A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy

A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy

BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 24, n. 12)

Ordinary Time Week 6/Ash Wednesday/Lent: February 15-21, 2026

(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: February 8-14, 2026 please go to ARCHIVES Series 23 and click on Ordinary Week 5”).

Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY:

February 15-21, 2026)

February 15, 2026: SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is God’s Wisdom”

BIBLE READINGS

Sir 15:15-20 // 1 Cor 2:6-10 // Mt 5:17-37

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS

This Sunday’s celebration of the Word is meant to help us follow through with our Christian vocation to be “salt of the earth” and “light of the world”. We need to be open to the wisdom of God. The gift of wisdom offered to us in Jesus Christ enables us to be what we are called to be – “salt” that flavors and challenges an insipid, feckless world and “light” that shines and witnesses to truth, especially amidst shadows of doubt and despair.

The Old Testament reading (Sir 15:15-20) tells us that the Lord’s wisdom is great and powerful. He is aware of everything a person does and cares for those who fear him. He gives us free will and we can choose good or evil – life or death. If we want to, we can keep the Lord’s commands. We can decide to be loyal to him or not. We can never blame God for our evil choices for which we are personally responsible and accountable. Indeed, the Lord God, whose wisdom is infinite, is beyond reproach. He is worthy of honor, thanksgiving and praise.

God’s immense wisdom is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. This Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mt 5:17-37) shows that the demands of him who is “divine wisdom incarnate” are exigent, radical and authoritative. Harold Buetow remarks: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ is wisdom – not the temporary mode of fads or fashion, but the way of eternal insight … [There is] nothing automatic about being a true Christian. And it entails facing our inner motivations, desires, and priorities, and holding them up to Jesus’ new standard of honesty and love.”

The Second Reading (1 Cor 2:6-10) helps us to better identify true wisdom in order to better assimilate and live it. God’s wisdom is centered on Christ crucified, the Lord of glory. Mary Ehle comments: “Paul adds to the understanding of divine wisdom by contrasting it with earthly wisdom … The wisdom Paul preaches is not of this age: it does not belong to this or any historical time … Paul speaks instead of divine wisdom, which is mysterious and hidden. This wisdom God has made known since before the beginning of time … God’s wisdom has been made known through the Spirit. To those who are receptive, the Holy Spirit will reveal the wisdom of God’s plan of salvation in Christ. In last Sunday’s reading, Paul said that he did not come with wisdom, but he knew only Jesus Christ crucified. For Paul, this is the divine wisdom and power of God on which our faith rests … God’s wisdom is within their grasp if they open themselves to the Spirit.”

God’s wisdom challenges and gives strength to those who are spiritually mature as the following account in the life of Dorothy Day shows (cf. Robert Ellsberg, “Dorothy in Love” in America, November 15, 2010, p. 18-19).

The Long Loneliness [is] the memoir of Dorothy Day, the American-born co-founder of the Catholic Worker. There she introduces the story of her love affair with Forster Batterham, and the role he played in hastening her spirituality: “The man I loved, with whom I entered into a common-law marriage, was an anarchist, and Englishman by descent, and a biologist.” They met at a party in Greenwich Village in the early 1920s and soon thereafter began to live together – as she put it, “in the fullest sense of the phrase” – in a house on Staten Island.

Among their bohemian set there was nothing scandalous about such a relationship. It was evidently Dorothy who liked to think of it as a “common-law marriage”. For Forster, who never masked his scorn for the “institution of the family”, their relationship was simply a “comradeship”. Nevertheless, she loved him “in every way”. As she wrote: “I loved him for all he knew and pitied him for all he didn’t know. I loved him for the odds and ends I had to fish out of his sweater pockets and for the sand and shells he brought in with his fishing. I loved his lean cold body as he got into bed smelling of the sea and I loved his integrity and stubborn pride.”

Wait a minute! Day is here describing, without any hint of Augustine’s obligatory shame or regret, her physical relationship with a man to whom she was not married. Needless to say, she was not yet a Catholic. Yet her point is to show how this lesson in love, this time of “natural happiness”, as she called it, awakened her thirst for an even greater happiness. She began to pray during her walks and started to attend Mass. This religious impulse was strengthened when she discovered she was pregnant – an event that inspired a sense of gratitude so large that only God could receive it. With that came the determination that she would have her child baptized, “come what may”.

As a dedicated anarchist, Forster would not be married by either church or state. And so to become Catholic, Dorothy recognized, would mean separating from the man she loved. “It got to the point where it was the simple question of whether to choose God or man.” Ultimately, painfully, she chose God. In December 1927 she forced Forster to leave the house. That month she was received into the church. (…)

In editing Day’s personal letters, All the Way to Heaven, I was astonished to read an extraordinary collection of letters to Forster dating from 1925, soon after their first meeting, until December 1932, the eve of her new life in the Catholic Worker. (…)

By the fall of 1932 Dorothy was living in New York. In December she traveled to Washington, D.C., to cover the Hunger March of the Unemployed. There on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, she offered a prayer that God would show her some way to combine her Catholic faith and her commitment to social justice. Immediately afterward she would meet Peter Maurin, the French peasant philosopher who would inspire her to launch the Catholic Worker and whose ideas would dominate the rest of her life. Whether there was any relation between the opening of this new door and the decision finally to close the door on her hope of marrying Forster, Dorothy’s letter to him of December 10 would be her last for many years.

After describing her strong commitment to the prohibition of sex outside of marriage, she writes: “The ache in my heart is intolerable at times, and sometimes for days I can feel your lips upon me, waking and sleeping. It is because I love you so much that I want you to marry me.” Nevertheless, she concluded: “It all is hopeless of course, though it has often seemed to me a simple thing. Imaginatively I can understand your hatred and rebellion against my beliefs and I can’t blame you. I have really given up hope now, so I won’t try to persuade you anymore.”

But even this did not mark the end of their relationship. Over the years they remained connected through Tamar. There would be friendly notes, the exchange of gifts and visits in the hospital. In Dorothy’s final years Forster took to calling every day. He was present at her funeral in 1980, and later at a memorial Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

So what, in the end, do these newly published letters reveal? They certainly confirm the deep, passionate love described in Dorothy’s memoir, thus underscoring the incredible sacrifice she endured for the sake of her faith. That sacrifice lay at the heart of her vocation; it was the foundation for a lifetime of courage, perseverance and dedication. It marked her deep sense of the heroic demands of faith. (…) Dorothy considered her love for Forster to be one of the primary encounters with grace in her life, one for which she never ceased to rejoice. That insight and that witness are among her many gifts.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO

Do we ponder and allow ourselves to be touched by the immense wisdom of our loving God? Do we have the courage and humility to be confronted by Jesus’ new standard of honesty and love? Do we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the depths of God’s wisdom, radically revealed in Jesus crucified?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

Loving God,

we adore your infinite love and immense wisdom.

He was crucified and glorified

to show the fullness of your saving love.

Give us the courage to respond to that love.

Help us to embrace

Jesus’ new standard of honesty and integrity.

Teach us to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit

who inspires us to embrace the folly of the cross

and discern in it the wisdom that saves.

We praise and glorify you,

now and forever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors … But I say to you ...” (Mt 5:21-22)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

By our daily choices to do good to the people around us, let the modern world experience the benevolence of divine wisdom.

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February 16, 2026: MONDAY – WEEKDAY (6)

“JESUS SAVIOR: He Refused to Give Them a Sign … His Is a Persevering Faith”

BIBLE READINGS

Jas 1:1-11 // Mk 8:11-13

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO

A. Gospel Reading (Mk 8:11-13): “Why does this generation seek a sign?”

Today’s reading (Mk 8:11-13) is about the Pharisees who are asking Jesus “a sign from heaven” to prove that he is the Messiah. Their demand for a spectacular public display is ill-motivated. They want to discredit Jesus who, for them, is a fraud. Their hearts are warped with unbelief and their demand for a “sign” manifests their willful blindness. Indeed, according to a 16^th century proverb, “There are none so blind as those who won’t see.” The compassionate works of Jesus on behalf of the sick and suffering, of the hungry poor and dejected, do not touch their hearts. They do not perceive them as messianic signs. The miracles of healing and nourishment could not force them to love Jesus, who sighs from the depths of his heart. A heavenly sign for the unbelieving – no matter how spectacular - would be an exercise in futility. Of what use is it to have signs if the heart is blind? Hence, Jesus leaves them, gets into the boat, and sails off to the other shore.

The pathetic scenario of the unbelieving and unseeing Pharisees invites us to take the opposite stance. Jesus himself is the ultimate “sign” of the Father’s redeeming love for us. We need to open the eyes of our heart to see, love and serve Jesus. We need to be sensitive and receptive to the beautiful miracles that God continues to work in our daily life.

The following story gives us a glimpse into what perceiving “a sign from heaven” entails (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book Of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books/Doubleday, 1990, p. 52-53).

A prisoner lived in solitary confinement for years. He saw and spoke to no one and his meals were served through an opening in the wall. One day an ant came into his cell. The man contemplated it in fascination as it crawled around the room. He held it in the palm of his hand the better to observe it, gave it a grain or two, and kept it under his tin cup at night. One day it suddenly struck him that it had taken him ten long years of solitary confinement to open his eyes to the loveliness of an ant.

B. First Reading (Jas 1:1-11): “The testing of your faith produces perseverance so that you may be perfect and complete.”

For the next two weeks we shall be reading from the Letter of James, a collection of practical instructions on Christian attitudes and living. Today’s First Reading (Jas 1:1-11) is a call to full maturity in faith. Trials are valuable because they lead to endurance, perfection and maturity of faith. Christians must persevere in conversion to God and growth in the living of Gospel morality. We must pray for wisdom to persevere in faith. When we pray, we must believe and not doubt at all. The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. Mature faith includes rejoicing in our poverty for God lifts up the poor. The boastful rich is like a flower of a wild plant that the sun scorches.

The following story illustrates the maturation of faith in the face of trial (cf. Beth McAllister, “Teaching About Prayer” in Guideposts, February 2014, p. 23).

When my seven-year-old son, Logan, first complained of an earache, I thought he had a routine infection. Then his hands and feet began to swell. Over the next few weeks he became desperately ill. His blood pressure and temperature shot up, reaching dangerous levels. A team of doctors determined that his illness was the result of an unchecked strep infection and his immune system was attacking his kidneys. The therapies and drugs they were using weren’t working. They were alarmed.

My husband, Timothy, and I were panic-stricken when we heard the diagnosis: “Logan’s in acute kidney failure and in danger of cardiac arrest.” The doctors started him on dialysis.

