Prayers for Cardinal Egan

Prayers for Cardinal Egan

Cardinal Edward Egan, the former archbishop of New York, has passed away. He was 82. Cardinal Egan died Thursday afternoon at a New York hospital. The cause of death was cardiac arrest. Pope John Paul II had appointed Egan as leader of the archdiocese in 2000.

Please keep Cardinal Egan in your prayers. 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, 

and let perpetual light shine upon him.  

May they rest in peace.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Lectionary: 234

Reading 1

GN 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,

for he was the child of his old age;

and he had made him a long tunic.

When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,

they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.

One day, when his brothers had gone

to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem,

Israel said to Joseph, 

“Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.

Get ready; I will send you to them.”

So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.

They noticed him from a distance,

and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer!

Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;

we could say that a wild beast devoured him.

We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”

When Reuben heard this,

he tried to save him from their hands, saying,

“We must not take his life.

Instead of shedding blood,” he continued,

“just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;

but do not kill him outright.”

His purpose was to rescue him from their hands

and return him to his father. 

So when Joseph came up to them,

they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;

then they took him and threw him into the cistern,

which was empty and dry.

They then sat down to their meal.

Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,

their camels laden with gum, balm and resin

to be taken down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers:

“What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? 

Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,

instead of doing away with him ourselves.

After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.”

His brothers agreed.

They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21

R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

When the LORD called down a famine on the land

and ruined the crop that sustained them,

He sent a man before them,

Joseph, sold as a slave.

R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

They had weighed him down with fetters,

and he was bound with chains,

Till his prediction came to pass

and the word of the LORD proved him true.

R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

The king sent and released him,

the ruler of the peoples set him free.

He made him lord of his house

and ruler of all his possessions.

R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

Verse Before The Gospel

JN 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;

so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel

MT 21:33-43, 45-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: 

“Hear another parable.

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,

put a hedge around it,

dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.

Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

When vintage time drew near,

he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.

But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,

another they killed, and a third they stoned.

Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,

but they treated them in the same way.

Finally, he sent his son to them,

thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,

‘This is the heir.

Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’

They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”

They answered him,

“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death

and lease his vineyard to other tenants

who will give him the produce at the proper times.”

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

by the Lord has this been done,

and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you,

the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you

and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,

they knew that he was speaking about them.

And although they were attempting to arrest him,

they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

  Jesus has come to the spot where He will lose His life. He is tired and beaten down. Now as He stands there before the masses He is stripped of His garments. He stands before them exposed and humiliated. 

   Before Jesus is nailed to the cross for forgiveness of our sins He is stripped down, almost naked. Almost fully exposed to the world. There are a few ways that come to mind about being stripped down and exposed. 

   The first is with confession/ reconciliation.  This is how we need to be when we are asking for forgiveness and God’s Love. We need to strip away those sins and expose who is under all those layers to Jesus so we may know and feel that sense of forgiveness and love. The idea of going to confession bothers some because they feel they are like Jesus and will be exposed. That the Priest will hold them to those sins that we are confessing. Yes, I must admit sometimes it is hard to expose my sins but after it is done there is that feeling of release. 

    The second is part of a retreat experience I had. I was stripped of those outside connections to the world. Stripped of the noises and voices. I was stripped of , not only, my connections to the world but of a voice for the weekend. I am someone who’s phone is constantly checked, used to text, and check facebook. When I am home the TV is on, the phone is by my side and the computer is on. There is that constant chatter. Yet, this weekend, those things were silent. I needed those things to be stripped from me so I can focus and be disconnected to the world so I may reconnect with God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and Mary. 

     If someone asked you “ Who are you? Tell me about yourself ? Explain to me what makes you, you?” What would you say? Would you list your occupation? Your Marital status? Children? Religion? Where you live? Would you say what you own and have? Each one of these are layers that we place on ourselves or allow them to be placed on us by others. If you now strip all of that away, who are you? What is at your core? It is only when we strip all of the titles or categories can we see that at the core we are all children of God. All of the titles and layers we add, shape how we are and viewed in the world. We have to be exposed and stripped so others see first and foremost that we belong to God. That we are not ashamed of being who we truly are meant to be in the world. 

