Greetings good people, and Happy Lent! Last week I was in San Antonio for Provincial Council meetings. It was good to be in a different place and to see other Marianists that I normally do not see too much. We met on the campus of our university in San Antonio, St. Mary's. Over the many years of going to San Antonio for LIFE Camp I had the pleasure of staying on the campus and seeing the campus evolve into a world-class campus. Our meetings went well, and our agenda kept getting longer and longer. Thankfully, we did finish! I remained in San Antonio an additional two days and caught up with some friends in the area.
I returned to Mexico feeling rejuvenated from my trip, but came to realize that I am still not feeling comfortable with speaking in Spanish. I also realized that I was "wasting" a lot of time on the computer and watching too many shows on Netflix, all of which was not helping me with Spanish acquisition. I want to be better. I want to be able to speak and understand when people come and talk to me, especially when they come to me for Confession. I had two chance encounters this week that allowed me to re-think my matriculation at the Language School. This week I met two Mexicans who were studying English. Both of these people have been studying for 6 months and 1 year respectively. Their English was quiet good. In some ways I was jealous. So, I thought to myself, do I just remain jealous and lick my wounds, or do I do something about it? In total, I only attended the Language School for about 9 weeks. So, I need to give myself a break, but I also need to do something about it. So, today, I went back on the bus and enrolled in the school. I know there will be sacrifices of time with traveling back and forth to the school, but being in school will also expose me to others, and assist me in learning some of the grammar that I need to transition to the next level of competence. The school is flexible enough that even though I have some trips scheduled in the next few months, we can work around my absences from the school. In addition, the Sector of Mexico begins an educational formation program this weekend, and so being back in school will help me with the course too!
To be completely honest, I was feeling a bit lonely this past week. I hardly venture out of the community to meet other people. I think going to school will bring additional stimulus into my life, stimulus that is not the narrow world of my religious community-and I don't mean this as a criticism of the members of the community. I liken it to a "stay at home mom" who is around the same kids each day and welcomes the opportunity to have some "adult" conversation. I need to get outside of the small world of Amanacer and interact with others. Now I know that probably in 2 weeks I will be complaining about the bus ride, but that's me! I do know that this is important for me right now, not only for advancing in Spanish, but also for my mental health. Being away from the community for 4-5 hours a day I think will be good for everyone!!!! As they say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."
So, I guess in some way, I could add this to my Lenten promises because while I will be gaining something from this experience, it also entails a sacrifice on my part. So, when I start complaining-remind me that it's Lent and that I am supposed to suffer!!!! Thanking all of you for your friendship, support and fidelity to reading my adventures.
Second
Sunday of Lent: The Transfiguration
Evening Church! So how is your Lent going? Are you staying faithful to your Lenten
promises? Do you need some help staying
faithful? If you are like me, you need
some help, Amen?
Well today the Word of God invites us to look deeper
at the concept of promise and of change.
How many people here have ever not kept your promise? There should be more hands in the air! A
promise can be difficult to keep, Amen?
Sometimes life changes and commitments change and so our promises
change. But today, we hear in the Book
of Genesis how God makes a promise with Abraham. And God always keeps his promise. Over and over again, God makes a promise with
people such as Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon. And time and time again, God reminds the
people of Israel of that promise when God says, “I will be your God, and you
will be my people.” God was, and is,
always faithful to that promise, and yet the people of Israel continue to
forget the promise. God makes more than
a promise with Abraham, God makes a covenant. God does not make a contract with
the people. God makes a covenant. A covenant cannot be broken. It is not a contract. It does not depend on how one feels on a
particular day. A covenant is
eternal. God made a covenant with
us. God will never break that covenant,
and yet there are times when we forget this covenant relationship with God. We treat the covenant like it was a promise. We
treat the covenant like it was a contract.
God promises Abraham that his
descendants will be as numerous as the stars….and they were. God promises us that we are his forever…and
we are! God loves us enough to make a covenant with us. If God can be faithful to us, can we be
faithful to God? Can we be faithful to
our Lenten promises?
