So how are you doing with all of those penances?

Every Ash Wednesday, we dream about how powerful our Lent will be.  Running three miles a day.  Reading the Bible.  Writing the next Great American Short Story.  Yet here we are, on the Second Week of Lent.  We forgot to run yesterday (and the three days prior), we’ve stopped reading the Bible because Leviticus is so amazingly boring, and writing that short story?  Uh, sure.

Yet when we are reminded of the Jesus’ Transfiguration, we are reminded of something we have forgotten so long ago: the Resurrection.  That we are going to go through trials, annoyances, frustrations.  We will go through those dry spells and those times where we want to give up and those periods of doubt.  But it is not for naught—we are reminded of the Resurrection.  The Transfiguration reminds us that the penances we partake and the sacrifices we endure are for a greater purpose.  They remind us—concretely and painfully—that there is a greater purpose.  There is a reason for our penance.  There is room for joy despite our loss.

The Resurrection.

So stand up.  Try again.  Persevere.

Only through the gristle of the Cross can we come to the glory of the Resurrection.