigured and shines like the sun. What they see is
unique and striking. It cannot be compared with anything that has ever been
seen before on earth. However, God is not just “putting on a show” for the
apostles. The goal of this encounter is to teach them. God appears in a cloud
and speaks to them in person.
He tells them that Jesus is his Son. This
means that this earthly man is the Son of God and that everything he says is
the word of God. God once again says to the apostles, “Listen to him.” Like
Peter, James, and John, we should listen to Jesus, even if we don’t always
understand all that he says. When his words touch our hearts and our minds, we
can grow in trust and become closer to him.
You
can hear so much more when you really take the time to listen. So
how
do you think we can best listen to what Jesus has to say to us in our
lives?
God
asks us to be kind and generous to others and treat them as we
would
like to be treated. Do you think you could listen to God a bit more
this
Lent? What will you do in order to listen more to God? What will you
do
to try and live more as God wants us to?
Do
you think listening to God and living as God asks you to could also
change
the lives of other people? How?
How
will you make time to listen to God in the coming week, and how will
you
change your life and the lives of others, especially those who are
Exercising Trust
The kind of trust Abraham demonstrated in God cannot be developed overnight.
It takes a great deal of practice. We start out by exercising trust in small
matters and we keep growing toward situations where heroic trust is needed.
Decide how you will exercise trust in situations like the following:
1) When a parent or teacher gives me a difficult assignment, I will exercise
trust by ________________________________________________________________.
2) When a friend promises to return a borrowed item, I will exercise trust by
_________________________________________________________________.
3) When I am fearful or anxious about something that is beyond my control, I
will exercise trust by __________________________________________________.
(Source: http://www.sadlierreligion.com/webelieve/weeksliturgy.cfm?section=resource&id=303)
Discussion
questions
1.
Whom did Jesus take up
to the mountain with him?
2.
What happened on the
mountain?
3.
Whom did Jesus
converse with?
4.
How did the disciples
feel when they saw Jesus’ transfiguration?
5.
Why were they
frightened?
6.
What did they hear
from the cloud?
7.
What did the voice
say?
8.
Whose voice was that?
Praying after Communion
After receiving Holy Communion, you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father,
through Jesus Christ, in communion with the whole Church, I thank you for
coming into my heart. As Peter said at the Transfiguration, it is good for us
to be here! May this communion with the body and blood
of your Son, Jesus, keep us in your love throughout the week.
Crossword Puzzle
Source: http://www.usccb.org - Magnifikid - http://www.cafod.org.uk - http://www.sadlierreligion.com