From The Bishop

It was only two weeks ago in the Gospel of the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Luke 5:1-11) that St. Peter did not want Jesus to stay with him because he was “a sinful man”. In the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent (Luke 9:28b-36) St. Peter now wants to stay with Jesus on the mountain top forever with John, James, Moses and Elijah. Why this change? The answer can be found in this same Gospel. The Father says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to Him.” St. Peter listened to the Lord and experienced a profound change. When he had experienced the great catch of fish and was overcome with fear and a profound sense of his own sinfulness, Jesus invited him to begin “catching people”. We are told that Peter left everything and followed Jesus. He listened to the Lord. In a spiritual sense, Lent is a “listening season”. During these forty days we are called to remove all of those loud distractions so that we can prayfully listen to what the Lord wants to say to us. Abraham of the First Reading listened to the Lord; St. Paul of the Second Reading listened to the Lord; St. Peter also listened to the Lord. God was able to use all three to do great things. The Lord can do the same with us if we simply take the time to listen. “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to Him.”