Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: February 21, 2016
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Hello, campers! I feel I can use that term since our architects and engineers have run us out of the Cathedral building! They’ve needed to put up some scaffolding, and using it and a man-lift this past week and next week are performing our “twice per century” structural inspection and analysis of our support beams, ceiling, etc., in the “high up” spaces. So we’re “camping out”: everything that usually takes place in the church is relegated to the Parish Hall for a couple of weeks at least.
The last I heard is that no significant problems have been discovered up there so far, but their inspections and analysis continue. Your ongoing prayers for a continued uneventful inspection are certainly welcome in this regard!
Of course, while it’s unusual to have Mass and Benediction and Stations of the Cross in the Hall, it’s not so strange to gather there for other reasons, and we’re continuing to do this. On this coming Monday evening (February 22) at 6:00 pm, you are invited to another Parish Potluck Supper! Everyone’s invited! Come hungry, but bring a dish to share with your fellow parishioners and friends: it doesn’t matter if it’s a salad or a vegetable or a side-dish or a dessert of some sort. The Parish will provide a meat dish and we’ll also make sure we have plenty of soft drinks. There will be plenty to eat – and since we like to talk almost as much as we like to eat! – plan on visiting and smiling a lot, as well as sampling from the buffet. Just one night of food and friends won’t ruin your Lenten self-discipline.
Every year on the 2nd Sunday of Lent the Gospel (Lk 9:28-36 this year) recounts the Transfiguration of the Lord. This memorable glimpse of Jesus’ glory during His earthly ministry is uniquely parallel to a later episode (in Lk 22:39-46): His Agony in the Garden.
Note the following similarities: in both scenes Jesus goes up a mountain to pray – on Mount Tabor he is transfigured, while in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives He is arrested. Both times He takes with Him three disciples, Peter, James and John. On both occasions, Jesus’ appearance is transformed: He is glorious at the Transfiguration, but appalling in the Garden of Gethsemane (perspiring blood in verse 44!). In both scenes heavenly figures appear to comfort Him: Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor and an angel on the Mount of Olives.
But that’s not all. Both at the Transfiguration and during the Agony in the Garden, the disciples who came along with Jesus fall asleep. Once they awaken, they fail to understand what’s really going on. Jesus tries to teach them. At the end of both episodes, Jesus is reunited with His disciples.
Those kinds of similarities between one glorious scene and one horrible one cannot be accidental. It seems clear that St. Luke intended to emphasize the resemblance between these two episodes. Why?
I think the answer lies in focusing upon the Lord’s disciples, for they represent us. Sometimes we think life is so ordinary; at those times we can become unaware of the presence of God. Plus there are times of challenge and suffering in our lives that tempt us to think God actually has abandoned us, that He is no longer with us. Yet if we look closely, in good times and in bad, really the Lord doesn’t desert us. He is always there. We’re the ones who fail to notice the presence of God, what’s really going on. We can find meaning even in sacrifice and suffering, like we do in Lent, just as we also are meant to do in good times, like Easter. Can we recognize His love for us? For it is constant and eternal. Christ is always reaching out to us to teach us, in good times and in bad. If we can recognize this, and trust Him in faith, we shall indeed be with Him forever.
Yours in the Transfigured Lord Jesus,
