(Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 33; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matthew 17:1-9)

For most of my life, except my first ten years in Tadley I have lived on or next to hills. I know that it takes more effort to go up a hill than to go down a hill. So much so, that when I was a schoolboy, I used to delay my trip up the hill after school for as long as possible in the vain hope that my Dad would be coming home early and would maybe stop to give me a lift. Whilst at school, I tried hill walking a couple of times; we went to Ben Vorlich and Ben Lomond, which are located near Loch Lomond. I enjoyed the hill walking, but using borrowed walking shoes put me off for a long time. More recently when I travelled to Medjugorje I climbed the hill and the mountain, both of which require a great deal of energy to climb, however, the views are so beautiful and inspirational.

In the Bible we hear of Moses and Elijah being energised in their mission by meeting God on the mountain. In the Book of Exodus, we read that “The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud” [Exodus 24:16].If we had heard the actual start of Chapter 17 of Matthew’s Gospel today, we would have heard “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” This reference announces Jesus as the new Moses and, with the seventh day, a reference to the new creation which Jesus is inaugurating.

Today’s Gospel, where Jesus reveals His Glory to his closest apostles, comes immediately after St Matthew’s account of when Peter was told he is the rock on which the Church will be built, followed swiftly by Jesus rebuking him because he failed to understand that Jesus had to die and rise from the dead. Again, in today’s account we see Peter not fully appreciating what is happening in front of him. He wants to preserve the scene by building tents, he wants to keep Moses and Elijah alongside Jesus. He doesn’t understand that the purpose of the mountain is to give them energy to get through what they are going to experience. The voice from the cloud, seems like a message to Peter, and to us, that when we get our own ideas about faith, we need to focus back on Jesus. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” [1]

By experiencing the Transfiguration, these three apostles will be able to gather the rest of the apostles and the disciples together after the Crucifixion; they, having seen Christ’s Glory, will be able to tell the others to keep the faith. This is the same message we need to remember even in our darkest moments.  We need to keep the faith, because if we can, then at the end of our journey we will see Jesus as He really is; Glorified on the right hand of the Father.

As we continue our Lenten journey, we walk on with hope. We remember that we are his disciples today and we need to take the Light of Christ to the darkest parts of our life, to the darkest parts of our world and shine that light to transform the darkness into light. That is the hope which faith gives us. We can use this as an examination of conscience –

What are the dark parts of my life which I need to be exposed to Christ’s light today?

When we are able to identify these, we can take them to Confession and seek reconciliation with God and our Community. Confident in the first words Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel “Rise, and have no fear.”

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Second Sunday of Lent

CCC 554-556, 568: the Transfiguration
CCC 59, 145-146, 2570-2571: the obedience of Abraham
CCC 706: God’s promise to Abraham fulfilled in Christ
CCC 2012-2014, 2028, 2813: the call to holiness[2]

Please remember in your prayers

  • All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
  • Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
  • Those attending the RCIA programmes especially those preparing for Sacraments this Easter.
  • Those attending the Youth Alpha programme which is a prerequisite for the Confirmation programme in our Pastoral Area.
  • The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
  • The continued success of the Pastoral Area Lent course on Prayer.
  • The children who will be beginning their Baptism Preparation soon.
  • The Community of St Oswald’s in Burghfield Common, whose Patronal Feast is this Saturday.
  • Fr Jim Keenan RIP, former Parish Priest in Tadley and Kingsclere, whose anniversary of death occurs next Friday.

Deacon Tony

27th February 2026

[1] Maria Power and Raymond Friel, Pastoral Review Vol 22 Issue 1, [The Tablet Publishing Company Limited, London 2025] 78-79.

[2] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments