Readings
First Reading: Genesis 22: 1-18
Second Reading: Romans 8: 31-34Gospel: Mark 9: 2-10
Anecdotes
1) Transformation
from pro-choice to pro-life : Dr. Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat
International, tells a dramatic story about a woman who glimpsed the mystery of
her unborn child. The young woman was seeking an abortion. She simply could not
handle having a baby at this time. But she agreed to an ultrasound. When the
baby appeared on the screen, the woman was amazed to see the perfectly formed
body, the tiny legs and arms moving inside her womb. But the woman kept saying,
"No, no, I have to have an abortion." Dr. Hartshorn felt sad. She
knew that seventy-five percent of women who see an ultrasound decide to keep
their baby - but that a quarter, nevertheless, still have the abortion. It
seemed like this woman would be in that twenty-five percent. All of sudden, Dr.
Hartshorn's assistant said, "Reach out and take your baby's hand."
Dr. Hartshorn thought, "Oh, gosh, why is she saying that?" But the
woman raised her hand and touched the monitor. As if by some divine cue, the
baby stretched out his arm to the exact place of his mom's hand. On the screen
his tiny fingers met hers. She kept her baby. There is a mystery inside each
one of us - the mystery of the image of God. Today’s gospel tells us how three
of the apostles saw a glimpse, a tiny glimpse, of who Jesus was. That would
transform them and sustain them through some dark moments following Jesus’
arrest.
