From Our Pastor: Second Sunday of Lent

This second weekend of Lent we had these big theophany moments. A theophany is a revelation by God of Himself. It is the Lord revealing and becoming more personal to us. The Lord is revealing Himself to Abram and coming into relationship with Abram. The Lord is calling Abram in His closeness with the Lord to a total gift of self in a covenantal relationship. Paul calls us away from the world and into relationship with God. Paul calls us into relationship with Jesus Christ into a transformational revelation of God to His people and a transformational relationship of us as His people to become more like Him.

This is where the gospel is the complete revelation of who Jesus is and His transfiguration to reveal Himself as Lord. Jesus takes us up the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and here He shows us His glory. Here he is witnessed to by Moses and Elijah. Here we come to see His glory so that we can be witnesses to the world of Jesus’ fullness as fully man, and fully God. Today we experience this. Today we receive this glory, and every Sunday we receive the revelation of Jesus Christ truly present to us in the Eucharist. There we are transfigured in whom we receive and whom we then should become.

Fr. Rafal’s mother should be getting out of the hospital soon and beginning rehab. Please continue to pray for her long recovery. Sadly, this does mean she won’t be able to travel here to visit as was planned. Please also pray for him, as I know this is all very difficult for him.

I was on the Teens Encounter Christ retreat this past weekend. I did TEC in Springfield when I was a youth on the retreat and came back to help with one as a wheat team member. Those were good experiences back then, and this weekend was my time as a priest on a TEC as a spiritual director. It is so powerful to see the experience of our young people encountering the Lord, especially in such a wonderful retreat as this. If your 16–21 has not been on TEC yet, MAKE THEM GO on the next one in April! This is a powerful experience that even if they don’t want to go, they will be happy they did after the experience. Thank you for letting me be away for the retreat. I was so glad to see some of our young people on this weekend as candidates and involved in making this weekend happen. What a gift!

This Ash Wednesday and last weekend we had the second collection for Eastern and Central Europe and Ukraine, and we collected over $7000! This is absolutely spectacular. Thank you so much for your generosity. We sent my classmate from my master’s degree program $2000 to help him get out of Kiev, Ukraine. He and his wife and children are all safely out of Kiev and in Hungary and traveling either to Italy or Poland. As he said, this was only possible through our gift. Once he gets them somewhere, he will then travel back to Kiev and take care of his people and parish. Through his parish and the Archeparchy (Eastern Catholic Archdiocese) of Kiev, we will be able to help many in desperate need there in Ukraine, as well as through the work of the USCCB with the central and eastern Europe collection work. Thank you for this immense gift. Keep praying for peace and an end to these atrocities. Call upon Ss. Cyril and Methodius the patrons of the Slavic peoples to Intercede for an end to the fighting.

-Rev. Steven Arisman