Timothy and I clung to each other and our faith. Our family and friends placed Logan’s name on several prayer chains. Apparently, our son overheard some of our conversations about this. As I tucked him into bed one night, Logan asked, “What is a prayer chain?” “That’s when a lot of people pray for the same thing”, I explained. “They tell their friends, and then those friends tell their friends, until there are hundreds – even thousands – of people praying together.” “All of those people are praying for me?” Logan asked. “Yes”, I said. “And God hears every prayer.”

Logan grew quiet and looked into my eyes. “Well, if thousands of people are praying for me”, he said, “Maybe I should pray for myself too.” “That would be a good idea”, I said. I kissed him goodnight and turned out the light. “Don’t worry if you hear me talking in here, Mom”, he called to me as I left his room. “I’m just praying.”

The next day we returned to the hospital for Logan’s dialysis. But when they drew his blood, tests revealed that he no longer needed the treatment. His kidneys were suddenly working again.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the

MEDITATIO

1. Am I slow to read the “sign” of God’s love because of blindness of heart? How do I try to open the eyes of my heart to the “sign”?

2. Do we consider the various trials that come our way as means for the maturation of faith?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

Lord Jesus,

we are filled with wonderful signs of the Father’s love:

the beautiful sunrise and the gorgeous sunset,

the blooming of spring flowers,

the diligence of a lovely ant,

the compassionate hands

of those who care for the poor and helpless …

Above all, we are filled with praise and thanksgiving for you

– the ultimate sign of God’s compassion.

You are the radical sign of the divine redeeming love.

Grant that we may truly rejoice in you,

now and forever.

Amen.

***

Lord Jesus,

you incarnate God’s compassion.

Help us to see in the various trials that come our way

The grace of divine presence

and a call to mature in faith.

Grant that we may truly rejoice in you,

now and forever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.

“Why does this generation seek a sign?” (Mk 8:12) //“Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials.” (Jas 1:2)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

Make an effort to read the various signs of God’s love that surround us every day and be grateful for them. By your acts of kindness and compassion, strive to be a living sign of God’s caring love for the poor and needy in today’s society. // By the gracious way you respond to daily trials, give witness to the presence of God and the wisdom of his saving plan.

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February 17, 2026: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (6); THE SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS OF THE SERVITE ORDER

“JESUS SAVIOR: Even His Disciples Did Not Understand … He Teaches Us to Overcome Temptation”

BIBLE READINGS

Jas 1:12-18 // Mk 8:14-21

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO

A. Gospel Reading (Mk 8:14-21): “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

The Gospel (Mk 8:14-21) tells us that after his encounter with the unbelieving Pharisees who demand from him a heavenly sign to prove his messianic credentials, the unscathed Jesus gets into the boat and sails with his disciples to the other side of the lake. In their hurry, the disciples have forgotten to bring bread except for one loaf. When Jesus starts to talk to them about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, they immediately conclude that it is because they did not have enough bread. Having just witnessed two miracles of the loaves in which Jesus has fed thousands in the hungry crowds, their discussion about not having enough bread is senseless and unwarranted. Their concern for material food reveals their obtuseness and lack of insight. They have not seen nor understood any more than the declared enemies of Jesus.

The barrage of eight questions that Jesus directs to his disciples is meant to rip through their blinded hearts. He is patiently teaching them to fight off the hidden corruption of self-righteousness, power and worldliness that is infecting the Pharisees and the Herodians. Jesus is warning them about the corrosive messianic expectations of the Pharisees and the inimical political motivations of the Herodians. Their corrupting influence is as forceful as the yeast that leavens the bread. The Divine Master is thus helping his disciples to overcome their hardness of heart and obduracy of mind. He is teaching them to recognize him as the one loaf that matters. Jesus Christ is evoking their faith, for he is the true Messiah – the one sent by God to feed them with the Bread of Life.

The following story can give us an idea of our own obtuseness and lack of insight, like the disciples who were in the boat with Jesus (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book Of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books/Doubleday, 1990, p. 180). We have unseeing eyes and unhearing ears. We are not able to recognize or understand the daily “miracle of life”.

The great Gensha once invited a court official to tea. After the customary greetings, the official said, “I do not wish to squander this opportunity of spending some time in the presence of so great a Master. Tell me. What does it mean when they say that in spite of our having it in our daily life we do not see it?”

Gensha offered the man a piece of cake. Then he served him his tea. After eating and drinking, the official, thinking that the Master had not heard his first sentence, repeated the question. “Yes, of course”, said the Master. “This is what it means: that we do not see it, even though we have it in our daily life.”

B. First Reading (Jas 1:12-18): “God himself tempts no one.”

The reading (Jas 1:12-18) gives an insight into the reality of temptation. If a person experiences temptation, that temptation does not come from God. Saint James asserts that God does not bring temptations upon us. A person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his desire that leads to sin and death. The person who overcomes temptation is blessed. He will receive as his reward the life that God has promised to those who love him. Saint James warns us not to be deceived or tempted by false rewards for the font of every good gift and every perfect gift is God.

The following war veteran story illustrates how a person is able to overcome temptation through the grace of God (cf. Major Edward Pulido, “A New Purpose” in Guideposts, February 2014, p. 39-42).

I’d gone into the military waiting to sacrifice for our country, to give my life even, for a higher purpose. But I wasn’t ready for this. To be crippled at 36. I couldn’t do that to my wife, Karen, and our daughter, Kaitlin, only three. I was supposed to provide for my family, not be a burden. (…)

One night, after the nurse had made her rounds, I looked over at the IV bags, the tubes that pumped antibiotics, pain meds, nutrients into my bloodstream. Everything that was keeping me alive. But for what? I should just end it. Pull out the lines. Get it over with.

