​Have you ever wondered what it must have been like for Peter, James, and John to accompany Jesus on so many secret missions? There is a special bond that two or more people forge when they share a common experience, and especially if that experience is a secret or confidential matter that is not to be shared with others. It becomes a foundation on which that relationship starts to strengthen. 

Peter is so relatable as he is someone who wants to make things easier for those around him. His eagerness can also be viewed as foolishness. Little does he know that the Lord does not need a tent. All the Lord needs is his undying faith and loyalty, which is why he is being allowed to witness spectacles that only a few are privileged to witness. However, we all know how Peter’s enthusiasm plays out, especially in the readings we will hear closer to Good Friday. 

So, wait a minute. Pause right there: Do you think Jesus was unaware of Peter’s fickle heart? Was Jesus disappointed when Peter denied Him (a few days from the Transfiguration)? No! On the contrary, Jesus was preparing Peter and the others for the time “after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 

Now, let’s apply this to our lives: Do you think Jesus is unaware of our fickle hearts? Is He disappointed when we deny Him by choosing sin? Jesus created us and He knows our fallen nature better than we do. And hence He has left us His Bride, the Church, and the sacraments of healing, like Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and the Anointing of the Sick. Our Maker knows our sinful nature, and He knows what we need when we decide to come back to Him. 

As we journey through this Lent, let us remember that the God of mercy is always unveiling the beauty of His Transfiguration. Like Peter, we may have mountain-top experiences in our faith life, and we may also fall into the valley of sin. No matter what our circumstance, we can be sure that Jesus knows and He loves us anyway. Nothing can separate us from His love and mercy – especially not the foolish things we do. So, this Lent, let us say yes to being transfigured by the sacraments by staying close to Jesus in and through them.

Loving Jesus, 
Thank You that You don’t focus on my sin, but instead lovingly invite me to a life of ongoing repentance. Help me to always respond to Your call and to come back to the graces offered in the sacraments. 
Amen.




Rebecca D'Mello

A psalm in three stanzas on God’s steadfast love, each building on the other.

The earth is full of it.
    God sees when people see it and respond to it.
        Let that be us, perceiving and receiving it.

But what is it? I’ve actually often wondered about this phrase “steadfast love.” It shows up in quite a few psalms, and some translations of the Hebrew works of poetry simply call it “kindness” or maybe “loving kindness.” So I finally took a look. The word behind them all is HESED, and it carries quite a load and holds a weighty impact. It is a relational, loyal, and covenantal love that is unwavering, regardless of what it meets. That encompasses mercy and faithfulness and goodness. A loyalty that has nothing to do with duty, and a love that doesn’t stop at emotion but moves into practice. It’s something that is core to who God is, and something that becomes core to those who hope in Him, living out the type of interpersonal steadfast loving kindness that repairs the world.

Holding all of that in your hand, come back to the three stanzas and place this understanding into the pieces that build on each other.

The Earth is full of God’s steadfast love. It is everywhere. All our lives, and the lives of all who came before us, and of all who will come after us, are spent walking through an existence redolent with His steadfast love. We just can’t see it on our own because we, like the world, are broken. Like the 14 stars seen in the night sky of Toronto, touchpoints of steadfast love may appear to be few and far between, great gaps of blackness between each dim pinprick of light, but that is the illusion. Remove the light of the city, and reality sets in. In the blanket of stars above, you can’t even fit your pinky finger between light and light. That is the unseen reality, the solidity of His steadfast love.

God sees when people see His steadfast love and respond to it. Grace moves throughout people’s lives, creating tears in their veils, tears in the cauls that keep them from seeing the nearness of His steadfast love, and giving them momentary glimpses of the reality they would otherwise be unable to grasp. These small experiences build hope in this reality, until there are enough of them that the hope becomes firm enough to walk on. Standing on that firmness, they start to become the points of grace for others, each act of loving kindness creating tears in the cauls that cover the eyes of others so that they can begin to see the reality of His steadfast love too.  

Let that be us, perceiving and receiving God’s steadfast love. This is The Ask. That we could move from blindness to sight, and then from sighted to filled, and from filled to overflowing. Joining with Him in repairing the world by living out His wondrous and weighty loving kindness, making it small enough for people to see. Kindness may seem a small thing, but it’s not. Small touch. Big impact. Like a soapy finger touching pepper floating in a cup of water. One touch and the darkness runs away to the edges, creating an opening.




Noreen Smith​