Our thoughts cannot wander far away from Ukraine. The people, Ukrainians as well as Russians, did not choose to be in this tragic situation. The war happened on them. We pray that in the moments that they seek shelter deep in their hearts they will encounter the consoling love of God.

Today’s gospel passage is on The Transfiguration, the dramatic revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. It is unlikely that we will personally witness this truth in such a fashion. Yet, because God is always wanting to reveal himself to us in the details of our personal life, we too can have our own little ‘transfiguration’ moments. To have them, we must go deep into the silence of our hearts.

Lent reminds us of this need. We need to pause once in a while to check where our life is headed and if need be, to reset its course. Today’s second reading says, “There are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things”. This ‘they’ is us. In our worldly life, we oscillate between friend and enemy of the cross of Christ.

Things of the earth can, and do, take us far away from God. Some of us are taken so far that we lose our faith, our belief in God. But God made a covenant with us that he will never abandon us. He is faithfully there for us even if we have lost our belief. We can stop ourselves from being distanced and getting lost if we practice going deep into our hearts on a regular basis to witness Jesus active in our life, especially in events that happened where we did not see him, and to then hear in the silence of our hearts, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him”.

These are our own personal experiences of the Transfiguration. They take place in both sad and happy times, in desperate and joyful situations. These are our moments with God when we catch a glimpse of him revealing himself in our personal life. “Who me?” Yes. Our little transfiguration experiences are when our clouds of doubt open, even fleetingly, to allow this realization that ‘Jesus is with me’.

These are our God moments, those fleeting moments when we feel touched, convinced that God is real. God moments are a living experience of God’s covenant of love for humankind, through each of us. It is a connection with our spiritual reality through the Holy Spirit. These moments are always there waiting for us in the depths of our hearts. Lent reminds us to make time to reach them.

For the many people caught in that war, may they have their own transfiguration moments. If there can be no peace on earth, let there be peace in their hearts.

2^nd Sunday in Lent