Reflections on the Gospel Reading for the Day

Our words matter, and often they begin with our thoughts.

Jesus calls us to be holy, each and every one of us. Our life is to be lived with the end goal being heaven, to be in union with our loving God and Father for all eternity, and to assist others to do the same. Jesus provides for us a concrete example of the heights to which we are called to reach: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna” (5:21-22). Jesus is building on the Torah, the Law or the Teachings, by helping us to realize that we cannot only kill with weapons but also inflict dehumanizing and debilitating damage with our words.

To resist this temptation of inflicting mortal wounds, we need to start participating in a deeper examination of interior life which gets to the roots of our own thoughts, words, and actions. If we are not able to discipline our thoughts, what will follow is undisciplined words, and then undisciplined actions. This slippery slope can lead to entertaining and embracing the deadly sin of wrath. Wrath is unbridled anger that leads someone away from the capacity to think or behave in a rational manner, such that this individual would no longer acknowledge the dignity of the person they would inflict their wrath upon.

Jesus never settled for a minimalist approach to our faith. He consistently provides teaching, examples, and most importably the grace for us to see that we can be free of the temptation of wrath if we recognize the danger and destruction of unleashing words as weapons. Jesus the examples of calling someone, Raqa, meaning something along the lines of an air-head or an idiot, and calling someone a fool. These words directed at another have no other cause than to demean, degrade, belittle, and harm. This language, and worse, has no business coming out of the mouths of a disciple of Christ. If we are serious about being one of his followers, we need to make a decision regarding how we think, speak, and act.

I remember a moment in sixth or seventh grade letting loose a derogatory word or two toward a classmate. Even though they were tossed out in jest, I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. God convicted my heart in that graced moment and I felt contrition, actual sorrow for the negativity and poison I had unleashed. I remember making a commitment to myself not to speak that way toward another person again.

Our words have the power to wound or to heal. If we are serious about following Jesus, fasting from gossip and from words that belittle, divide, diminish, or dehumanize is a good practice to engage in this Lent. Jesus wants us to remove any and all obstacles that would prevent us from growing in his unconditional love for him and one another. Instead of hurtful, we can share words that empower, uplift, and comfort or at least listen more and speak less. Even when we disagree with another’s point of view, we can do so by still respecting the person and fostering dialogue.

We are to love, to will the good of each other, and pray for each other in all circumstances. In this way, our words will be kinder as we resist entertaining negative or dehumanizing thoughts. Our faces are good barometers. Even when we have defensive musings resulting from another’s disparaging tone, words, or actions, we need to resist entertaining them. When we are aware of and feel our own facial gestures, we can identify our mental reactions, and begin to breathe, pray to the Holy Spirit for understanding, pray for the person, and if necessary hold each other accountable with boundaries and respect. Just this shift in attitude can make a big difference.

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Photo: May God bless you with a peaceful mind and heart this day that you can share with others. If you need to clear your head from some anxiety or frustration, a nice walk may help!

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, March 27, 2026

As the sun offers us warmth, God seeks to bless us.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7). If taken in a purely secular, non-religious, or non-biblical sense, and out of context, this teaching of Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount may not seem possible. Someone might think can I really ask for anything and God will give it to me? Too many people have thought just that had their faith has weakened or left behind because they asked something of God and from their perspective, they did not receive what they asked for.

To understand this verse we need to understand a few key points. One is that God is God and we are not. That means that we do not have the full scope and sequence of God’s infinite viewpoint. We can only see from our limited and often times wounded perspective. Our God, who is Good, will only give us that which is good for us. What we are asking for may appear to be good, but may not, in fact, be truly good, and/or in our best interest beyond the moment. If someone wants to say, well, I ought to be able to decide that!

