2nd Sunday of Lent
By Father Scott Archer
March 8, 2020
“He was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1 Douay-Rheims Version).
Today’s gospel passage from Saint Matthew recounts
our Lord’s transfiguration, during which time Moses and Elias appeared
alongside Him and they spoke with Him, to quote the Gospel of Saint Luke,
“…about his decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31 Douay-Rheims Version).
In this miracle, Jesus partially showed forth His glory in order to give hope
to the apostles when they would witness His crucifixion. Jesus wished to remove
from them the fear of the cross and of death. He not only intended this miracle
for His apostles but wished to assure us that there is hope for our future
resurrection and to sustain us in our trials here on earth, since it was an image
of the glorious state to which our bodies are destined.
Today we are witnessing a great deal of panic in
regard to the outbreak of coronavirus, so much so that people are stockpiling
goods and are afraid to leave their homes, travel, and interact with others. The miracle of the
transfiguration was to remove fear from the apostles concerning our Lord’s
crucifixion and death, because fear is not the hallmark of a Christian. Fear of
God is the beginning of wisdom, but fear of death is not from God. We are a
people of hope, because hope is what strengthens us during our time on earth,
our pilgrim home.
Unreasonable panic over coronavirus is being
encouraged by the news media, but we must not allow their coverage to diminish
our hope. I am not underestimating the gravity of coronavirus and pray for an
end to the epidemic but consider this. The ordinary flu causes no such panic,
yet, according to the latest CDC report, 20,000 people in the United States have
already died of the flu this season, and 34 million have contracted it. People
must take ordinary precautions, such as washing hands, using hand sanitizer, and
staying at home if they are sick, but fear should not prevent us from coming
together for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacrifice of
Calvary, which changed the meaning of death forever, and is made present on our
altars.
We must be cautious about many things in our lives,
but death will come to us all no matter what precautions we take, so we must
always be prepared to go before our Judge. Fear over coronavirus seems to be
disturbing the hope we possess because of our faith in Christ. Saint Francis de
Sales wrote, “Fear is a greater evil than the evil itself.” Yes, death is
certain but also unpredictable. We have no idea. It could come while driving,
walking across a street, or any number of mundane things we do each and every
day, but we do not let driving a car unsettle our hope or cause us fear. We
should rather fear offending God and losing His grace. It would be more
profitable for our souls to spend more time in prayer, receiving the sacraments
worthily, and in works of charity. The miracle of the transfiguration was to
bring hope to the apostles during his crucifixion and death. Our hope comes
from His resurrection from the dead.
Our hope is to behold Christ in His eternal glory; however, this is something we are not allowed while we remain on earth. Heaven is
promised to us if we die in a state of sanctifying grace, but we do not attain
true happiness until we enter our heavenly home. Our Lady said to Saint
Bernadette, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the
next.” We may participate in the life of God through grace in this world, but
eternal happiness can only be achieved in the next.