Saint Paul reminds the Philippians to imitate the good
behavior that he taught them. Sometimes
it is easy to see other people and want to be like them, maybe even act like
them. Be careful who influences
you. What kind of behavior do you want
to be known for doing in this world? In
your daily life do you imitate people of virtue or people of vice? Do you
recognize the value of sacrifice and selflessness? Do you care more about
others than you care for yourself? Do you make family important? Is faith
important in your daily life? Does your
faith influence your decisions? Or, do you imitate others who only care about
themselves? Those who only care about
what they can get out of life? Does work
and other people become more important than family? Do you really work on your
faith or do you go through the motions? If you were to recall your day and look
at all your decisions, would you be able to state that what you did that day
were the actions of a person of faith? Saint Paul makes it very clear to the
Philippians and very clear to us. If you
are going to imitate anyone, imitate a person of faith in your life and then we
will be transformed in Christ Jesus.
Finally, the Gospel story is a story that is familiar
to all of us. It is the scene of the
Transfiguration. This scene is found in
the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, so it must be important, Amen? Well this story is very important for all of
us. It is a story of change and coming
to recognize a person for who he really is in life. Now, sometimes we miss the importance of
certain symbols in Scripture because we hear the words with modern day
ears. So, the first important thing to
remember is that this scene takes place on a mountain. A mountain in Scripture signifies that
something very important is about to happen.
So when we hear that anything happens on a mountain, we should think to
ourselves, “Te Da” so that we get ready for something really important to
happen in the story. Remember, the
burning bush happened on a mountain. God
appeared in the whisper of the wind in a cave on a mountain. Moses received the Ten Commandments on a
mountain. Mount Zion was important in
the history of Israel. So, our scene
today takes place where? Yes, a
mountain…”Te Da” So we know that something important is about to happen. Jesus takes Peter, James and John with him up
the mountain to pray. And just like at
the end of Jesus’ life, they fall asleep at a critical point in the story. Jesus’ face changed in appearance and his
clothes became dazzling white. Moses and
Elijah appeared with him. Finally the
disciples wake up to what is happening and they are confused. Peter wanted to stay in that special place
forever. God tells them to listen to his
Son.
So, there are many things that are happening in this
story. When Jesus is at prayer, he
changes, he is transformed, and he is transfigured. He becomes more authentically who he is. That is a great lesson for each of us. When we pray, we can be transformed, we can
appear different because we have had a connection with God. Are you different after you pray? Can other people notice the difference? Peter recognizes how special this time was
and says, ‘Master it is good that we are here.”
I often feel that way after a significant moment in my life. Often times after a retreat or other
spiritual event, I want to just remain in that moment. Many times when I worked in high school and
took the students on retreat, after they had such a life changing experience,
they often want to remain with everyone who was on the retreat. We do not always get so many powerful moments
in our life, so sometimes we want to hang on to them for as long as we
can. For Peter, James, and John, the
hard part was not being on the mountain, the hard part was leaving the mountain
and going back to their ordinary lives.
That was the same for many of my students. The real work of discipleship begins when we
leave the mountain, Amen? Lent can also be a mountain top experience for us,
where we get to see changes in ourselves, and perhaps changes in the way we
view Jesus. The work of Lent is to
prepare us for going back down the mountain into our ordinary lives. And like Peter, James, and John, God says,
“Listen to him”. Listen to Jesus. Listen to what he wants you to do with your
life. Listen to how he wants you to
change. It is easy to change on the
mountain, it is more difficult to sustain that change when we leave the
mountain. Lent is our time of renewing
the changes we want to make.
So, today is about promise and change. It is about covenant and
transfiguration. The Church invites us
to experience all of this in our lives.
And who knows, maybe at the end of this Lenten season, your face may
become white and your clothes may become dazzling white. When we have an experience of Jesus, we
cannot help but be changed, Amen?
