March 1, 2026
Second Sunday of Lent, Lectionary: 25
Reading 1: Genesis 12:1-4a
The LORD said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.
“I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
Abram went as the LORD directed him.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22.
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Reading 2: 2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Beloved:
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.
Verse Before the Gospel: Cf. Matthew 17:5
From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9 (The Transfiguration)
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
“Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Reflection
First Reading
Today’s First Reading tells us about God calling Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham in Genesis 17) to leave his town and residence in Ur of the Chaldees (in present-day Iraq) and go to a place that God will show him. In other words, God wanted him to relocate to a place he doesn’t know and a place which might pose problems for him. That place will someday be known as Palestine (the promise land) and his descendants, through his grandson Jacob (a.k.a. Israel), shall inherit it. God’s purpose was for him to start a life there with his wife Sarai (who will later be called Sarah), to test his resolve and to designate territory for His chosen people.
To relocate to a place you’ve never been before is already a problem. He wasn’t very young when God called him out of Ur and that made it harder. They were also childless at this point which meant that they couldn’t rely on anybody in the family to help them. The terrain is desert and difficult and water sources are few.
God’s Covenant Promises & Abraham’s Leap of Faith
Fast-forward and let’s all remember that like Abraham, God calls all of us to participate in salvation history by helping others to reach Heaven. In the case of Abraham, he was tested and he did fail in some of the tests. However, Abraham was still blessed with Covenant promises: [1] God changed his name from “Abram” which means ‘exulted father’, to “Abraham” which means ‘father of many nations’, with the promise that he shall have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand in the shore, and his name will be made great among nations; [2] Because of the Covenant, his son Isaac will continue the Covenant blessings of God unto generations of Israelites, and Abraham’s other children shall all be blessed and have royal titles; and [3] Because of Abraham’s fatherhood, God’s Kingdom shall be established through Jesus, thereby fulfilling God’s promised salvation for His people.
Let’s not forget that Abraham was asked to relocate to an unfamiliar place without resources and infrastructure. He had to do it all and he did it because his heart was after God’s heart. He also had faith and he trusted Him even when things seemed unreasonable, illogical and immoral. Case in point, when God asked him to offer his son Isaac as a holocaust. Though dreadfully difficult, he complied and before he could slay his own son, an angel stayed it and God spoke with an oath:
“By myself I have sworn…because you have done this, and have not withheld your only son, I will bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed…” (Genesis 22:16-18, abbreviated)
The promises to Abraham came with an oath—imagine that! God didn’t need to swear on it but He did it just to prove that His Word is true and can be trusted because He is what He says He is – God, the Lord and Almighty. Abraham’s trust in God is something we should emulate and those who put their trust in God the Father are rewarded like him because he believed and trusted. How much do we really trust God in our daily lives?
Gospel: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt 17:5)
The story of the Transfiguration is found in the three (3) synoptic Gospels and it comes right after Jesus mentions His death and resurrection to His disciples. There are two (2) messages from our Lord Jesus worth pointing out when He foretells about His death and resurrection:
First, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24); and, Second, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matt 16:28).
When Jesus was baptized by St. John, the Father’s voice was heard from above saying: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. At the Transfiguration, the Father’s voice is once again heard from above saying almost the same thing but this time, with the command: listen to him.
We are commanded by no less the Father to listen to His only begotten Son because everything that the Father said is summed up in one word: JESUS. We often hear the phrase “Jesus is the Word of God” but do we really know what this means?
It is in our daily conversion into the image of Christ that makes us pleasing to the Father. We are called to be more Christ like every day and become alter Christos for others so that they too can see and feel His presence. We become more Christ-like by abiding, listening and obeying what He commanded us to do, starting with: “…love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
Saints Peter, James and John had the unique privilege of being witnesses to our Lord’s transfiguration on Mount Tabor. From Peter’s reaction, they were awed no doubt at what they saw because what they experienced was nothing less than the glory of God in Jesus. They even had a bonus – they saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus; Moses who represents the law and Elijah who represents the prophets. All these converge and are incorporated in Jesus who is the law of God, the Word of God, the Lamb of God and the Eternal High Priest of Heaven and earth.
Reflecting on the Father’s command to listen to Jesus, allow us to direct you to what our Blessed Mother told the servants at the Wedding at Cana, which is what we ought to do daily: “…do whatever He (Jesus) says” (see John 2:5).
Second Reading
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. (2 Tm 1:8b)
In the First Reading, we see Abraham in total obedience and trust to the Father’s Word by doing God’s bidding. He listened, trusted and obeyed God even when circumstances appeared difficult, pointless and confusing.
In the Gospel, God our Father commands us to listen to Jesus, His Word. To listen to Jesus is not for God’s benefit but for our sake. Obeying God’s Word may be inconvenient at times and may bring us suffering instead of riches. But those who persevere in the faith are rewarded with the only prize that matters: eternal life.
Because of original sin, man has to toil and make the land productive for food and his existence. In other words, man has been cursed to work all his life. This is the reason why a life full of hardships seems to follow us wherever we go. In this connection, Saint Paul mentions in the verse we above-quoted that we do have to share in the hardship of making the Gospel known throughout the world, starting with our own lives. If we have been enjoined in Genesis to toil and work for our food and necessities in order to survive, the same effort is required of us today with regard to our faith. Failure to give our share makes us “unproductive” in our faith which may result in losing our faith and our life. Remember what St. Paul said: “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).
To persevere in the faith in our world filled with trappings is an impossibility and this is the reason why we need God’s power and guidance to make us easily and even willingly accept the difficulties in life and see them as opportunities for holiness, particularly if the suffering is a consequence of offering our life for others and that the means of resolving the suffering is in accordance with the Gospel. Otherwise, if the means are unjust, it is valueless.
We are all called to be holy because our Father in Heaven is holy. Isn’t that what we say in our Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed by thy name.” However, we can only be holy if we have Jesus in us because He is the grace of God; He is the blessing and the fulfillment of the promised salvation of the Father to all mankind.
Trust in God, listen to Jesus and call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance.
A blessed Second Sunday of Lent to everyone.
– Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry