The Second Sunday of Lent | iPray with the Gospel
“Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.”
Luke 9:28b-36
Lord, how good it is to be with You; and to be able to talk to You as Elijah and Moses did, face-to-face! And we still listen to the echoes of the Voice of the Father giving us a commandment: listen to him!
How I would love to listen to You, Lord, as Moses did, as Elijah, and Peter and James and John…! And to Peter, who did not know what to say, we can answer: —Say nothing! It is time to keep silent and contemplate. Silence is an important part of our prayer. Because if we talk, we don’t listen. And prayer is a dialogue, not a speech.
Some people panic when there is silence. Like the boy who reluctantly accompanied his parents to a concert of classical music. In the middle of a symphony there were three (just three!) seconds of silence broken by the voice of the boy shouting: –‘Now… what?! I can’t hear anything!’ No one had explained to him that silence is an important part of music.
Silence is also an important part of prayer. Don’t panic if you spend a few minutes in silence. Ask Our Lady to be able to learn from her: That’s what she did in Bethlehem, in Nazareth many times, and especially beside the Cross. Mother Teresa of Calcutta reminds us: We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.
This article originally appeared on www.ipraywiththegospel.org. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © George Boronat.
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Rev. George Boronat
Rev. George Boronat M.D. S.T.D is a Catholic priest from the Prelature of Opus Dei, working in the Archdiocese of Southwark in London. He is the Chaplain of The Cedars Independent School in Croydon, and also works as Chaplain of Kelston Club & Study Centre (Balham) and Oakwood Independent School (Purley). He has developed his pastoral ministry mainly with young people and is the author of iPray with the Gospel: Resources to Help Young People Pray.
