Lent is not about feeling miserable. It is about seeing clearly.
This Second Sunday of Lent, Fr. Peter Marshall walks us up the mountain with Abraham, St. Paul, and ultimately Jesus in the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1 to 9). What we discover there changes how we understand suffering forever.
First Reading (Genesis 12:1 to 4a)
God calls Abram to leave everything familiar, his country, his kindred, his comfort, and promises to make him a blessing to “all the families of the earth.” Abram does not argue. He goes.
Holiness sometimes looks like lacing up your sandals and trusting God.
Psalm 33
“Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”
Trust comes first. Mercy follows.
Second Reading (2 Timothy 1:8b to 10)
St. Paul urges Timothy not to be ashamed of suffering for the Gospel. Why? Because Christ “destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light.”
Suffering is not a glitch in God’s plan. It is participation in Christ’s victory.
And then we reach the Gospel.
On the mountain, Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John. His face shines. Moses and Elijah appear. A voice from heaven declares, “This is my beloved Son… listen to him.”
Peter, in classic Peter fashion, wants to build tents and stay awhile. But Jesus leads them back down the mountain, toward Jerusalem and toward the Cross.
Here is the Lent lesson.
We do not get Easter without Good Friday. We do not get glory without surrender. We do not get resurrection without walking through suffering with Christ.
Fr. Peter reminds us that while God does not cause evil, He allows suffering to become meaningful when united to Jesus. Even something as simple as Lenten fasting helps tune our hearts to His Passion. In a pretty cushy world, chosen sacrifice reawakens gratitude and dependence on grace.
And perhaps most beautifully, Jesus chose to experience hunger (Matthew 4:2). He entered our weakness. He knows.
So this week, when suffering knocks, big or small, ask not just “Why?” but “How can this draw me closer to You?”
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St. Michael, the defender against the snares of the devil, is the perfect reminder that we don’t enter spiritual battle alone.