Buenas
tardes iglesia! Entonces, ¿cómo se va a su Cuaresma? ¿Se queda fiel a sus
promesas de Cuaresma? ¿Necesita un poco de ayuda permanecer fiel? Si usted es
como yo, que necesita un poco de ayuda, Amén?
Pues bien, hoy la Palabra de Dios nos invita a mirar más profundamente en el concepto de promesa y de cambio. ¿Cuántas personas aquí nunca no se han mantenido su promesa? Debería haber más manos en el aire! Una promesa puede ser difícil de mantener, Amén? A veces la vida cambia y compromisos cambian y así nuestras promesas cambian. Pero hoy en día, oímos en el Libro de Génesis cómo Dios hace una promesa con Abraham. Y Dios siempre cumple sus promesas. Una y otra vez, Dios hace una promesa con la gente como Abraham, Moisés, David y Salomón. Y una y otra vez, Dios le recuerda al pueblo de Israel de esa promesa cuando Dios dice: "Yo seré su Dios, y ustedes serán mi pueblo." Dios era, y es, siempre fiel a su promesa, y sin embargo la gente de Israel continuará a olvidar la promesa. Dios hace más de una promesa con Abraham, Dios hace un pacto. Dios no hace un contrato con el pueblo. Dios hace un pacto. Un pacto no puede ser roto. No es un contrato. No depende de cómo uno se siente en un día en particular. Un pacto es eterno. Dios hizo un pacto con nosotros. Dios nunca se romperá ese pacto, y sin embargo, hay momentos en que nos olvidamos de esta relación de pacto con Dios. Tratamos a la alianza como si fuera una promesa. Tratamos a la alianza como si fuera un contrato. Dios promete a Abraham que sus descendientes serán tan numerosos como las estrellas... y que eran. Dios nos promete que somos su siempre ... y estamos! Dios nos ama lo suficiente como para hacer un pacto con nosotros. Si Dios puede ser fiel a nosotros, podemos ser fieles a Dios? ¿Podemos ser fieles a nuestras promesas de Cuaresma?
San
Pablo recuerda a los filipenses a imitar el buen comportamiento que él les
enseñó. A veces es fácil ver a otras personas y quieren ser como ellos, tal vez
incluso actuar como ellos. Tenga cuidado de que te influye. ¿Qué tipo de
comportamiento es lo que quiere ser conocido por hacer en este mundo? En su
vida diaria es lo que imite la gente de la virtud o el vicio de la gente? ¿Se
reconoce el valor del sacrificio y desinterés? Qué te importa más en los demás
que usted se preocupa por sí mismo? Cómo se hace importante familia? Es
importante en su vida diaria fe? Cómo influye la fe en sus decisiones? O,
¿estás de imitar a los demás que sólo se preocupan de sí mismos? Los que sólo
se preocupan por lo que pueden obtener de la vida? No funcionan y otras
personas a ser más importante que la familia? Es lo que realmente trabaja en su
fe o vas a través de los movimientos? Si se va a recordar su día y mirar todas
sus decisiones, ¿estaría en condiciones de afirmar que lo que hizo ese día
fueron las acciones de una persona de fe? San Pablo lo hace muy claro a los
Filipenses y muy claro para nosotros. Si usted va a imitar a nadie, imitar a
una persona de la fe en su vida y luego seremos transformados en Cristo Jesús.
