(In a darkened room, light a candle, or candles, before a cross or icon of Christ)

 Opening Chants

 

Oculi nostri ad Dominum Jesum, oculi nostri ad Dominum nostrum / Our eyes are on the Lord Jesus, our eyes are on the Lord our God

 

Christe, lux mundi, qui sequiturte, habebit lumen vitae, lumen vitae / O Christ, light of the word, whoever follows you will have the light of life.

Opening Prayer:

O God, who willed that your only–begotten Son
should take on our human nature,
and show us in his humanity a perfect image of your divinity,
grant, we beseech you,
that by venerating his sacred image
we may be united with him
in the mysteries of his Passion and Death,
and so come to contemplate him in glory
in the joy of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Scripture (2 Cor 4:4-7,16-18 )

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Reflection (Pope Francis; Angelus; February 28, 2021)

The Second Sunday of Lent invites us to contemplate the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, before three of his disciples (cf. Mk 9:2-10). Just before, Jesus had announced that in Jerusalem he would suffer a greatly, be rejected and put to death. We can imagine what must have happened in the heart of his friends, of those close friends, his disciples: the image of a strong and triumphant Messiah is put into crisis, their dreams are shattered, and they are beset by anguish at the thought that the Teacher in whom they had believed would be killed like the worst of wrongdoers. And in that very moment, with that anguish of soul, Jesus calls Peter, James and John and takes them up the mountain with him.

The Gospel says: He “led them up a high mountain” (v. 2). In the Bible, the mountain always has a special significance: it is the elevated place where heaven and earth touch each other, where Moses and the prophets had the extraordinary experience of encountering God. Climbing the mountain is drawing somewhat close to God. Jesus climbs up with the three disciples and they stop at the top of the mountain. Here, he is transfigured before them. His face radiant and his garments glistening, providing a preview of the image as the Risen One, offer to those frightened men the light, the light of hope, the light to pass through the shadows: death will not be the end of everything, because it will open to the glory of the Resurrection. Thus, Jesus announces his death; he takes them up the mountain and shows them what will happen afterwards, the Resurrection.

As the Apostle Peter exclaimed (cf. v. 5), it is good to pause with the Lord on the mountain, to live this “preview” of light in the heart of Lent. It is a call to remember, especially when we pass through a difficult trial – and so many of you know what it means to pass through a difficult trial –  that the Lord is Risen and does not permit darkness to have the last word.

At times we go through moments of darkness in our personal, family or social life, and of fear that there is no way out. We feel frightened before great enigmas such as illness, innocent pain or the mystery of death. In the same journey of faith, we often stumble encountering the scandal of the cross and the demands of the Gospel, which calls us to spend our life in service and to lose it in love, rather than preserve it for ourselves and protect it. Thus, we need a different outlook, of a light that illuminates the mystery of life in depth and helps us to move beyond our paradigms and beyond the criteria of this world. We too are called to climb up the mountain, to contemplate the beauty of the Risen One who enkindles glimmers of light in every fragment of our life and helps us to interpret history beginning with his paschal victory.

Let us be careful, however: that feeling of Peter that “it is well that we are here” must not become spiritual laziness. We cannot remain on the mountain and enjoy the beauty of this encounter by ourselves. Jesus himself brings us back to the valley, amid our brothers and sisters and into daily life. We must beware of spiritual laziness: we are fine, with our prayers and liturgies, and this is enough for us. No! Going up the mountain does not mean forgetting reality; praying never means avoiding the difficulties of life; the light of faith is not meant to provide beautiful spiritual feelings. No, this is not Jesus’ message. We are called to experience the encounter with Christ so that, enlightened by his light, we might take it and make it shine everywhere. Igniting little lights in people’s hearts; being little lamps of the Gospel that bear a bit of love and hope: this is the mission of a Christian.

Responsorial Chant

 

When the night becomes dark, Your love, O Lord, is a fire; Your love, O Lord, is a fire.

Intercessions

That the Church, as she continues on the Great Fast of Forty Days,
may direct the gaze of all believers
to the Crucified and Risen One,
the proclamation and pledge of our glory,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That the leaders of nations
may turn aside from every project of destruction and war,
and, in the light of Christ,
seek to build up “the civilization of love,”
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That all who know weariness, humiliation, or suffering
may lift their eyes to Christ;
and that those despised by the powerful of this world
may recognize in him one like themselves,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That the sick and the dying, especially from the effects of Covid-19,
may see on the Face of Christ all glory, all sorrow, and all love,
in the greatest peace,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That we may keep Jesus ever present before our eyes
and discover the secrets of his Heart,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

Veneration of the Cross

 

Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per crucem tuam sanctam redemisti mundum /

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Concluding Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ,
beauty of the heavenly Father and light of souls,
we beseech you with confidence that,
as we advance in the darkness of this world,
your splendor may shine upon us
and that, in the light of your Countenance,
we may one day merit to contemplate the eternal light
in which you live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever. Amen.

Closing Chant (John Michael Talbot)

Only in God is my soul at rest
In Him comes my salvation
He only is my Rock
My strength and my salvation

My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be afraid at all
My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be moved

Only in God is found safety
When the enemy pursues me
Only in God is found glory
When I am found meek and found lowly

My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be afraid at all
My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be moved

Only in God is my soul at rest
In Him comes my salvation