Quiet confidence with God will be your strength.
Day 12: Second Sunday of Lent – Mark 9:2
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured before them.
Today’s Lenten Reflection
Although we may have those rare moments when we are in the midst of chaos and God’s light manages to break through and touch us, it is more likely than not that we see God’s light when we are in the quiet, listening for that still, small voice. It is no surprise that Jesus took the three apostles away from the busyness of life to a deserted mountain for the Transfiguration. Would they have been able to see clearly had they been among the throngs who were seeking signs? Jesus knew that in order for Peter, James, and John to see Him for who He really was, He had to bring them to a place of peace, a place away, where God’s voice could be heard without the danger of the world’s noise and distractions drowning it out.
And so it is for us in our daily lives today. We cannot see Jesus right there in front of us if our eyes are glued to our smartphones 24/7. We will not hear God speaking to our hearts if the chatter of the world — both real and virtual — is on an endless loop in front of our eyes, in our ears, our minds and our homes. Hearing from God requires a place apart, even if that place is just a quiet corner of our home. St. John of the Cross, the great sixteenth-century mystic wrote: “Silence is God’s first language.” The late Trappist monk Thomas Keating added to that: “Everything else is a poor translation.” Ask yourself, what is getting in the way of your conversation with God? Why is that?
Day 12 Lenten Meditation
Find a place away — either completely alone or with one or two people who are close to you spiritually — and just sit in God’s presence. Perhaps you can go out in nature, as in today’s Gospel, or maybe the weather requires you to stay indoors. Maybe an adoration chapel is available or, if not, a quiet room where you can light a candle, sit with Scripture, and wait for the Lord to speak … because He will. We just have to listen, as St. Benedict wrote in the prologue to his famous Rule, with the “ear of our heart.”
Lenten Prayer
You gave us Your Son, dear Lord, so that we might have life and have it more to the full. Give us ears to hear the words You speak to our hearts and the willingness to accept Your message. Help us also to remember Your mercies and Your blessings today, especially when we are tempted by the distractions of the world. Amen.
Today’s suggested Penance
*Listen to someone that you would usually shrug off or pass by
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe” –St. Augustine.
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