Second Sunday of Lent (Feb. 21, 2016)

Reading 1 and//usccb.org/bible/genesis/15:5 GN 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.Just so,” he added, shall your descendants be.”Abram put his faith in the LORD,who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.He then said to him, I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeansto give you this land as a possession.” O Lord GOD,” he asked, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”He answered him, Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”Abram brought him all these, split them in two,and placed each half opposite the otherbut the birds he did not cut up.Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,but Abram stayed with them.As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.When the sun had set and it was dark,there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,which passed between those pieces.It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,sayingand To your descendants I give this land,from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.” Responsorial Psalm and//usccb.org/bible/psalms/27and1 PS 27and1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14 R. (1a)The Lord is my light and my salvation. The LORD is my light and my salvationwhom should I fear?The LORD is my life’s refugeof whom should I be afraid? R.The Lord is my light and my salvation. Hear, O LORD, the sound of my callhave pity on me, and answer me.Of you my heart speaks you my glance seeks. R.The Lord is my light and my salvation. Your presence, O LORD, I seek.Hide not your face from medo not in anger repel your servant.You are my helperand cast me not off. R.The Lord is my light and my salvation. I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORDin the land of the living.Wait for the LORD with couragebe stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. R.The Lord is my light and my salvation. Reading 2 and//usccb.org/bible/philippians/3:17 PHIL 3:17—4and1 Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,and observe those who thus conduct themselvesaccording to the model you have in us.For many, as I have often told youand now tell you even in tears,conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.Their end is destruction.Their God is their stomachtheir glory is in their shame.”Their minds are occupied with earthly things.But our citizenship is in heaven,and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.He will change our lowly bodyto conform with his glorified bodyby the power that enables him alsoto bring all things into subjection to himself.Therefore, my brothers and sisters,whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,in this way stand firm in the Lord. Or and//usccb.org/bible/philippians/3:20 PHIL 3:20—4and1 Brothers and sistersandOur citizenship is in heaven,and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.He will change our lowly bodyto conform with his glorified bodyby the power that enables him alsoto bring all things into subjection to himself.Therefore, my brothers and sisters,whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved. Verse Before The Gospel and//usccb.org/bible/matthew/17:5 CF. MT 17:5 From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heardandThis is my beloved Son, hear him. Gospel and//usccb.org/bible/luke/9:28 LK 9:28B-36 Jesus took Peter, John, and Jamesand went up the mountain to pray.While he was praying his face changed in appearanceand his clothing became dazzling white.And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodusthat he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,but becoming fully awake,they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we are herelet us make three tents,one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”But he did not know what he was saying.While he was still speaking,a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.Then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my chosen Son listen to him.”After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.They fell silent and did not at that timetell anyone what they had seen.