      We do not want to be stripped and exposed because we do not want to see the mocking glances of others, hear their whispers or face rejection of who we really are inside. Jesus stood as He was stripped of the earthly garments to not expose Himself but the sins of the world. When we go before God we will be stripped of all those things that are of this secular world so we may hope to gain the Heavenly Kingdom. Really look at yourself and strip down all those things that bind you to this world so you can stand before God. Strip down so you may gain forgiveness and salvation.    

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may you expose your true self to not only others but to yourself as well. 

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

Lectionary: 233

Reading 1

JER 17:5-10

Thus says the LORD:

Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,

who seeks his strength in flesh,

whose heart turns away from the LORD.

He is like a barren bush in the desert

that enjoys no change of season,

But stands in a lava waste,

a salt and empty earth.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

whose hope is the LORD.

He is like a tree planted beside the waters

that stretches out its roots to the stream:

It fears not the heat when it comes,

its leaves stay green;

In the year of drought it shows no distress,

but still bears fruit.

More tortuous than all else is the human heart,

beyond remedy; who can understand it?

I, the LORD, alone probe the mind

and test the heart,

To reward everyone according to his ways,

according to the merit of his deeds.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6

R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not

the counsel of the wicked

Nor walks in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the company of the insolent,

But delights in the law of the LORD

and meditates on his law day and night.

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

He is like a tree

planted near running water,

That yields its fruit in due season,

and whose leaves never fade.

Whatever he does, prospers.

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Not so, the wicked, not so;

they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

For the LORD watches over the way of the just,

but the way of the wicked vanishes.

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Verse Before The Gospel

SEE LK 8:15

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart

and yield a harvest through perseverance.

Gospel

LK 16:19-31

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen

and dined sumptuously each day.

And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,

who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps

that fell from the rich man’s table.

Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.

When the poor man died,

he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

The rich man also died and was buried,

and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,

he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off

and Lazarus at his side.

And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.

Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,

for I am suffering torment in these flames.’

Abraham replied, ‘My child,

remember that you received what was good during your lifetime

while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;

but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.

Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established

to prevent anyone from crossing

who might wish to go from our side to yours

or from your side to ours.’

He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him

to my father’s house,

for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,

lest they too come to this place of torment.’

But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.

Let them listen to them.’

He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,

but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

Then Abraham said,

‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,

neither will they be persuaded

if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Ninth Station: Jesus falls a third time.

Ninth Station: Jesus falls a third time.

   Jesus falls for the third time as He gets closer to Calvary and  He will take His last breath. The road is getting harder and harder to continue on but He knows how this must end so we may live. His life needs to end so we can live in the next life.

     There are things in each of our lives that continue to bring us down and take us from where or what we need to be doing. Others around us may yell, mock, or look down on us because we have “fallen” again. Those people are like those who watched Jesus fall again and pushed, beat, and yelled at Him to continue on. This does not help those who have fallen but only helps with keeping them down. It is hard enough to get back up on your own but when those who are around you, do nothing to help but criticize, it becomes even harder to get back up. 

     It is easier to stay down when we fall. Easier to just keep on sinning because “ Why not, I have already sinned anyway”. This idea only keeps that gap that is between us and God from closing. This idea only promotes destruction and does nothing to close or bridge that gap. That bridge or that thing that closes the gap is confession of our sins and admitting to ourselves what causes us to fall. Look sin dead on and challenge yourself to gain control over it. 

     I know I beat myself over some sins over and over because I feel I should have by now a better understanding on how to avoid those things that bring me closer to sin then to God. Once those sins start around me it is easier to fall back to them and allow those sins to multiply. This is where I need to grow and ask those to help and even pray for me in the areas. It is in my weakness that I have to be strong in Jesus as well as each of us do. The strength is in the getting back up each time and continuing on the journey to heaven. 

     Our crosses get heavier when we are at our weakest and lighter when we are at our strongest. It does not mean we have more to deal with always, it can be that we are just tired from the weight of the problems or sins in our lives. The more we sin the weaker we get and the harder it is to carry our crosses. To get that strength we have to keep sin at a distance so we can stay focussed on the path we want to take. The path that will lead us to the eternal life. 

        Now matter if it is the third time you have fallen or the thirtieth, Jesus is there for you. Remember that. Jesus will be there, is there, and forever will be there. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may we all continue fighting to stay the course and not fall. 

