Our humanity bleeds through today's Gospel passages in more ways than one. We see both elation and fall, hope in the midst of the darker sides of our natures. If we allow it, these Gospels hold a mirror to our own fickle hearts. The crowds cry "Hosanna" and the Apostles profess allegiance unto death. In a manner of days -- even hours -- Jesus is betrayed, abandoned, denied, condemned, tortured, and executed. As God, he could have stopped this horrific narrative from unfolding, but he doesn't. He allows free will to play itself out.

Now there were some Greeks among those who had come to worship at the feast. They came to Philip and asked him, 'Sir, we would like to see Jesus.'" It has begun. News of Jesus has spread beyond native-born, Aramaic-speaking Jews. We don't know if the Greeks mentioned here heard of Jesus from fellow travelers or if news of this intriguing rabbi had reached all the way to their home. What we do know is that this interaction spurred an interesting comment from Jesus: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." In other words, it has begun. The time has come for the message to move beyond the geographic bounds of Israel.

Why is the world the way it is? We all wonder that from time to time. Each successive generation projects rose-hued longing on the past and casts furtive glances at the impending future. We see forces beyond our control in nature and in the newspaper. The world is changing and we're being pulled out with the tide.

We all have things in our lives that don't belong there. Maybe it's the poor way we allow someone to treat us, maybe it's a habitual sin, maybe it's a pattern of thought or attitude that traps us in a cycle of regret, anger, or an inability to forgive. Jesus has bold words for us today: "Take these out of here."

How are your Lenten resolutions? By the time week two rolls around, plenty of well-meaning people have skipped, neglected, or outright forgotten their Lenten resolutions at least once. It can be easy to start excusing our Lenten commitments altogether.

Last week we saw Jesus driven into the desert. This Sunday, we see Jesus leading his disciples to an equally barren place: he "led them up a high mountain apart by themselves." But what happens there? "And he was transfigured before them and his clothes became dazzling white." Today's Gospel reminds us of the goal. We don't enter into the desert for the sake of suffering, but for the sake of transformation.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in his providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a “sacramental sign of our conversion”.[1] Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.

We may not like it, but generosity and risk often go hand-in-hand. At least, that's what Jesus shows us in today's Gospel as a leper approaches him for healing. Until the nineteenth century, lepers were shunned to the margins of society for fear of spreading the disease. To touch a leper was to risk becoming unclean yourself. In today's Gospel, Jesus defies convention. "Moved with pity, he reached out his hand, [and] touched him." The leper is healed! But this is not the only risk Jesus takes.

For most of us, the dynamic between prayer and action is imperfect. Breakfast needs to be made and the kids dressed. Work demands our energy and additional responsibilities fill our evenings and weekends. Then there's the football game or a new TV series to stream. After all, don't we need to relax?

"The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." Those gathered in the synagogue where Jesus taught had never heard anything like this before. They were used to the preaching of the well-educated scribes, but Jesus possessed something that those men lacked: authority. Instead of merely interpreting the laws of the prophets, Jesus presented a new vision, indeed, he shared the good news of the Gospel with his listeners.

"The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." Those gathered in the synagogue where Jesus taught had never heard anything like this before. They were used to the preaching of the well-educated scribes, but Jesus possessed something that those men lacked: authority. Instead of merely interpreting the laws of the prophets, Jesus presented a new vision, indeed, he shared the good news of the Gospel with his listeners.

"So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with thehired men and followed him." What did Zebedee thinkabout all of this? His sons and his partners, James and John,suddenly left their post and followed Jesus. So there hestood in the boat with a crew of employees, but not one ofhis sons. We can't help but wonder whether Zebedee was infavor of this promise that his heirs would become "fishers ofmen." Most likely, this event was the cause ofsome familialtension.

"Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." What a wonderful example the Magi give us in their visit to the infant Jesus.

First of all, they demonstrate profound faith in God's word, spoken through the prophet Micah: "And you, Bethlehem...from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel" (cf. 5:2). Embarking on a long and difficult journey, they trust that they will find this newborn king of the Jews in Bethlehem as the prophecy announced.