Where have you borne the "hardships" for the sake of the gospel Saint Paul writes of in Romans? What were or are they? How does God strengthen you in the face of difficulties?

On this second week of Lent we are heartened by awareness of those "Transfiguration moments" in our lives when we get glimpses of God. Saint Paul says that in Jesus, the grace bestowed on us is made manifest.

SALVATION HISTORY PROPERLY begins in chapter 12 of Genesis. The proto-history of the earlier chapters supplies an artful presentation of the downward spiral of human moral disintegration. From the perfect joy of paradise we move through original disobedience to murder in one generation.

Most people can pinpoint the moment when the attraction they felt for someone turned to love. It usually has to do with seeing the person in a new light. As one man described it, "One night I watched as a woman who had been my good friend for many years gently stroked her dying mother's forehead.

As I walked through the ornate cemetery on the outskirts of the family hometown in Southern Italy with my cousin, I searched for family names on the graves. There were many such names, but not all were relatives.

I always felt sorry for Dorothy at the end of The Wizard of Oz. She tried so hard to share the wonders of her adventure, and all she got from her Auntie Em and others were bemused stares.

Apostles Peter, James, and John were blessed with what we've come to know as a "peak experience," when everything finally makes sense and you can see clearer than you've ever seen before. Life offers similar moments to all of us.

Gathered as a people on a pilgrimage of salvation, we ask for God's blessings and pardon.

Jesus . . . led them up a high mountain by themselves. The story of Jesus' literal transfiguration before the eyes of a chosen group of disciples anticipates his coming in glory on the last day.

To heal divisions, to relieve the oppress'd, In virtue rich; in blessing others, bless'd.  --The Odyssey