First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:4-22 Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:8-10 Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 17:5 Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

Reflection on Today’s reading is by, Fr. Gregory Mulobela SJ., Director, Chikuni Home Based Care (CHBC), Zambia.

My dear brothers and sisters, on this second Sunday of Lent, we continue to place our trust in the Lord like Abraham. Furthermore, we continue to trust because God’s grace is always bestowed on us in Christ made manifest in the transfiguration. Great things happen when God’s grace permeates our prevention strategies toward ending HIV and AIDS as a public health threat. Zambia testifies:

“Zambia’s 2025 HIV/AIDS estimates indicate significant progress toward ending the epidemic, with new infections reduced by 52% to approximately 30,000 annually, down from 63,000 in 2010. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 40%, yet 38% of new infections occur among young people aged 15–24, and young women remain highly vulnerable, necessitating new, targeted prevention strategies” (https://Zambia.un.org).

The Lord will surely enrich our conversations as we frame the necessary new targeted prevention strategies aimed at preserving the lives of our young people: especially women. Our part begins with all of us knowing our HIV status, across all demographics. Our proactive leadership and action on this call, as faith communities, is important if we are to maintain the gains the grace of God has helped us attain over the years: overall declining infections, decreased mother-to-child transmission rates, and high treatment coverage.

The readings of this second Sunday of Lent invite us to continue trusting and nurturing our relationship with God and with our Lord Jesus Christ. Being nourished by this gratuitous relationship is what we call Grace. The raison d’etre God revealed Himself to Abram in the past, and has in these last days revealed Himself in His son. We once again heard him on the mountain today. Let us continue to listen to the Triune God. Challenges in our work towards ending HIV and AIDS abound, but grace has brought us this far. And grace will lead us home.

My dear brothers and sisters, let this season of Lent continue to fill us with hope. As Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, the rays of hope and light shine forth. We keep walking in the light of Christ that casts darkness away. It is the same light of the resurrection that shines on the face of Christ. We too shall rise from the darkness of HIV and AIDS. Let us keep emerging from the darkness of indifference, as individuals and as communities of faith, and bring to the world the message of hope. The transfigured Lord is always in our midst; therefore, our personal and collective suffering from sin and death is not the end of our lives, but a passage to eternal blessedness.