Second Sunday of Lent
St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Gen 15:5-12, 17-18; Phil 3:17 4:1; Lk 9:28-36
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
28 Feb 2010
We seem to have an unusual collection of readings for the Second Sunday of Lent. Once in a while I feel like this and then subsequently discover a theme which clearly links the readings together. But I cannot see too many clear links today, although they are all appropriate readings for Lent.
In the first reading from the first book of the Old Testament, we hear of God's promise to Abraham that he would have many spiritual descendants like us, over the ages, as many as the stars of heaven. After his sacrifice Abraham also received the promise that God would give him the land between the Wadi of Egypt and the Great River, which is the Euphrates, towards the East in modern Iraq.
We are reminded of the antiquity, the immense age, of the monotheist tradition to which we belong as Catholics. We are also spiritually Semites, the successors to the Jewish Chosen People. This is the beginning of the story.
The Gospel account of the miracle of the Transfiguration, which is an anticipation of both the Resurrection and the happiness of heaven, is there to encourage us in our pilgrimage through life and also to persevere in our Lenten penances and practices (if we are making any Lenten sacrifices!).
It is good and useful to be reminded that sacrifice is not an end in itself, but should be directed towards some good purpose.
With this background, I therefore decided to use the second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians as a launching pad for my exhortation extolling the virtues of the sacrament of penance, of going to confession regularly, and especially at Lent as part of our Lenten package of practices.
Obviously some of Paul's converts had lapsed and started to fall back into their old pagan ways, behaving as enemies of the cross, submitting to the values of this world, forgetting the call of the Spirit and forgetting that they too are promised a reward in the heavenly homeland, but only if they persevere in faith and goodness.
Autumn starts tomorrow, but Lent is the time for our annual spiritual spring clean. It is a time for change. We are called, we may even say challenged, to a deep personal conversion. If we want to experience the joy of Jesus' triumph over death in the resurrection we must logically first follow him along the Way of the Cross to Calvary. The resurrection only makes sense in the light of Jesus' passion and death.
The three traditional practices of Lent are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. In a famous Lenten sermon Saint Peter Chrysologus describes the relation of each to the others. "There are three things, my brothers and sisters, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other."
Because we are sinners, a contrite heart is the precondition for drawing close to God and sharing in the Good News of Salvation.
It is for this reason that the Sacrament of Penance stands as the interior door through which all Catholics should enter during their Lenten pilgrimage to Easter.
Making a good confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an ideal Lenten practice; because it prepares us for celebrating the reconciliation of man with God in the Paschal Mystery of Christ's redeeming death and resurrection.
We all need God's forgiveness today as much as ever. Unfortunately even among regular Church-goers the practice of "going to confession" and receiving God's forgiveness from the priest has declined. Some, probably too many, have not received the Sacrament of Penance for years.
The many confessions during World Youth Day showed that young Catholics appreciate the healing offered in this sacrament of forgiveness. I encourage all our young Catholics also to go to confession. Adult example in going to confession is a powerful help to young people.
Let us muster the courage, honesty and humility necessary for a personal encounter with God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and receive the peace and forgiveness that only He can give. There is not better preparation to celebrate the Resurrection.
Sometimes too, after a good confession, we feel a bit like those apostles at the miracle of the Transfiguration – happy and with our burdens lifted.
In name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