My eyes moved slowly down my body, past my hips and thighs. A blanket covered the bottom of the bed, where my leg should have been. Slowly, my hand trembling, I slid the blanket to the side, then the sheet underneath. There was nothing but a stump. A thick bandage wrapped tightly around my mid-thigh. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t live like this. Take charge. I opened my eyes, reached for the tubes, wrapped my fingers around them.

One tug and you’re done. I couldn’t look. I turned my head. There on the wall, staring back at me, was the face of Jesus, almost illuminated in the gloom. His picture was surrounded by cards, hundreds of them. They filled the entire wall. Every card sent by someone who cared. Someone who was pulling for me. An entire battalion of people I could count on. People the Lord had put into my life to help me, to love me, to give me strength.

I pulled my hand away from the tubes. Lord, forgive me, I prayed. I was so close to abandoning the life you’ve given me. But you have not left me. I know that now. You are here. I drifted off to sleep, the best rest I’d had since the explosion.

When I awoke, Mama and Karen were there. Mama took my hand, her face serious, as if she knew how close I’d come to ending my life.”Eddie, you have a choice to make”, she said. “You can stay in this bed and grieve over your lost leg or you can get up and walk.”

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO

1. Are we so preoccupied with daily cares that we are unable to see and recognize the ongoing miracle of life that comes from God? Do we have faith in Jesus as the one loaf that matters – the Bread of eternal Life?

2. What do we do when we experience temptation? Do we turn to God for help?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

O Jesus Lord, forgive us!

At times we are obtuse and insensitive.

Our eyes are not able to see,

our ears are not able to hear,

our hearts are not able to feel,

and our minds are not able to understand

the greatness of your love for us.

But you are the Divine Master and the Bread of life.

You are the one loaf that matters

– the life-giving Bread that satisfies the hungers of our heart.

Give us the light of your wisdom

and the love of the Holy Spirit

so that we may live only for you.

Help us share the bread of the Word

with a hungry world that longs for God.

Save us from the leaven of corruption.

Let us live our lives

as “bread blessed, broken and shared” for others.

You are the font of blessing

and we adore and bless you, now and forever.

Amen.

***

O Jesus Lord,

grant us your strength and persevering faith.

Teach us to overcome temptation

and give us the grace to trust in you.

You are the font of blessing and the source of every good.

We adore and bless you, now and forever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.

“Do you still not understand?” (Mk 8:21) //“Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation.” (Jas 1:12)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

Pray that Christian disciples may have better insight into the compassionate ways and plan of God. Make it a daily exercise to recognize and thank God for the beauty and bounty of the “miracle of life” that daily surrounds us. // Pray the “Our Father” devoutly everyday that you may have strength to overcome the daily temptations.

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February 18, 2026: ASH WEDNESDAY

“JESUS SAVIOR: He Guides Our Lenten Journey”

BIBLE READINGS

Jl 2:12-18 // 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 // Mt 6:16-18

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO

A. Gospel Reading (Mk 6:1-6, 16-18): “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

With Ash Wednesday we begin the Lenten season. Lent is a sacramental sign of our conversion and participation in the sacred mystery of Christ, who fasted, was tempted and remained victorious over temptation. Today we are signed with ashes, symbol of penance and mortality, as well as of our hope and desire for renewal in Jesus.

The sacred season of Lent is specially marked with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 6:1-6, 16-18) invites us to a genuine practice of these traditional works of piety and to reject hypocritical practices. Jesus criticizes pious self-display but not the pious actions themselves. He upholds public prayer, but not religious showiness. He does not object to fasting, for he himself fasted forty days, but its spurious practice to gain self-recognition.

The Lenten works of prayer, fasting and alms-giving enable us to participate more intimately in the life of Christ, who fasted, prayed and gave himself totally to the Father’s saving will. We exercise fasting for a new beginning and to open ourselves to God’s vision, to express our penance, invoke God’s mercy, and to obtain greater self-control. Physical fasting, though a typical expression of the Lenten practice, does not exhaust its meaning. It includes other forms of salutary abstinence in every sector, e.g. fasting from criticism, reduced use of electronic media, etc. True prayer is personal communion with God and the “full offering” of ourselves to him. Prayer attunes us to listen to God and prepares us to do his will. Real fasting and true prayer lead to charity and service … to alms-giving. Fasting and prayer inspire not only alms-giving but above all personal self-giving and community-communion.

The following account gives insight into the laudable spiritual practice of prayer, fasting and alms-giving (cf. Flavio Rocha, “Missioner Tales” in Maryknoll, April 10, 2010, p.7).

Good Friday is a day of prayer and fasting for all Catholics, but people understand this in different ways. In the town of Duas Estradas, where I grew up in northeastern Brazil, poor people go from house to house asking for their “fasting”. The food that they collect will nourish their families for a couple of weeks. A similar tradition is to exchange the “fasting” of fruits, sweets or fish with families and friends. One year my mom used this ritual of reconciliation. She and her sister-in-law hadn’t talked to each other in more than a year after a dispute. One Good Friday morning, my mother took fruit to her sister-in-law and said, “Here is your fasting.” My aunt thanked her and later that day brought my mom’s fasting and they were reunited. Fasting is more than not eating; it is the cleansing of our hearts of anger and stubbornness to embrace the promise of the Resurrection.