That means they have missed the first point, God is God and we are not. God not only seeks to give us what is good, he knows what will truly make us happy and fulfilled even when we don’t. God sees the very depths of the truth of our deepest desires, we often do not and often times are seeking things in the attempt to receive what we think we want, when in fact, the very seeking of the apparent good(s) we are seeking are keeping us from he very thing that will fulfill us.

Another point that I have learned from Bishop Robert Barron is that “Your life is not about you.” We are created by God for a reason and a specific purpose. Our life is about fulfilling our role in God’s theodrama. The context of this verse is best understood by reading in conjunction with when Jesus stated, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). As we seek first his kingdom and our place and part to play our collaborative role with him, we can be assured he will answer us, we will find our place, and the door of the kingdom will be opened for us.

We are not the director in the great play of life, God is, but we do have a unique and significant part to play. That is good news! Meaning, joy, and fulfillment are experienced when we understand that God does not need us but desires us to share in his work of salvation history. This a wonderful truth we would do well to ponder. The other side of the coin for those of us who may not be seeking finite pursuits, but God’s will… this may seem a bit intimidating. We can be confident though that what God requires of us, he will give us the means and support necessary to fulfill the work he invites us to partake in. The last line of today’s gospel, expressing the Golden Rule, is no throw away line. The words express why God calls us and it echoes Jesus’ greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

C.S. Lewis can also help us to understand our posture of prayer: “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.” When we pray with the intent to bend God’s will toward ours we will find frustration each time. We pray because we are answering God’s invitation to spend time with him. We pray not because God is dependent on us to do so, but because we are dependent on him for everything.

We are transformed by God’s love and his grace builds upon our nature when we begin our prayer with the truth that God is God and we are not and that our life is not about us. We will know God better, not as a philosophical idea, but instead as a person. In knowing God better, we grow in our love for him and want to follow his will and serve him. When we know, love, and serve God, we will change. Such change may sometimes not appear to be in our best interest. We like stability and safety, which is good. Where we want to place our safety and security though is not in the things of this world, but in God and the things of heaven.

When we approach prayer seeking not our’s but our Father’s will, we can be confident that we will grow in our relationship with him and that what we ask of God will be given to us, what we seek we will find, and when we knock, the door will be open. “The Father wants to give all who will ask, seek, and knock the blessings that will enable his will to be realized on earth as it is in heaven” (Mitch and Sri, 117). We are invited to be agents to share in the promise of this wonderful gift of participating in the emergence of a new heaven and a new earth.

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Photo: Receiving the light of Jesus during prayer before morning Mass.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, February 26, 2026

Greater than Solomon and Jonah.

There is something greater here! Something greater than the wisdom of Solomon and something greater than the preaching of Jonah. Someone greater than the kings and the prophets who went before. Jesus.

We are called to live our faith out in Jesus daily. This is not a part-time vocation. We all have a unique gift in the dignity we have been conceived and born with. We have a unique way to express and live out our dignity as well. We have been created in the image of God, but through sin, we have lost our likeness to him. We are tempted, misdirected, distracted, and diverted from experiencing God’s love for us and plan for our lives and this can lead us away from God. The further away from God we are the more our likeness to him diminishes. Jesus calls us back to spend time with his and our Father so that we can be forgiven, healed. As we do so and grow in our relationship with him, our likeness is restored more and more.

As Jesus taught, often in his parables, the kingdom of Heaven on earth starts small, like a mustard seed, like yeast, and develops slowly when nurtured. Lent is a good time to slow down, step back, take a retreat even while in the midst of our everyday activities. We just need to insert some intentional and dedicated time to spend with God alone each day. In doing so, we will better come to know him, his word, and guidance.

One of the reasons we may feel a bit restless is that we are engaged in activities in our lives that miss the mark of who we were created for. We are missing the relationship with God that he is inviting us to participate in because we are allowing ourselves to be distracted and too busy to see where we have been led astray. The sign of Jonah that Jesus offers us is repentance. The whole of Nineveh repented even though Jonah was hoping that they would not. He hoped they would be punished by God! Jesus seeks our repentance, our willingness to turn back to see the open arms of our God and Father wide open ready to receive us, to lead us back to the truth of who we are as his beloved daughter or son.

