February 18, 2023 – Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021823.cfm)

Faith, as the late Pope Benedict XVI said, is a human response of love to the Lord who first loved us. The Letter to the Hebrews reminded us of this as well. We were reminded on how those Biblical personalities responded to God’s invitations for them. Faith has become a way of life of those who are close and deeply in love with God. This way of life led them to pay more attention to the divine presence of God who surrounds them. Thus, praying and listening are two essential attitudes of the heart as we nurture our faith-relationship with God.

In today’s Gospel of Mark, we are brought to the experience of the disciples who witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. Going up and coming down from mountain is an expression of journeying with God. And in journeying with God, it is very essential that WE LISTEN TO GOD, of God’s action in our life, of God’s Word in the Holy Bible and of God’s presence in our sacraments in the Church.

To “pray and listen” is Jesus’ invitation for us today as we are reminded to grow in our faith-relationship. Remember, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray and through prayer he was transfigured. The disciples too where praying and it was through their prayer that they were made aware of that mysterious event in their lives.

So it means that we too, are called to “pray and to listen,” to commune with God and to relate with God more intimately through our prayer. It is only when we become reflective and prayerful that we also become aware of other people around us. We become more connected with God and with others.

Transfiguration becomes a reality in us when we see and recognize the face of God in our brothers and sisters, when we learn and take the courage to watch out for those who feel unrecognized, to give a room for the stranger, to listen to those who are troubled and hear the cry of those who are desperate in life, to walk with those who are afraid and those whose hearts are broken and to give a helping hand to those who stumbled.

Through these, we become a community centered on the Eucharist that is welcoming, embracing, loving and forgiving that may hopefully move to gradually transform ourselves into the way God wants us to be. Hinaut pa.