(The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde during the Mass celebrated on the second Sunday of Lent at St. John Church in McLean on March 7.)
One word summarizes the scene in today's gospel account: transformation. “While [Jesus] was praying, His face changed in appearance and His clothing became dazzlingly white.” We call this profound change in Christ's physical body “transfiguration.” Early in the season of Lent each year, on this second Sunday of Lent, the gospel passage describes the Lord's transfiguration or profound transformation.
One word summarizes the goal of our annual Lenten retreat: transformation. Since Lent is intrinsically connected to Baptism, and since in being baptized we were recreated in the image of Jesus, then the goal of our Lenten retreat is our becoming more and more like Jesus. Through the discipline of Lent, that is, through prayer, penance and almsgiving, we allow God to change us, to recreate us more and more into the image of His Son. This is why God the Father says to us: “This is My chosen Son; listen to Him.”
So, today's gospel account certainly points to this process of change or transformation. Just as there was a profound change in Christ's physical body, so there must likewise be a profound change in Christ's Mystical Body, His Church, in you and in me. Today's account from St. Luke's Gospel highlights two ways by which this transformation takes place: prayer " “while He was praying”; and sacrifice " “Moses and Elijah…spoke of His exodus that He was going to accomplish in Jerusalem,” in other words, His sufferings and sacrificial death on the Cross. The lesson is clear: through prayer and sacrifice, we shall undergo a profound change, a transformation. All that remains is for us to pray and to make sacrifices, like concrete acts of penance and deeds of mercy and almsgiving.
One word summarizes the goal of our annual Bishop's Lenten Appeal, the BLA: transformation. Through our participation in this annual appeal, we enable the Church of Arlington, our diocese, to become transformed into a clearer image of God's love or charity. For example, priestly formation and support, outreach to Hispanic Catholics, college campus ministry, programs of service at Catholic Charities, marriage preparation and marriage enrichment, acquisition of land for the development of new parishes: these concrete and tangible programs and projects enable God's love to be revealed and our charity to be focused. The more people are touched and formed and healed by God's love, the more are they and we transformed, since the only effect charity produces is to bring about good.
Our participation in the BLA is crucial to the charitable outreach of this diocesan church. In fact, our charity is our strength, since in only that way do those around us experience God's strengthening presence. I thank you for your past generosity. Together, you and I can make a sacrificial gift this year, so that the level of our charitable outreach may equal and even surpass what we have done in the past.
However, this diocesan-wide appeal will not be successful unless we enfold it within our prayer. That we might be more mindful of the essential role which prayer has, I ask you to pray daily, as I do, the specially-composed prayer for this year's Lenten appeal.
Yes, one and the same word summarize the lesson we are relearning this day: transformation. As Christ's physical body underwent a profound change in the presence of Peter, James and John, so may we likewise experience a similar profound change, a true transformation, as we give ourselves over to prayer and sacrifice. As we are transformed, we shall more readily reveal and affirm that “our charity is our strength.”