B. First Reading (Jl 2:12-18): “Rend your hearts, not your garments.”

Today’s celebration of Ash Wednesday fittingly begins with a clarion call to conversion (Jl 2:12-18). The prophet Joel first depicts the imminent invasion of locusts and a devastating drought in Palestine as events that point to the coming “Day of the Lord” in judgment. In the face of these catastrophes, the prophet conveys to the people God’s call to conversion. Conversion is the only possible response to a compassionate God who comes to the people offering hope and salvation. Conversion indicates a turning toward God with one’s whole being, the complete re-orientation of thoughts and decisions toward God. The outward expression of fasting, weeping and mourning are only signs of a deeper reality – returning to God with all our heart. Issuing a series of imperatives, the prophet Joel urgently convokes the people that they may offer God a prayer of lamentation. God answers the heartfelt cry of the people and blesses the land with the gift of salvation.

C. Second Reading (2 Cor 5:20-6:2)): “Be reconciled to God. Behold, now is the acceptable time.”

Today’s Second Reading (2 Cor 5:20-6:2) asserts that we are ambassadors for Christ. Through Jesus, we become ministers of reconciliation and agents of “new creation”. The biblical scholar Mary Ann Getty explicates: “God overcame the obstacles of our transgressions so that we are enabled to become partners in the ministry of reconciliation. And not only the apostle, but all who are in Christ, have been sent out into the world with a single message: Be reconciled! This is both imperative and empowerment. For our sakes God made the sinless one sin so that redemption could penetrate the darkest, most forbidding, isolated, and inhuman part of our human experience. This was so that God, in Christ, could bring us to holiness.”

The season of Lent is a privileged time to answer God’s call to conversion offered to us in Jesus Christ. It is also an opportune time to resound in the world the divine call to conversion. Conversion is an encounter with a gracious and compassionate God, who is slow to anger and full of love. The life of Matt Talbot illustrates that this conversion experience is at work in the here and now (cf. Bert Ghezzi article in Our Sunday Visitor, December 2, 2012, p. 22).

Venerable Matt Talbot (1856-1925): For 16 years, Venerable Matt Talbot was a daily drunk. Then one day, an unanticipated conversion transformed him and he became a model penitent.

As a child of a poor family in Dublin, Matt had to forgo school for a job. After a year of basic education, he started working for a wine seller. And Matt started drinking heavily at the early age of 12. His father beat him and made him change jobs – but nothing could stop Matt’s habit. He said that when he was intoxicated, he occasionally thought about the Blessed Mother and prayed an off-handed Hail Mary. Matt speculated later that she had something to do with his conversion.

One day in 1884 everything suddenly changed. Matt had been out of work several days and expected his buddies to take him drinking. When they snubbed him, he made a decision that transformed his life. When he arrived at home, his mother said, “You’re home early, Matt, and you’re sober!” He replied, “Yes, mother, I am and I’m going to take the pledge.” The next day he went to confession and took the sobriety pledge for three months.

But Matt extended the three months into 41 years. In 1891, Matt found community support by joining the Franciscan Third Order. He lived the rest of his life quietly, working and praying. Pope Paul VI declared him venerable in 1975.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO

Do we experience temptation? What do we do in moments of temptation? Do we look upon Jesus as model of faith and surrender to the divine saving word? Are we ready to fast and respond with docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

Loving Father,

we thank you for the Lenten season,

sacramental sign of our conversion.

We praise you for deliverance from enslavement

and making us your holy people.

United with Jesus Christ,

victorious over temptations,

we render you true worship

and obey your saving will.

Help us to respond generously

to the needs of the poor and the needy,

to the defenseless and the suffering in our land.

We love and serve you, now and forever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.

“Now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor 6:2)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

As part of your spiritual itinerary in this Lenten season to combat temptations and evil inclinations, fast from the excessive and abusive use of the mass media and dedicate yourself to daily nourishment on the bread of the Word.

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February 19, 2026: THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

“JESUS SAVIOR: He Invites Us to Take Up Our Cross … He Urges Us to Choose Life”

BIBLE READINGS

Dt 30:15-20 // Lk 9:22-25

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO

A. Gospel Reading (Lk 9:22-25): “Whoever loses my life for my sake will save it.”

Lent is a favorable time to discover what Christian discipleship means. The Gospel reading (Lk 9:22-25) gives beautiful insight into it. Discipleship is to take up the cross and follow Christ through the narrow path that leads to life. Lent is a privileged time to follow Christ through the rigors of discipline, sacrifice and self-denial to the joy of Easter.

At the beginning of our Lenten journey, let us remember the words of St. Andrew of Crete: “Had there been no cross, Christ would not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself would not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his triumph.”

The following charming story shows how to bear the cross of mutual charity in our daily life (cf. Fr. Rich Broderick, “Missioner Tales” in Maryknoll, May/June, 2010, p.7). With a spirit of love, fraternal service becomes a life-giving “cross” that is possible to bear and easier to carry.

As a diocesan priest in Albany, N.Y., I also serve a few months a year in Guatemala. One day, three women from the States accompanied me for Mass in an indigenous hamlet in the Guatemalan hills. Although one of the women, Arlene, used a wheelchair, I saw no problem, as the church was only a 20-minute drive away. But when we got to the church, we learned that Mass would be at a home more than a half mile away – on foot down a steep dirt and rock footpath. Clearly, Arlene’s wheelchair wasn’t going to make it.

Knowing the men of these rural communities regularly carry their sick to the road on their backs, I squatted down like a frog and Arlene climbed aboard. My knees felt as if they would buckle! Yet I was able to ease us down one step and one breath at a time. We celebrated a joyful Mass with about 75 Mayan people.