If you are feeling a bit restless, on edge, or out of sync, I invite you to make some time to be still and breathe, this can be while in the shower, when you have some breakfast, a morning walk, or taking a sip of coffee or tea. During this time ask God for some guidance. We can ask him to help us see those areas that we need to repent from and let go of, those thoughts, words, and actions that keep us distracted, redirected, and off-kilter as to who God is calling us to be. We can then confess to him and receive his forgiveness and reconciliation.

God invites us to create times of silence to sit with our wounds and traumas. Many times we do not want to be still or quiet because there may be unresolved issues, hurts, and/or pain that we would rather not face. We may believe the lie that if we allow ourselves to feel what is deep down there, that we will be completely undone. God is present and waiting, inviting us to come to experience acceptance and love as we are, to feel safe, and honest. From this place of vulnerability, we begin with simple steps of trusting in Jesus and his healing.

Jesus said in today’s Gospel that, “There is something greater here.” Christianity is not a secret sect. We are called to share the joy, the forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation we experience from God with others, even with, as Jonah found out, our enemies. We are to look for opportunities to offer a smile, an encouraging word, to reach out to someone we have been meaning to connect with for a while, in person or far away, and/or someone that we may sense just needs a listening ear. We can also can ask for God’s patience so that we may react less and become more understanding and present. There may be places we are hurting and this is true for so many others.

Lent can be a joyful time when we enter into the season with the intent to deepen our walk with the One who is wiser than Solomon and preached repentance and reconciliation. With our hearts and minds turned back and open to God, Lent will not so much be a drudgery to endure, but a joyful embrace of the opportunity for experiencing a change of mind more open to dialogue, forgiveness, healing, sharing joy, reconciliation, and contributing to building up the kingdom of God one healing at a time! Hurt people can hurt people, and hurt people can also experience the healing of Jesus and become people who are healing and willing to help heal people.

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Photo: Who is greater than the One who is willing to give his life for us and seeks our healing and redemption? Quiet time of prayer in the Cathedral of St. Ignatius of Loyola after Bishop Manuel DeJesus Rodriguez’s ordination.

link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Jesus taught John, the Our Father. John taught it, and it has been learned and prayed in every generation since.

Jesus begins his teaching on prayer by stating that prayer is not babbling. We are to resist just saying empty words that have no meaning or worse just praying in words that we think God wants us to hear. Prayer is to come from our hearts. We are to share honestly what we truly think and feel in the moment that we turn our hearts and minds up to God.

Prayer, first and foremost, is a response to the Holy Spirit moving within us, urging us to pray, “for we do not know how to pray as we ought” (cf. Romans 8:26). It is helpful to trust that invitation and allow ourselves to be in his presence in the chaos as well as in the joys in our lives. If we are upset with God, it is important to get in touch with that feeling and share that emotion with him. As we do so and get it out, it is just as important to be still and remain for a time, and listen for God’s response. To vent and walk away or tune God out is not helpful or giving him the opportunity to provide healing.

Even if we do walk away from him, our Father will not walk away from us. He will be there ready and willing to accompany us when we are ready to return, share again, and are willing to be still and listen. A good example of this type of open and honest prayer from the heart will be found in reading the psalms. They cover the full range of our human emotions as well as expressions of prayers of blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise. We will even come across one like Psalm 88, which may not appeal to us at the moment, as it is such a psalm of despair, yet someone, somewhere, might be feeling that prayer. If we read it and find as we do so that we don’t relate to it, we can pray it for others who may be experiencing those emotions.

In our Gospel today, we read Matthew’s familiar version of the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. It presents two ways to pray. First, it is a rote prayer that we memorize word for word. The blessing of a rote prayer is that we can pray it in communion with others, as we all know the same words. Another important gift of rote prayers is that we can pray them when we are physically in pain or emotionally distraught when we feel we can’t pray.

