Newsletter – Second Sunday of Lent A – 5th March 2023
Our First Reading this week is taken from Genesis 12:1-4a: God promises Abram a great blessing.
The Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 33: God’s mercy is upon those who trust in God. Our Second Reading is 2 Timothy 1:8b-10: Through God’s grace we are called to holiness.
Our Gospel Reading this Sunday is from Matthew 17:1-9: Jesus is transfigured on the mountain in the presence of Peter, James, and John.
For the Second Sunday of Lent, we move from Jesus’ retreat to the desert to his Transfiguration. The story of Jesus’ Transfiguration is told in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In each of those Gospels, the Transfiguration follows Jesus’ first prediction of his death and his teaching about the costs of discipleship. Jesus’ Transfiguration is a promise of Jesus’ glory, his Resurrection.
On a mountain in today’s reading, a voice affirms that Jesus is God’s Son in words reminiscent of the voice at Jesus’ baptism. In addition, the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mountain connects this story with God’s relationship to the people of Israel. Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, respectively. Together with Jesus, they represent God’s complete Word.
The Transfiguration occurs in the presence of just three of Jesus’ disciples: Peter, James, and John. In Matthew’s Gospel, those disciples are among the first whom Jesus calls. The three men are identified as an “inner circle” among Jesus’ disciples when Jesus asks them to accompany him to the Garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest.
St Patrick’s Day—Friday 17th March
St Patrick’s Day celebration at the Red House, (St Antony’s Catholic Club)
Upton Ave, E7 9PN
Drinks and food after 10am Mass and music from midday
Open all Day