Then the dreaded return. This time a Mayan man said, “Padre, just put her on my back.” We did as instructed and up the hill he went with no stops. He didn’t even break a sweat and was waiting by the car with Arlene still on his back when we caught up!

A profusion of thanks drew only a humble “No es nada” (It’s nothing) from our Good Samaritan, while I wondered if I might find a chiropractor in one of the villages.

B. First Reading (Dt 30:15-20): “Behold, I set before you the blessing and the curse (Dt 11:26).”

Our Lenten journey is marked by the presence of Moses speaking to the people of Israel as they are about to cross the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land (cf. Dt 30:15-20). The “testament” of Moses is his advice to the Chosen People to heed the lessons of the past if they are to secure their future. Their journey through the desert after their departure from Egypt has made them experience, again and again, that loyalty is rewarded and infidelity is punished. God expects complete obedience from Israel. The dying Moses tries with all his might to move the people to that kind of obedience, loyalty and commitment that would secure their future in the Promised Land. The great patriarch sets before the people a dramatic choice: life and prosperity, or death and doom. It is up to Israel to make one of the two choices: life with God which brings blessings and good, or life apart from God which would be a curse of death. Israel will find its true self only in their fundamental choice to obey and to live in the Lord. Passionately concerned for Israel’s future, Moses virtually commands the people of Israel to choose life by living in total obedience to God.

Jesus Christ, the “new Moses”, sets before us this fundamental choice: life and death, the blessing and the curse. He urges us to heed the voice of God and to hold fast to him. To choose God is to choose life. Men through the ages have to make the choice. The following story shows that our core decisions vary (cf. “Two Tales of a City” in Poverello News, February 2012, p.3-5).

Last November, a tourist took a photograph in New York and posted it online, and it soon went viral. It was a picture of a New York policeman stooping down to give a homeless man a pair of socks and boots on a frigid night. Officer Lawrence DePrimo had spotted the homeless beggar, Jeffrey Hillman, who was sitting on a chilly sidewalk barefoot.

Officer DePrimo then went to a store, and with his own money, bought a pair of heavy socks and good boots that cost over $100. He presented them to Hillman and squatted down to help the homeless man put them on.

In a nation wearied by a troubled economy, a polarizing presidential election and bad news both at home and abroad, people were riveted by this simple story of compassion. It was an uplifting tale fit for the holiday season.

The second story, which also took place in New York, was in stark contrast to this one. It was a shocking tale of urban violence and apathy. Fifty-eight-year-old Ki Suk Han was pushed into the path of an oncoming subway train by an apparently mentally ill panhandler. For over one minute, Han tried desperately to scramble back to the platform, screaming for help. At least eighteen people stood by refusing to intervene, including a New York photographer, who snapped pictures of the desperate man’s last seconds. Han was hit and killed by the train. Afterwards, several bystanders took camera-phone pictures of the dead man as a doctor performed CPR on him, and the newspaper callously ran a front-page picture of his hopeless attempt to escape death.

In the same city, two completely opposite acts are separated by only a few days; one of tremendous kindness, the other of wanton cruelty and indifference to suffering. What are we to make of these incidents? (…)

Humans are capable of great compassion, but also great evil. Officer Lawrence DePrimo and the heartless subway bystanders snapping pictures all belong to the species homo sapiens, but their actions make them seem to be creatures of a different order. The world inhabited by a New York street cop is full of cruelty; police daily witness the very worst acts of humanity. Nevertheless, this officer transcended the evil he sees all around him and went out of his way to help someone who seemed utterly helpless. He made a choice to do and be good; the subway bystanders, on the other hand, made a choice to participate in an evil act by refusing to help, and then by voyeuristically photographing the resultant tragedy for some bizarrely selfish and perverse reason, known only to themselves. (…)

God sees all, the good and the bad, and no matter the end result, Officer DePrimo’s gallant gesture of kindness has been recorded for eternity. (…) Officer DePrimo offers us the important reminder that in spite of demonic wickedness, intractable poverty and baffling social problems, there exists in the soul of mankind the great potential for triumphant, noble goodness.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO

1. Are we willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus on the narrow road that leads to life? How do we bear the cross in our daily life?

2. What is our fundamental choice to what God sets before us: life with God with its blessings and good, or life without God, which is death and doom?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

Jesus Lord,

we thank you for the sacred season of Lent.

We pray that we may follow you faithfully

and bear the life-giving cross with joyful courage.

Help us to walk in your ways

and embrace your life-giving commands.

Be with us in our fundamental choice for you

with all its challenges and blessings.

Let us never negate your goodness and love.

Grant that all may choose the fullness of life

and follow Jesus on the way of the cross that leads to life.

You live and reign, forever and ever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23) // “Choose life.” (Dt 30:19)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

Pray for those who find the cross of their daily lives overwhelming and burdensome. In your own way and doing the best you can, try to alleviate the sufferings of the people around you. Resolve that your thoughts, words and actions be perfectly aligned with your fundamental choice for God.