Jesus taught his disciples this prayer and it has been prayed daily since then up to and including this moment. That is an amazing reality, that we can pray today the same prayer that Jesus taught his disciples (Different language, yes, but the same prayer.). It is a prayer we can lean on to give us strength through the storms of our lives. Praying the Our Father gives us the words to speak when we have none to begin with, and by loosening our tongues, we can come to a place where we can speak more freely with God, who as Jesus shares is our Father, and experience the peace of his presence.

The Lord’s Prayer is also a model of prayer such that each word or phrase can be a starting point to enter into a deeper and loving dialogue. There are seven petitions throughout and as with the ten commandments have a similar pattern in that the first three petitions are directed toward our relationship with God. The next four have to do with our relationship with others. As an example, we begin with the words, “Our Father.” This is a reminder that God is the Father of us all and the beginning of all prayer. His sun shines on the good and the bad alike. Our prayer begins by putting our self in his presence and recognizing that we are all interconnected.

God, our Father, is with us even when we experience fear, sorrow, feel forgotten, misunderstood, or alone. We just need to remember to turn to him. Our every desire to pray is already a prayer because we are responding to his invitation to spend time exclusively with him. In turning to him, we experience that he is always present and he hasn’t forsaken us. He provides our daily bread and forgives us as we forgive others. God also rejoices with us, for the joy of God is the human being fully alive!

Carve out some time today to pray the Our Father s-l-o-w-l-y. Take some slow and deliberate breaths, five seconds in and five out. Allow whatever is going on in your life to enter into the recitation and remember that the best dialogue allows each party involved to spend some time listening to the other. As St Mother Teresa taught, “God speaks in the silence of our hearts.”

By pausing, being still, and not rushing these words, and then listening silently at the end of the verbal prayer, we can enter into that time of quiet to be still and listen. Doing so we will experience his love for us, better know our Father, his will, and begin to experience his peace and rest. Learning to listen to God who we can’t see might also help us to listen to each other who we can see.

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Photo: Jesus taught John the apostle the Our Father. It worked out pretty well for him, may we follow his lead!

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, February 24, 2026

5:1 + 5 Finger Gospel = Loving Jesus and our neighbors as ourselves.

Our readings today help us with one of the pillars of Lent. Almsgiving. We can give alms monetarily as well as through our thoughts, words, and actions. How we treat each other matters. How we speak to each other or about each other matters. Even how we think about each other matters. Not only do our actions come from our thoughts but we also project them out to others whether we are aware or not that we are doing so. When we are able to be more intentional regarding how we think, we can be more aware of our actions. We really do not have to immediately react in situations independently or with others. We can first take a few deep breaths, think, and seek some guidance from the Holy Spirit before we entertain a thought, speak what is moving from our mind to our lips or leading to an action. We can discern how what we are about to do will affect ourselves and others around us.

One way to go a little deeper and more discernment about what we think and say into practice is to follow the psychologist, Dr. John Gottman’s 5:1 principle. When you think a negative thought about someone and before you share that thought, think and write down five affirming thoughts about that person. Many times we will find that by the time that we get to the fifth affirmation we will have forgotten the negative quip that sought the light of day.

Jesus is very clear in today’s Gospel from Matthew, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:45). All of us are interconnected. What we do to one another affects everyone. Jesus is very clear that what we do or do not do to each other we do to Jesus. It would be very helpful for us then to get to know Jesus. One way is to continue to read the daily Gospel offered to us each day or read them at our own pace. The Gospels reveal to us Jesus’ words, teachings, life, ministry, and actions. A daily, prayerful and meditative reading helps us to not just know about him but to know Jesus.

