Sunday, February 22, 2026

 

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, February 22, 2026
(Genesis 2:7–9; 3:1–7; Romans 5:12–19; Matthew 4:1–11)

We have begun the long journey of Lent. To help us make good use of these forty days, the Church offers us some of the most profound readings in the entire Bible. We know them well, yet they are always worth revisiting.

It is often said that the story of Adam and Eve describes the first sin. This is true, but it also describes every human sin. At the root of all human sin lies the pride of the first human beings. We sin whenever we consider our own will more important than the will of God. In this story, the serpent tempts the woman with the promise that if they eat from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they will be like God. Rejecting God’s command not to eat from that tree, both eat the fruit. Every time we sin, we do the same thing: we reject God’s will to satisfy our own desires.

We say “we,” but we should not include Jesus Christ in that statement. Although Jesus shares our human nature, he never placed his own will above the will of God the Father. In today’s Gospel, we see him overcome pride in each of the three temptations presented to him by Satan.

In the first temptation, Jesus is in the desert suffering intense hunger. Satan urges him to satisfy his desire by turning stones into bread. Jesus, however, recognizes that doing so would disappoint his Father. He decides that satisfying his hunger is not worth displeasing God, and he rejects the temptation. We can place ourselves in Jesus’ sandals. If, after working all Sunday and missing morning Mass, would we choose to attend Mass in the evening instead of immediately satisfying our hunger?

Then Satan tries to test Jesus’ relationship with his Father. He suggests that Jesus perform a reckless act to see whether God will save him from death despite his foolishness. Jesus has no difficulty rejecting this challenge because he knows that God’s love for him—and for all—is infinite. But beyond the question of paternal love, Jesus knows that he must do things in God’s way, not his own. We might ask ourselves: when faced with a difficulty, are we ready to handle it in God’s way? Or do we insist on doing things our way while assuming that God will forgive us later?

Finally, Jesus is tempted with power over the world. It is easy to imagine how appealing this temptation is to pride. All Jesus would have to do is perform an act of adoration to Satan to gain control of everything. But Jesus recognizes the stench of deceit. Satan is the father of lies.  Furthermore, Jesus did not come to earth to serve himself—much less to worship the devil. He came solely to serve his Father.

In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of “the overflowing grace that makes us righteous.” This is the grace that flows from Jesus Christ. He twice conquered the pride of the first human beings that brought death to all. First, he overcame the three temptations in the desert. Then, he definitively overcame human pride on Calvary. To benefit from this overflowing grace, we must live in relationship with him. Here, in the Eucharist, he offers us his Body and Blood as our strength. He does not abandon us when we go out to face life’s challenges.  Rather, he walks with us so that nothing may cause us to stumble. With him at our side, we trample pride underfoot and pass from death to eternal life with God.

Friday, February 20, 2026

 

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26)

Tac had a rough life.  He grew up the son of a bar owner and married a woman who worked in the bar.  The two lived loosely with much partying.  Then Tac’s father died of alcoholism, and he told his wife that they must reform.  They quit their jobs in bars and began a family. One day Tac went home and found his wife raped and murdered.  He was accused of the crime but easily cleared himself.  However, Tac could not clear the anger in his head.  When the murderer was caught, Tac tried to take revenge by getting himself arrested in the same jail as the murderer.  The plan failed, but Tac was sentenced first to probation on a drug charge, then after being caught with more drugs to a state abuse punishment center. 

There things turned for the better.  Tac met a chaplain who, as he says, “saw Christ in me.”  With the chaplain’s assistance, Tac forgave his father and finally his wife’s murderer.  Tac attended the execution of the murderer and heard his final statement.  The man thanked God for his friends and family who enabled him to reform. Right before his death, the murderer turned to Tac and asked, “Can you forgive me?”  Tac nodded yes.

This true story teaches that reconciliation is more than praying for your persecutors and telling yourself that you forgive them.  It is seeking them out to forge a relationship of mutual care and respect.  Jesus demands us to do this in today’s gospel.  He tells us, who come to mass, that as we arrive and remember that we have done something wrong to another, we must seek that person out, offer our apology and pray that it is accepted.  If we cannot do this, we should not expect God to be lenient with us on judgment day.

Thursday, February 19, 2026

 Thursday after Ash Wednesday

 (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25)

 “Choose life.”  We have all seen bumper stickers with this anti-abortion message.  No doubt, people who feel burdened by an unexpected pregnancy find the message ironic.  To them life is being liberated from the responsibility of a child so that they may pursue their own felt needs.  Life, then, is one of those simple words with a range of meanings. 

 In the reading from Deuteronomy today, Moses exhorts the Israelites to “choose life.”  He has in mind following God’s commandments which bring prosperity to both individual and community. As always, Jesus intensifies Moses’ message.   In today’s gospel he says that life comes when people surrender themselves to God as he does.  This will often mean a renunciation of one’s personal desires.  But the life that Jesus has in mind is eternal happiness with God.

 We have already chosen Jesus’ way of life, but we have not always been faithful to it.  During Lent we make the necessary adjustments to renew our choice. It requires sacrifice for sure. To help us in the process we have the Lord himself in the Eucharist as well as one another.

 

Wednesday, February18, 2026

 Ash Wednesday

(Joel 2:12-18; II Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)

A guest editorialist recently wrote in a national newspaper about his experience of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday.  He said that like most Catholics he does not attend Mass every Sunday. But -- he defended himself -- he always goes on Ash Wednesday.  He said that it is a good thing to receive the ashes and hear the words, “… you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

It would be fair to ask the writer, “Good for what?” if he does not repent of sins like not giving due worship to God.  Ashes are administered to do more than remind one of human mortality once a year.  Obituaries do the same every day.  Ashes are the first step in the process of repentance and reform.  They move recipients to stop thinking about conforming to the Lord’s ways and to start doing it.

In today’s gospel Jesus tells us that our repentance must be sincere.  It should not be done to impress others or – more foolishly – to think we can fool God by fasting, giving alms, or praying publicly.  These requisite practices are to be carried out without drawing attention to ourselves or convincing ourselves that we are better than others.  No, we practice repentance for love of God whom we have often failed.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

 

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(James 1:12-18; Mark 8:14-21)

Novice hikers in the Rockies are told what to do if they spot a bear.  They are not to run.  Running would provoke a bear to attack if it is threatened or hungry.  Rather than run, hikers are to hold their backpacks over their heads and walk away from the bear.  Bears do not have 20-20 vision.  They would see a hiker with a pack held high as a giant with whom they would rather not tangle. 

What has this to do with today’s gospel? Only this: like a hiker with backpack raised high will appear formidable to a bear, pride and arrogance will distort the vision of a sinner.  She will think herself better than she is.  In the gospel Jesus warns his disciples not to think like this.  The “leaven of the Pharisees” is pride which puffs up one’s self-perception.  Disciples do not have to boast about who is smarter. stronger or more beautiful.  They have Jesus -- the one loaf – with them.  He is both sustenance and consolation for one and all.

Tomorrow we begin Lent.  It is a time of grace.  We will walk with Jesus forty days to temper our pride -- our love of self -- and to bolster our charity -- our love for others.