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February 20, 2026: FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

“JESUS SAVIOR: He Gives True Meaning to Our Fasting”

BIBLE READINGS

Is 58:1-9a // Mt 9:14-15

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO

A. Gospel Reading (Mt 9:14-15): “When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast.”

Unlike the Pharisees and John’s disciples, the disciples of Jesus do not have the ascetic discipline of fasting. In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 9:14-15), Jesus explains to the followers of John, who raise the issue, that for the Christian disciples it is not yet opportune to fast. Guests at a wedding party do not fast, but rejoice in the presence of the bridegroom. In the same way, the sojourn of Jesus with his disciples is a time of intimate bonding and not of mourning. Hence, fasting, or other symbols of grief or mourning, is out of place. In his public ministry, Jesus uses every moment to lead his disciples to an intimate participation in his paschal destiny. When his paschal mystery is brought to completion and radical salvation achieved, then his disciples would fast. And it is for a very special reason … a Christ-centered reason. Christian disciples, through time and space, would fast that they may become more sensitive to the face of Christ present in the plight of the poor, the needy and the weak. During the Lenten season, they especially dedicate themselves to fasting that they may become more receptive to the saving will of God and efficaciously participate in the compassionate works of Christ.

The following excerpt gives suggestions on meaningful ways of doing the Lenten fast (cf. Jeanne Hunt, “Cleaning Our Spiritual Closets” in St. Anthony Messenger, February 2012, p. 36-40).

MY FAVORITE LENTEN FASTS

* Proclaim an electronic fast on weekends. That means no iPad, iPod, Blackberry or computer until Monday morning. Then spend the resulting free time visiting people you love and spending quality time with your spouse and children.

* Stay out of unnecessary stores during Lent. Anything beyond the grocery store, pharmacy, etc. is off-limits. Instead of adding more stuff during Lent, give away or throw away three things each day before Easter.

* Go green in a big way. Every day perform a Lenten “random act of kindness for the earth”. Keep a journal of your green project work, and after Easter do these acts regularly.

* Fast from media during Lent. Stop watching TV or Internet news or even listening to the radio. For 40 days, turn your thoughts to God. Choose to spend your time reading a book or magazine that feeds your soul.

* Walk everywhere you can. Limit gas usage to a certain amount and make it last all week. Each day, walk with God. Simply imagine that you and Jesus are running or walking side by side. Talk to him and listen to him.

These are only a few suggestions that can impact your life. We need to look at our lives objectively, honestly recognizing our weaknesses. Design a fast that responds to those weaknesses. And, most of all, don’t do something that comes easily. Your Lenten workout should hurt a little. We will know when we are changing for good when it takes effort to do the deed.

B. First Reading (Is 58:1-9a): “Is this the manner of fasting I wish?”

In today’s Old Testament reading (Is 58:1-9a), the prophet Isaiah conveys God’s long invective denouncing the hypocrisy of false fasting. To fast while neglecting and oppressing the poor is an ugly form of deceit. People thus complain of not being heard by God who detests hypocritical prayer. Worship without justice has no value. Fasting without concern for the poor is bereft of meaning. The kind of fasting that the Lord God desires is this: free the oppressed, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, etc. In doing this, the Lord God will respond with blessing and protection and to their cry for help, he will say: “Here I am!”

In the same vein, Christian disciples must fast, but for a spiritual motive. They fast that they may be more sensitive to the presence of Christ in the plight of the hungry poor, the needy and the weak. During the Lenten season, they especially dedicate themselves to fasting that they may become more receptive to the saving will of God and efficaciously participate in the compassionate works of Christ.

The following article gives an insight into Friday abstinence, an ascetical practice related to Lenten fast, that likewise has a Christ-centered motive (cf. Greg Erlandson, “Meatless Fridays” in Our Sunday Visitor, November 25, 2012, p.22).

Once upon a time, Catholics abstained from meat on Fridays as a small act of penance. Not just Fridays during Lent, but all Fridays. Friday was the day of the Lord’s death on the cross, and throughout the year, not just on Good Friday. Catholics would commemorate that day in a special way. One still finds this practice in religious communities like monasteries, and the British bishops restored the practice last year.

In general, however, meatless Fridays disappeared after the Second Vatican Council, despite the fact that canon law (Canon 1251) still asks us to abstain from meat or other food on Fridays subject to the requirements of the local conference of bishops. The irony is that of all the many changes when the Church windows were opened to the fresh wind of aggiornamento, this one may have been more significant. It was a small act of penance that was thoroughly integrated into everyone’s lives. (…)

Yet when Friday abstinence was done away with, it had a rather oversized impact on Catholic identity. It turned out it was a significant public acknowledgment of one’s faith, like ashes on the forehead. The bishops hadn’t meant for such small acts of penance to go away. They had intended to open up other options for sacrifice. But, of course, they weren’t. (…)

However, the Church may get a chance to try again. In his speech to his fellow bishops on Nov. 13, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, suggested that it might be time to return to the practice of Friday abstinence. “The work of our Conference during this coming year”, he said, “includes reflection on re-embracing Friday as a particular day of penance, including the possible reinstitution of abstinence on all Fridays of the year, not just during Lent.”

Now to be fair, he did not specifically mention giving up meat. And, of course, one could give up television screens, or dessert, or a hundred little pleasures we all enjoy. But I hope we do go back to those meatless Fridays. There is something to be said for Catholics knowing they are all in it together. This time, maybe we will not put the focus on the threats of punishment, but use this as a teaching moment and a positive reinforcement of our Catholic identity.

My real hope is that we will also keep in mind why we are doing it. To remember Someone who gave up a lot more for us.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO

1. What forms of Lenten fast do I resolve to do this year? How can I derive the best fruits from my Lenten fast?

2. What is the personal meaning for us of fasting and abstinence? Does the kind of fasting and abstinence we practice correspond to the divine saving will?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

O Jesus Savior,

when you sojourned on earth with your disciples,

you did not require them to fast.

