A Divine Magnet for the world (Second Sunday of Lent. Cycle C)

Today’s readings help us to refocus on the spiritual in our lives, to refocus on the mystical. We come upon Jesus at prayer on the Mountain.  The Lord is opening Himself to the presence of the Father.  At peace, at prayer, He is transformed, transfigured, into a state that reflects the glory of God. Moses and Elijah appear. They also are radiant, reflecting the glory of God. They are speaking of God's plan for his people, the conquest of the spiritual. Of course, the disciples, Peter, James and John, don't understand this. They are still looking for a physical kingdom.  The spiritual is beyond them.  The voice in the cloud is meant for them and us:  "This is my Beloved Son, Listen to Him." God wants to transform the world.  He has established the Kingdom of the Spirit and called us as the new Chosen People.  Following him does not mean merely performing certain external actions, like not eating pork or being circumcised, or simply coming to Church, showing up to get married, having our children baptized, receive communion or be confirmed.  Following God means entering a spiritual, mystical relationship with him, a relationship that is present through our daily duties as well as when we are together at prayer. We have to nourish our spiritual lives, our relationship to God.  We have to feed our spiritual life the food of union with God. The spiritual must conquer in our lives.  If we become spiritual, then we can fulfill the call to evangelize the world. We all need to be less concerned with devising ways for people to hear about the faith and more concerned living the faith in a way that attracts people to the faith.  We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.  The Holy Spirit is the Mystical Power of God.  This Holy Mystery is a Holy Magnet. "This is my Beloved Son, listen to him," the voice calls out from heaven.  We have to be people of mystery.  We have to be people of prayer.  This is how we can listen to Him.  We have to have a prayer life.  We have to respond to His message in our hearts. We have to listen. We have to grow.  He is transforming the world.  He is transforming us. On the Second Sunday of Lent we consider the way we are following the Lord.  Do we allow ourselves to be exposed to the spiritual?  Do we pray, really pray? Do we allow the spiritual to become real in our lives? Are we allowing God's plan to take effect in our world? If someone were to ask any of us, “What exactly is a Catholic?” in what terms would we form our answer?  If we were to answer the question in terms of religious practices, such as “a Catholic is a person who goes to Church on Sundays, receives the sacraments, says the Rosary, etc.,” we would be giving far too much importance to what we do and not enough importance to what God is doing.  However, if we were to answer the question, “What is a Catholic?” in terms of what God does, if we were to say, “A Catholic is someone united to God in such a way that others experience the Mystery of God working in him,” then it is God and his works that are the essence of lives. Few people are drawn to Catholicism because they want to do the things that Catholics do. People are drawn to Catholicism because they want to experience God as Catholics experience Him. Spiritually alive, living with God, united in the Holy Spirit, we can become the Divine Magnet for the world. We began today’s Gospel with Jesus at prayer, in union with the Father, entering into the mystery of his Being.  He is transfigured.  The disciples call out, “It is good for us to be here.” Yes, it is! It is good for all of us to be here in the presence of the Lord. We also are called into the mystery of our being, the depth of whom we are where physical and spiritual unite. We are called into our depth, into union with the Holy Spirit so others might say, “It is good for us to be here.” Transform us Lord! Transfigure us, Lord. You want the spiritual to be real in our lives. You knock on the door of our hearts. Help us to let you in. Help us to fight for the reign of the spiritual, the mystical. Help us to be vehicles of your presence, to be a Divine magnet for the world • AE