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

Lectionary: 231

Reading 1

IS 1:10, 16-20

Hear the word of the LORD,

princes of Sodom!

Listen to the instruction of our God,

people of Gomorrah!

Wash yourselves clean!

Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;

cease doing evil; learn to do good.

Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,

hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

Come now, let us set things right,

says the LORD:

Though your sins be like scarlet,

they may become white as snow;

Though they be crimson red,

they may become white as wool.

If you are willing, and obey,

you shall eat the good things of the land;

But if you refuse and resist,

the sword shall consume you:

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

Responsorial Psalm

PS 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,

for your burnt offerings are before me always.

I take from your house no bullock,

no goats out of your fold.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,

Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Verse Before The Gospel

EZ 18:31

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD,

and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel

MT 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,

“The scribes and the Pharisees

have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,

but do not follow their example.

For they preach but they do not practice.

They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry

and lay them on people’s shoulders,

but they will not lift a finger to move them.

All their works are performed to be seen.

They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,

greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’

As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’

You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

Call no one on earth your father;

you have but one Father in heaven.

Do not be called ‘Master’;

you have but one master, the Christ.

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;

but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

  Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. Those who Jesus counted as close friends are nowhere to be found as He continues to carry His cross. There are those, like the women of Jerusalem who are there as He continues on His journey. 

    Sometimes the people in our lives disappoint us and are not there when we feel they should be there by our side. It is hard for us when this happens and we may become angry and bitter at those people. We expect them to be there because maybe we have been there for them and expect the same in return. It is natural to feel hurt because there is an expectation that you feel has not been fulfilled and that you are not as important to that person. When this happens we need to step back and look at the whole picture.

    The next part of course applies to our own personal relationships and not that of the relationship between Jesus and the apostles. We have to talk to that person and see what happened. Maybe they did not know what was going on? Maybe things were also going on for them that they couldn’t be there? Maybe our expectations are to high for that person? Maybe they may not feel the same way as we do? No matter what one of these questions it involves, there still needs to be a conversation.

     We need to be honest with ourselves and with that person. An open discussion needs to happen so a resolution can happen. It may not be the resolution you expected or wanted. Sometimes people will get caught up in what is going on with them and not see what is going on with others around them. Sometimes people may feel it is not there place to step in or that you do not want them there. Sometimes we expect more from people then what they are able or want to give. It is hard to get over these feelings and answers and sometimes there really is not a resolution that both people can except.  The relationship will change when this happens and it can either get better or worse. It is up to both people to see where they go on from here.

     The same is said when it comes to how God and Jesus are in our lives. We all have disappointed them in our lives. The disappointment comes from and out of the sins we commit. Yet, when we ask for forgiveness we are forgiven and move on from there. We will always be forgiven, as long as we are truly sorry. Think about that when someone disappoints you and they are asking for forgiveness or for you to just move past this and move on. Do not get me wrong and think that every time this happens we need to just forgive and move on with the relationship. Sometimes all we can do is wish a person well and pray for them. Only you can decide for yourself what you feel in your heart and soul is right. 

      

     Disappoints will come in this life. There is nothing that we can do to prevent people from disappointing at times but it is how we handle them that make us who we are. You can forgive and move on with the relationship, forgive and the relationship changes or forgive and go your separate ways. In each of those cases, the act of forgiving is there. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and forgive as you would like to be forgiven. 

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

Lectionary: 231

Reading 1

IS 1:10, 16-20

Hear the word of the LORD,

princes of Sodom!

Listen to the instruction of our God,

people of Gomorrah!

Wash yourselves clean!

Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;

cease doing evil; learn to do good.

Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,

hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

Come now, let us set things right,

says the LORD:

Though your sins be like scarlet,

they may become white as snow;

Though they be crimson red,

they may become white as wool.

If you are willing, and obey,

you shall eat the good things of the land;

But if you refuse and resist,

the sword shall consume you:

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

Responsorial Psalm

PS 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,

for your burnt offerings are before me always.

I take from your house no bullock,

no goats out of your fold.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,

Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Verse Before The Gospel

EZ 18:31

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD,

and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel

MT 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,

“The scribes and the Pharisees

have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,

but do not follow their example.

For they preach but they do not practice.

They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry

and lay them on people’s shoulders,

but they will not lift a finger to move them.