But now that your paschal mystery is complete,

we need to fast so that we may have clearer vision

and be more ready to follow your call.

Help us to perceive your presence in the poor and the weak

and attend to their needs.

Grant that our discipline of fasting

may bear fruit in concrete works of charity and justice.

Let our Lenten sacrifice

hasten the coming of your kingdom.

We love you and serve you.

We bless you and glorify you, now and forever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.

“This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless ...” (Is 58:6-7) // “They will fast.” (Mt 9:15)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

Let the fruits of your Lenten fast and renunciation be destined for the victims of natural and man-made calamities and/or the needy people in your local community.

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February 21, 2026: SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY; SAINT PETER DAMIEN, Bishop, Doctor of the Church

“JESUS SAVIOR: He Cares for Us … He Invites Us

to Feast at His Table”

BIBLE READINGS

Is 58:9b-14 // Lk 5:27-32

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO

A. Gospel Reading (Lk 5:27-32): “I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

In his public ministry, Jesus does not impose fasting on his disciples though he himself has fasted for forty days in the wilderness. In today’s Gospel (Lk 5:27-32), we see Jesus feasting! He joins an awesome party celebrating Levi’s conversion and new-found calling. The feast includes a large number of tax collectors and other guests. The Pharisees and scribes complain that Jesus eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners. But Jesus defends his table fellowship with sinners and outcasts. They need him and he comes to call them to repentance and healing. The “righteous”, however, do not need a savior just as the healthy do not need a doctor. With Jesus present, the banquet hosted by Levi becomes a feast of God’s kingdom … a joyous celebration of conversion and coming home … a figure of the supper of the Lamb at the end time. The season of Lent invites us to a deeper fellowship with Jesus and with one another at the table of the Word and the Eucharist.

Like the feast-loving Jesus Savior, Mike McGarvin, the founder of Povereelo House in Fresno, knows the importance of table fellowship and meal ministry. Following the “Iron Chef” competition between the cooks in the drug rehab program and the chefs-in-training at the Institute of Technology, “Papa Mike” treated the resident cooks to a breakfast at his favorite diner, Café 309. That experience broadened the addicts’ perspectives and helped them see that there is so much to admire and enjoy in a world of sobriety. The following is an account of Doug, one of those who joined the breakfast (cf. “The Simple Joys of Food and Fellowship” in Poverello News, February 2011, p. 3-4).

The 309 Café had a home-like atmosphere that was inviting to people that liked to be regulars somewhere. The restaurant was old-looking, but very, very clean. The walls weren’t marked up and all the tables and chairs were very, very shiny … The food was hot and great-tasting and I liked that they had no problem with me ordering something odd, like rye toast.

The waitress was good and very friendly and made me feel at ease. I was impressed by her. I wasn’t surprised when she patted Papa Mike’s back, because you could tell she knew him well as a regular customer, but I was wowed when she put her hand on Anthony’s shoulder, who was a first-time customer. That type of caring is probably why they are doing well in the restaurant business.

B. First Reading (Is 58:9b-14): “If you bestow your bread on the hungry then light shall rise for you in the darkness.”

The Old Testament reading (Is 58:9b-14) underlines the blessings that God bestows on those who live with integrity and act with compassion: God will turn their darkness into light; he will water the parched land of their hearts; he will guide them always and renew their strength; he will help them rebuild their homes. Those who keep the Sabbath sacred and do not defile it with selfish pursuits will experience the joy that comes from serving the Lord God.

The Catholic Relief Services make present in today’s world the compassion of God and the saving work of Jesus (cf. “Being Catholic in the World Today” in Our Sunday Visitor, December 16, 2012, p. 15).

Before he was 10 years old, Thomas Awiapo was orphaned and left to survive and struggle on his own in Ghana. School was certainly the last thing he dreamed of. Today, he has a master’s degree from California State University – Hayward. How did Thomas get a fresh start at life?

It happened through contributions to Catholic Relief Services’ Humanitarian work in Africa. Thomas was motivated by food provided by CRS to the children in his village who went to school. He was hungry for food, not education. Eventually, though, Thomas developed a strong personal interest in school. His new life, deep abiding faith in God and spiritual determination propelled him to a renewed dignity, hope and academic achievements.

Thomas told CRS representatives in Ghana, “By offering me an education, Catholic Relief Services empowered me for life. Believe me, there are millions of people in Africa who are doing better today because of the help provided by CRS through the generosity of people in the United States.”

Since 1943, in nearly 100 countries, Catholic Relief Services has given help and hope where they are most needed, regardless of race, religion and ethnicity.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO

1. Do we realize the importance and beauty of Jesus’ table fellowship and meal ministry? Do we imitate his tender loving care for the needy, the sinners and the marginalized?

2. Do we endeavor to bestow bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted? Do we have compassion and care for the poor and needy? Do we uphold the sacred meaning of the Sabbath?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO

Lord Jesus,

you feasted with joy at the table

of a “sinner” turned disciple.

By your presence at Levi’s house,

you turned his party into a celebration of homecoming.

Help us to seek the lost

and lead them to the supper of the Lamb.

Let us bestow bread on the hungry

and minister to the afflicted.

We adore and bless you, now and forever.

Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.

“They were at table with Jesus.” (Lk 5:29) // “The Lord will guide you always.” (Is 58:11)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO

Let the meals that you share be as pleasant and spiritually rewarding as possible and an occasion for healing and bonding. During the Lenten season, offer alms to the poor and give quality time to family meals.

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