We often use in "church speak" that we are on a Lenten Journey. We are trying to get someplace and we have to put in the time and effort to get there. For us as Christians, it is Easter. It is clearly the Celebration of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Our image and theme is to help us to frame our minds and hearts to ultimately come to a deeper understanding of the meaning of Jesus Christ in our own personal life, and also the lives of everyone. Part of all this is walking with Jesus as he comes closer to Jerusalem, as he enters the City itself, and ultimately his Passion and Death on the Cross. The Passion of Christ is not simply a record of Jesus' suffering and death. If we realize that we are walking with Jesus through all this, then this journey of faith will take on a very deep and rich meaning for us.

In the passage from 2 Chronicles this weekend the author emphasizes the faithful­ness of God, even though we know that God's people were unfaithful. Out of this faithful love, God sent messengers and prophets to warn all the land of Israel, to call the people to faithfulness and also, as importantly, to love God in return. These special invitations were cruelly spurned. The author composes his scripture to tell us that because of Israel's infidelity and lack of love, Je­rusalem was destroyed, the people lost their home, and the nation was taken into captivity.

It is said by many people that they need "closure," that they really need to know. There seems to be deep within us the need to know so that we will finally understand something and accept it in our lives. We even want to know many things that we should not know. We are often curious about information and people that is "none of our business." We like mysteries only if we know the answer to it and others do not. We also forget that knowing something also makes us responsible.

In our scripture this weekend, we learn of the unbelievably powerful promises which are fulfilled. There are two summits involved in these experiences, one is on Mount Moriah with our beloved Abraham and the other is on Mount Tabor with our Savior Jesus. We all recall that Abraham, our father in faith, had uprooted his family and traveled across the Fertile Crescent to an unknown land. Abraham, who struggled and became overwhelmed, trudged steadily forward on the particular and singular promise that his and Sarah's children would be as numerous as the stars on clear, cool nights and as many as the sands.

Our first reading this weekend, which is from the Book of Genesis, is a frequently told and fondly remembered story. Although this story is often considered primarily a children's tale, the meaning of the story of Noah has a powerful insight for adults of all ages, from teen years until eighties and nineties. Bear in mind that the tale of Noah relates the story of God's first covenant with the chosen people. In fact, we realize that this covenant comes as something of a surprise to Noah and also to one and all.

I notice after the 4 PM Mass on Saturdays that there is now a decent amount of light. Now after days of darkness and long nights, we can now look forward to springtime when, several minutes at a time, each day lengthens. Yes, on Groundhog Day it was announced that there were at least 6 more weeks of winter, but we need to remember we are now halfway through the cold and icy season. My daydreaming and thoughts have now shifted towards my flower gardens.

Sometimes we are so busy completing what is on our list for each day, that our focus is to get to the end of everything. As a result we often miss the very good and wonderful that is right in front of us. We are engaged in frantic activity that is purely frantic because we fail to enjoy what is going on in the moment in front of us. We race about to get to the future and do not recognize or enjoy the present.

In the Gospel of this weekend, we learn in our selected passage that the authority of Jesus was clearly grasped by the opposition. The dramatic yell from the demon, the spirit of evil, is unmistakable and beyond scary: "I know who you are!" This is to say, "You are the ultimate and absolute threat." Jesus has recognized evil and has taken its power away from it by naming it. And evil as a spirit knows this truth. Evil no longer has any power.

This weekend our first reading is from the Book of the prophet Jonah and our Gospel is from the Gospel of Mark. These two passages illustrate what an instantaneous and positive response to the message of God can be. The Prophet Jonah has the mission of preaching conversion to so far unrepentant Nineveh. The demand for repentance barely leaves Jonah's lips, and the whole city rises up to obey. The people immediately repent in sackcloth and ashes.

We do not realize that God, in fact, summoned the leaders of Israel in various and dramatic ways. Think about it: Moses was summoned for service from a burning bush and also Isaiah's vocation was announced in a fiery vision in the temple. In our Old Testament passage, we learn of a quiet invitation which really is within our normal way of life. From the earlier parts of the Book of Samuel, we know that Samuel's mother, Hannah, had stormed heaven for a child. God, indeed, answered her prayers and in due time she bore a son named Samuel. What Hannah could not have known was that Samuel's birth, which was so special to Hannah and everyone, was also a special gift to Israel.

The Feast of Epiphany has come to us in an indirect way. Like the famous Magi, this feast came from the East, or often called the Levant in times past. Sometime in the fourth century, a visitor to Israel reported that the Nativity of Christ was celebrated in a special vigil that began in the evening of January 5 and lasted well into the sunrise of the next day, January 6. The Western Latin-speaking Church celebrated Christmas on December 25, it then over time adopted this Eastern celebration called Epiphany (the Greek word meaning to appear to make manifest). We all recognize that both the Feasts of Christmas and Epiphany are celebrations of light: Christmas occurs at the time of the winter solstice and the lengthening of daylight; Epiphany, again in the season of darkness, follows the light of the star and becomes the great "Festival of Lights" that celebrates the dawning of the Light who is Jesus Christ.