All their works are performed to be seen.

They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,

greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’

As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’

You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

Call no one on earth your father;

you have but one Father in heaven.

Do not be called ‘Master’;

you have but one master, the Christ.

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;

but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

   Jesus falls for the second time as He is carrying the cross to Calvary. The weight of the cross is becoming heavier and heavier as Jesus becomes weaker and weaker. The soldiers force Jesus back up by yelling and beating Him to get back up. 

    With Jesus falling a second time we see again the human side of Him. It helps to remind us that He was not only Devine but Human as well. Jesus is an example of no matter how many times we fall carrying our cross, He understands and is there to help us.  

    We fall many times in our lives and sometimes it is the same sins that aid us in our falling. Each time sin comes our way, it brings with it the chance of us falling away from God, Jesus and the church. When we do fall we need to get back up as quick as we can. It gets harder to get back up the longer we wait. Time goes by and you may grow further and further away from the life you were leading. The new fallen life starts to become the norm in your life and it gets harder to see the way back. 

    One of the ways for us to not fall and to stay on track is to go to confession. Confession is that antibiotic to the sins in our lives. It gets rid of that virus that goes through to our souls and gets us off track. You will find that the more you go to confession the easier the life becomes and the less you fall.

    We are reminded that carrying our crosses are never easy and we will fall many times but just as Jesus got back up so can we. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and receive the vaccine of confession as often as you can. 

Monday of the Second Week in Lent

Lectionary: 230

Reading 1

DN 9:4B-10

“Lord, great and awesome God,

you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you

and observe your commandments!

We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;

we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.

We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,

who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,

our fathers, and all the people of the land.

Justice, O Lord, is on your side;

we are shamefaced even to this day:

we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,

and all Israel, near and far,

in all the countries to which you have scattered them

because of their treachery toward you.

O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,

for having sinned against you.

But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!

Yet we rebelled against you

and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,

to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 79:8, 9, 11 AND 13

R. (see 103:10a) Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;

may your compassion quickly come to us,

for we are brought very low.

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Help us, O God our savior,

because of the glory of your name;

Deliver us and pardon our sins

for your name’s sake.

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;

with your great power free those doomed to death.

Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,

will give thanks to you forever;

through all generations we will declare your praise.

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Verse Before The Gospel

SEE JN 6:63C, 68C

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

Gospel

LK 6:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.

Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and gifts will be given to you;

a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,

will be poured into your lap.

For the measure with which you measure

will in return be measured out to you.”

Second Sunday of Lent Lectionary: 26

Second Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 26

Reading 1

GN 22:1-2, 9A, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.

He called to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am!” he replied.

Then God said:

“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, 

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a holocaust 

on a height that I will point out to you.”

When they came to the place of which God had told him, 

Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven, 

“Abraham, Abraham!”

“Here I am!” he answered.

“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.

“Do not do the least thing to him.

I know now how devoted you are to God, 

since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”

As Abraham looked about, 

he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

So he went and took the ram 

and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: 

“I swear by myself, declares the LORD, 

that because you acted as you did 

in not withholding from me your beloved son, 

I will bless you abundantly 

and make your descendants as countless 

as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; 

your descendants shall take possession 

of the gates of their enemies, 

and in your descendants all the nations of the earth

shall find blessing—

all this because you obeyed my command.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

I believed, even when I said,

“I am greatly afflicted.”

Precious in the eyes of the LORD

is the death of his faithful ones.

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

O LORD, I am your servant;

I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;

you have loosed my bonds.

To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

My vows to the LORD I will pay

in the presence of all his people,

In the courts of the house of the LORD,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

Reading 2

ROM 8:31B-34

Brothers and sisters:

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son 

but handed him over for us all, 

how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?

It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?

Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised— 

who also is at the right hand of God, 

who indeed intercedes for us.

Verse Before The Gospel

CF. MT 17:5

From the shining cloud the Father's voice is heard:

This is my beloved Son, listen to him.

Gospel

MK 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John 

and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them, 

and his clothes became dazzling white, 

such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, 

and they were conversing with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 

“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!

Let us make three tents: 

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; 

from the cloud came a voice, 

“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone

but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,

he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,

except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

So they kept the matter to themselves, 

questioning what rising from the dead meant.