March 16, 2025

2^nd Sunday of Lent (C)

At the End of Your Rope? Cling to Hope! 

Msgr Thomas Gervasio

Throughout life, there are certainly events that challenge or shake our faith…a sudden death, illness, the loss of a job, betrayal by a spouse or a friend, or an injustice done to us. There are times when we feel that we are at “the end of our rope.” In such moments, isn’t it hard to feel the presence of God…the love of God.
 
Our Lord knew the weaknesses of the apostles he had chosen. He knew well that their faith would be shaken to the core by his impending passion and death, by the scandal of the cross. So, he took Peter, James, and John (his inner circle) to Mount Tabor where he would be transfigured. There for a moment, the human veil over his divinity would be lifted so that they would behold his heavenly splendor. Within that splendor Moses and Elijah appear and speak to the Lord of his approaching exodus (His exodus being his passage from suffering and death to resurrection and life). The presence of Moses and Elijah reveals that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and all that the prophets foretold…all the Jewish people hoped for.
 
Through his Transfiguration, Jesus was giving his apostles something to hold on to during the difficult time to come. He knew well that they would struggle and find themselves in a very dark place on Good Friday. So, the Transfiguration was Our Lord’s way of saying, “Remember this glorious vision when the dark clouds of Good Friday descend…remember that there is something else, something better yet to come.” Our Lord was giving his apostles hope when they would feel they had come to the end of their rope.  
 
Pope Francis chose hope as the theme of the Jubilee Year. He has called the Church to be renewed in hope and wants us to be pilgrims of hope to those who are so often discouraged, anxious, doubtful, pessimistic, and cynical.
 
Hope reassures us that God will never abandon us. Hope is not the same as optimism. It’s not wishful thinking or looking at life through “rose colored glasses.” It is a sure confidence, the certainty that God’s promises will come true.
 
You might recall the invocation to Our Lady: “Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.” What are those promises? Listen to just a few:

• Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28
   
• Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Jn 8: 12
   
• Whoever believes in me even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Jn 11:25
   
• God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. 1 Jn 1:9
   
• Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, my love shall never leave you.  Is. 54:10
   
• I no longer call you slaves…I call you friends. Jn 15:15

 
These are only a few of the Lord’s promises that should imbue us with hope, a virtue for which we pray today:

“Lord, you know the winds and the waves of my life. Help me to hold on to you and to your promises. Help me, in times of doubt and confusion, to have a lively and literal sense of your reality, your power, and your goodness. Replace my fears with trust, my inclinations to rebel with peace. Living close to you, listening to you, help me to see your hand, your purpose, and your will through all things.”