2nd Sunday of Lent

In those days,
God put Abraham to the test.
He said to him:
"Abraham!"
He
answered:
"Here I am!"
God said:
"Take your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac,
go to the land of Moriah,
and there you will offer him as a burnt offering
on the mountain that I will show you."
They arrived at the place that God had indicated.
Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood;
then he tied up his son Isaac
and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Abraham stretched out his hand
and took the knife to sacrifice his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said:
"Abraham! Abraham!"
He answered:
"Here I am!"
The angel said to him:
"Do not lay your hand on the boy!
Do him no harm!
Now I know that you fear God:
you have not withheld from me your son, your only one."
Abraham looked up and saw a ram
caught by its horns in a thicket.
He went, took the ram,
and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

From heaven, the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time.
He declared:
"I swear by myself, says the Lord:
because you have done this,
because you have not withheld from me your son, your only one,
I will fill you with blessings,
I will make your descendants as numerous
as the stars of the sky
and as the sand on the seashore,
and your descendants will possess the strongholds of their enemies.
Because you have listened to my voice,
all the nations of the earth
will bless themselves by the name of your descendants."

– The word of the Lord.

I believe, and so I will speak,
I who have suffered so much.
It is costly to the Lord
to see his faithful ones die!

Am I not, Lord, your servant,
I, the one whose chains you have broken?
I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
I will call on the name of the Lord.

I will keep my promises to the Lord,
yes, in the presence of all his people,
at the entrance to the house of the Lord,
in the midst of Jerusalem!

Brothers,
if God is for us,
who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son,
but gave him up for us all:
how could he not, along with him,
give us everything else?
Who will bring charges against those whom God has chosen?
God is the one who justifies:
then who can condemn?
Christ Jesus is the one who died;
much more, he was raised,
he is at the right hand of God,
and he is interceding for us.

– The word of the Lord.

At that time,
Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John,
and led them, by themselves, up a high mountain apart.
And he was transfigured before them.
His clothes became dazzling,
so white
that no one on earth could bleach them so.
Elijah appeared to them with Moses,
and they were talking with Jesus.
Peter then spoke up
and said to Jesus:
"Rabbi, it is good for us to be here!
Let us put up three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
In fact, Peter did not know what to say,
they were so afraid.
A cloud came, overshadowing them,
and from the cloud there came a voice:
"This
is my beloved Son:
listen to him!"
Suddenly, looking around,
they no longer saw anyone except Jesus alone with them.

As they came down the mountain,
Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen,
until the Son of Man
had risen from the dead.
And they held on firmly to this word,
while questioning among themselves what "rising from the dead" meant.

– Let us acclaim the word of God.