LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
INTRODUCTORY RITES
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: Someone said that “the best things in life are often waiting for you at the exit ramp of your comfort zone.” It’s not just best things… “life” waits for us outside our comfort zone. That’s what today’s readings highlight. We need to constantly leave our comfort zones to really live. We ask the Lord to give us the grace we need on this journey.
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have not stretched ourselves, we ask the Lord’s forgiveness.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you led your disciples up a high mountain
to strengthen their faith: Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you were transfigured on that high mountain: Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you are the Beloved Son of the Father: Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: Holy God,
from the dazzling cloud
you revealed Jesus in glory
as your beloved Son.
During these forty days
enlighten your Church with the bright glory of your presence.
Inspire us by your word
and so transform us into the image of your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
Response Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Reading 2 2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.
Gospel Matthew 17:1-9
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are with the three disciples on the “high mountain”. What are your thoughts and feelings when you see Jesus transfigured and hear the voice from the cloud?
Sunday Snippets
A king received two falcons and gave them to his head falconer for training. Months later, the head falconer informed the king that one falcon was flying majestically; the other had not moved from its branch. The king summoned his ministers and sorcerers; none could get the bird to leave the branch. The king promised a reward to the one who made the falcon fly. Several people tried and failed. One farmer succeeded! The king was thrilled; he asked the farmer what he had done. The farmer replied: “Your Highness, I cut the branch on which the bird was sitting.”
If we want to find our place in life, we need to get off our branches, we need to leave our comfort zones. Today’s readings emphasize this truth.
In the first reading, God tells Abraham to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house – his “branch” – and journey to the unknown. Abraham experiences many difficulties and sufferings because of this “leaving”; the result is a life of blessing and glory.
In the verses preceding today’s gospel, Jesus predicts his passion, death, and resurrection. Today’s passage of the Transfiguration ends with Jesus’ command to his disciples: “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Matthew thus indicates that there is a necessary connection between suffering and glory, between death and life. Matthew skilfully drives home this point: the three disciples who are at the Transfiguration will be at Jesus’ agony at Gethsemane!
It is not easy to leave our comfort zones. Our natural impulse is to stay in a comfort zone. On the mountain, surrounded by magnificence and glory, Peter wants to remain! But the voice tells them “to listen” to Jesus’ teaching that the way to the fullness of life is through suffering and death.
This was not easy for Jesus; it is not easy for us.
The Transfiguration assured Jesus that the Father was with him and strengthened him on his road through suffering-death to the resurrection. It strengthened the disciples’ faith on their journey of discipleship. God’s love will sustain us as we leave our comfort zones and journey through suffering to life.
Am I ready to leave behind familiarity and security? What are the “branches” I must cut or the comfort zones I must leave to experience new life?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: What was Abraham’s response to God’s request? How does this incident relate to my Lenten experience?
God called him out of his homeland to start something new. Does God call me out of your comfort zone to start something new?
Reading 2: How do I respond to the call to become a living Gospel in the world?
Gospel: The apostles were in anguish when they heard about Jesus’ upcoming death. Jesus takes them up the mountain with him. In moments of darkness, do I need to go up the “mountain” too?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Sisters and brothers, the Lord continually calls us out of our secure and familiar worlds to journey towards the fullness of life. Aware of his constant reassuring presence during this journey, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may be transfigured more and more into the image and likeness of Christ, we pray to the Lord…
R: For the world: that God may turn hearts from violence, bring an end to wars especially in Ukraine, and open new opportunities for dialogue, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who share in the sufferings of Christ: that the Spirit of God may fill with courage those who experience suffering and persecution, and make fruitful their witness to the Gospel, we pray to the Lord…
R: For those appearing for their board examinations: that their efforts may bear fruit, we pray to the Lord…
R: For better stewardship of creation: that we may grow in appreciation and care for the world and its resources, we pray to the Lord…
R: For ourselves: that we, like Abraham, may go forth from all that is familiar to new places and situations into which God leads us, we pray to the Lord…
L: God our Father, the brief glimpse of his future glory strengthened your Son on his road through suffering and death to the resurrection, and strengthened the faith of his disciples. May it strengthen us through our trials and suffering. Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Lord,
you called Abraham to leave his father’s house.
Everything he had ever been and known
turned into a journey to the unknown.
And you made him a blessing
which became a grace for all ages.
Lord,
you gave the disciples a glimpse of your Son’s glory
to strengthen them leave their comfort zone
to journey through suffering.
And you made them channels of blessing
for people through the ages.
Lord,
strengthen us too
to leave behind the known and comfortable
and fill us too with blessing wherever we go—
in all we do, in every moment of our life.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God our Father
you have brightened our lives
with a glimpse of the light of Christ,
but we cannot cling to this vision.
In our darkness and trials,
help us to listen to his voice
and to carry out your plans.
Keep us firm in the hope
that everything has meaning
and that no pain is suffered in vain.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
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