Por
último, la historia del Evangelio es una historia que es familiar para todos
nosotros. Es la escena de la transfiguración. Esta escena se encuentra en el
Evangelio de Mateo, Marcos y Lucas, por lo que debe ser importante, Amén? Bueno
esta historia es muy importante para todos nosotros. Es una historia de cambio
y que viene a reconocer a una persona por quien realmente es en la vida. Ahora,
a veces perdemos la importancia de ciertos símbolos en las Escrituras, porque
oímos las palabras con las orejas de hoy en día. Por lo tanto, la primera cosa
importante para recordar es que esta escena tiene lugar en una montaña. Una
montaña en la Escritura significa que algo muy importante está a punto de
suceder. Por eso, cuando se nos dice que cualquier cosa sucede en una montaña,
debemos pensar a nosotros mismos, "Te Da" para que nos preparamos
para algo realmente importante para suceder en la historia. Recuerde, la zarza
ardiente ocurrió en una montaña. Dios se le apareció en el susurro del viento
en una cueva en una montaña. Moisés recibió los Diez Mandamientos en una
montaña. El monte de Sion fue importante en la historia de Israel. Por lo
tanto, nuestra escena de hoy tiene lugar dónde? Sí, una montaña ... "Te
Da" por lo que sabemos que algo importante está a punto de suceder. Jesús
toma a Pedro, Santiago y Juan con él a la montaña para orar. Y al igual que en
el final de la vida de Jesús, se duermen en un punto crítico en la historia. El
rostro de Jesús cambió de aspecto y sus vestiduras se hicieron blancas y
relampagueantes. Moisés y Elías aparecieron con él. Finalmente los discípulos
despiertan a lo que está sucediendo y están confundidos. Pedro quería quedarse
en ese lugar especial para siempre. Dios les dice a escuchar a su Hijo.
Por lo
tanto, hay muchas cosas que están sucediendo en esta historia. Cuando Jesús
está en oración, se cambia, se transforma, y se transfiguró. Se vuelve más
auténticamente quién es. Esa es una gran lección para cada uno de nosotros.
Cuando oramos, podemos ser transformados, podemos tener un aspecto diferente
porque hemos tenido una conexión con Dios. ¿Eres diferente después rezas?
Pueden otras personas notar la diferencia? Pedro reconoce lo especial que fue
esta vez y dice: "Señor, es bueno que estamos aquí." A menudo me
siento de esa manera después de un momento significativo en mi vida. Muchas
veces después de un retiro u otro acontecimiento espiritual, que quieren seguir
siendo justo en ese momento. Muchas veces, cuando trabajé en la escuela
secundaria y tomó a los estudiantes en retiro, después de haber tenido una
experiencia que cambia la vida, a menudo quieren quedarse con todos los que
estaban en retiro. No siempre conseguimos tantos momentos de gran alcance en
nuestra vida, así que a veces queremos aferrarse a ellos durante tanto tiempo
como podamos. Para Pedro, Santiago y Juan, la parte más difícil fue no en la
montaña, la parte difícil salía de la montaña y volver a su vida ordinaria. Ese
fue el mismo para muchos de mis estudiantes. El verdadero trabajo de
discipulado comienza cuando dejamos la montaña, Amén? Cuaresma también puede
ser una experiencia cima de la montaña para nosotros, donde podemos ver los
cambios en nosotros mismos, y tal vez cambios en la manera de ver a Jesús. El
trabajo de la Cuaresma es para prepararnos para volver a bajar la montaña en
nuestras vidas ordinarias. Y al igual que Pedro, Santiago y Juan, Dios dice:
"Escúchenlo". Escuchar a Jesús. Escuchar lo que usted quiere hacer
con su vida. Escuchar cómo quiere que cambie. Es fácil de cambiar en la
montaña, es más difícil de sostener que el cambio cuando salimos de la montaña.
La Cuaresma es el tiempo de la renovación de los cambios que queremos hacer.
Por lo tanto,
hoy es acerca de la promesa y el cambio.
Se trata de pacto y la transfiguración. La Iglesia
nos invita a experimentar todo esto en nuestras vidas. Y quién sabe, tal
vez al final de este tiempo de Cuaresma,
la cara puede convertirse en blanco y su ropa puede
llegar a ser deslumbrante blanco.
Cuando tenemos una experiencia de Jesús,
que no puede dejar de ser cambiado, Amén?
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