(Second Sunday of Lent (A): This homily was given on March 1, 2026 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 17:1-9.)
[For the audio version if this homily, click here: Second Sunday of Lent 2026]
As I was reflecting
on today’s gospel reading in preparation for this homily, what came to mind was
an experience I had in the dentist’s office about 20 years ago.
While he was in the
process of “probing” the inside of my mouth that day and checking the condition
of my teeth, my dentist happened to discover a filling that needed to be
replaced.
He said, “Father
Ray, I’d rather not see you make another appointment to get this taken care of;
why don’t I do it right now? And let’s
try it without any Novocain. But don’t worry,
if the pain gets unbearable, I’ll stop and give you a shot.”
I said, “Uh . . .
okay.”
So he began to
remove the old filling with his little drilling instrument—you know, the one
that makes that awful screeching sound—and almost immediately I felt a slight
jolt of pain. Then I felt another—and
another. In my mind I prayed, “Dear
Lord, please don’t let it get any worse.
I can deal with what I’ve felt so far—but not much more.”
Well shortly
thereafter, happily, the pain stopped.
He continued his drilling operation for a couple of minutes, and every
30 seconds or so he would ask, “Does that hurt at all? Do you need some Novocain?” Each time I answered, “No.” (Thank God you can still say “Yes” and “No”
with somebody’s hands in your mouth!)
After the tooth was
re-filled he said to me, “When I questioned you during the drilling, you
weren’t feeling any pain?”
I replied, “No.”
He said, “That’s
amazing, because you should have been
feeling something. That filling was a
lot deeper than I thought it was.”
I said, “Well,
obviously the good Lord took care of me.”
He said, “That’s for
sure.”
There’s a well-known
meditation written by St. Francis de Sales in which the great saint says, “God
will either shield you from suffering, or give you the unfailing strength to
bear it.”
I’m very grateful
that in the dentist’s office that day 20 years ago, the Lord did the former. Unfortunately, he doesn’t always act in that
fashion—he doesn’t always shield me from suffering—but in that particular case
he did.
I take some
consolation in the fact that God didn’t always shield the apostles from
suffering either. Today’s Gospel story
provides us with a case in point. The
experience Peter, James and John had on Mount Tabor—the experience of seeing
Jesus Christ transfigured—was given to them in view of a suffering they would
experience within a few short weeks: our Lord’s crucifixion and death. Jesus was well aware of the sadness,
confusion and grief that would threaten to overwhelm these men at that
time. After all, they had left
everything to follow him; they believed he was the Messiah; they had lived with
him and worked with him for 3 years. And
even though he had already spoken to them about his death, he knew they would
not initially understand it and what it meant for the salvation of the human
race. (That understanding would only
come after Pentecost.) So Jesus gave
them a little glimpse of his divinity on that mountain—a brief revelation of
his eternal glory: something they could hold onto as they struggled to cope
with the terrible events of Good Friday.
Jesus didn’t shield them from that suffering, but he offered them—in the
words of St. Francis de Sales—the unfailing strength to bear it. As they watched our Lord die, they were supposed
to remember the glorious Jesus whom
they saw on the mountain that day, and trust that he would somehow win the
final victory. They were also to
remember the 3 witnesses who testified on Jesus’ behalf during the event:
Moses, Elijah, and—first and foremost—God the Father!
This brings us to
what I would call one of the practical messages of the Transfiguration: Remembering the lessons of the past in the
present moment brings hope for the future.
That’s what the apostles were supposed to do, and that’s what we need to
do with respect to our own trials and difficulties.
So I ask you this
morning: What has God taught you in the past through your sufferings? Spend some time this week in prayer pondering
that question. . . . What has God taught you in the past through your
sufferings? Has he taught you that he’s
faithful? Has he taught you that he
always gives you the grace you need when you need it? Has he taught you that worrying about the
future when you’re in pain is a waste of time?
(He’s taught me that one on many occasions!) Has he taught you the importance of prayer
and the sacraments in dealing with suffering?
Has he taught you to offer it up?
Has he taught you that other people are very often his gifts of
consolation and support in difficult times?
Has he taught you that repenting of your sins can sometimes make
suffering easier to bear and even eliminate a portion of it?
What has God taught you in the past through
your sufferings? Pray about that during the next several
days. And when you do come to recognize
the things the Lord has taught you through your past sufferings, I highly
recommend that you write them down. Do
that as a service to yourself: so that you will be able to recall those lessons
quickly the next time you experience a terrible trial in your life. That will give you a measure of hope for the
future in the midst of your present pain.
Let me conclude my homily now by quoting St. Francis de Sales’ entire meditation. Appropriately enough, I’ll give this great saint the last word:
Do not look forward in fear to the changes of
life;
Rather look to them with full hope that as
they arise,
God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely
through all things;
And when you cannot stand it, God will carry
you
in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
The same everlasting Father who cares for you
today
will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering or
give you the
unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace and put aside all anxious
thoughts and
imaginations.