In meditating on today’s gospel account, Jesus helps us also to know that we will come to know him better in serving one another. For as we do or do not do, we will come to know or not know Jesus better. When we throw a stone into the middle of a pond, the ripples of the water circle out to touch the bank and go even beyond what we see. When we think a thought, offer or withhold an action, speak or not speak, this same ripple effect happens.

When we give into cynicism, apathy, or disinterest regarding the needs of another, we are cutting ourselves off from Jesus. These ripples of inaction have a negative effect that ripples out. When we are moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to help someone in need, to be more understanding, kind, and willing to move beyond our insecurities, prejudices, and biases; when we do listen, risk, and move out toward another in love by willing another’s good, and put Jesus’ teachings into practice, we begin the healing of our relationship with God, ourselves, and each other. We will then love our neighbor as ourselves as we received from Leviticus 19:18 in the first reading. We can certainly experience a few more of these ripples!

St. Mother Teresa loved her neighbors radically well by putting into practice what she called her Five Finger Gospel, which is a summary of Matthew today’s gospel. She taught each person in her order and anyone she had the opportunity to pass it on to that each finger on her hand represented the words: “You – did – it – to – me.” When we entertain a thought today, are about to form a word, and are about to follow through on an action, may we first take a breath, ask Jesus to guide us, and then look at the five fingers of our hand before following through. Would we continue to think the thought, say the word, or follow through on the action if Jesus was in front of us? Because he is. For what we do to each other, we do it to Jesus.

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“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” We can too!(Photo credit: Getty images)

Dr. John Gottman’s 5:1 principle I learned from Dr. Arthur Brooks’s discussion with Bishop Robert Barron through the Word on Fire Institute. To watch Dr. Brooks talk on loving our enemies and to consider becoming a member of the Institute: wordonfire.institute/bishop-barron-presents-nov-2019/

Link for St Mother Teresa sharing her five finger gospel starts about 30 seconds in:

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, February 23, 2026

We can be tempted, and with Jesus we can resist and remain faithful to God.

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil (Mt 4:1). As Adam and Eve were tempted, so Jesus experienced the temptations of Satan, the serpent, the father of lies, the accuser, the slanderer. Satan and his demons seek division and we dismiss the reality of their presence at great risk. On the other hand, we often give them more power than they deserve. Jesus was tempted directly by Satan himself, but unlike Adam and Eve, he did not succumb. Jesus remained grounded in the will of his Father, in the knowledge of his Sonship, and this is why Satan had no power over or was able to sway him.

Jesus could have dismissed Satan, yet he endured his temptation to teach us “how to triumph over temptation” (St Augustine 1976, 87). By our baptism and calling on the name of Jesus, we to will overcome Satan. The weakest Christian is more powerful than Satan because he or she  can call on the name of Jesus. This is not some magic incantation, but when we call on the name of Jesus, he, in the fullness of his humanity and his divinity, is present with us. God has given Jesus the name above every other name so that as his word is spoken, every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth (cf. Philippians 2:9-10). Just as a floodlight shines in the darkness, the darkness gives way to the light. This is even truer with Jesus. Where Jesus is present there is love, such that no fear or evil can remain.

I had a dream some time ago, some decades have passed since, but it is still just as vivid. I was sitting on a couch on the first floor of a house. The scene shifted as I witnessed myself from above sitting on the same couch and then my view was redirected to the attic. I spied a misshapen, dark figure rummaging through old boxes and newspapers. Typing this, I can still hear the rustling in my ears. This figure embodied pure evil. I was petrified as I felt the depth of evil present and then I was back in my body, sitting on the couch, and I knew this creature was now moving out of the attic and coming down the stairs to the room I was sitting in. My heart was pounding as I heard its steps drawing closer. I was frozen in fear. In a few more moments, he came into view. What I saw was not the misshapen figure in the attic, but a well groomed man. As he continued closer my fear increased, I knew he was the same creature, and I was afraid he was going to touch me. Then a hymn came to mind. He stopped the moment I began to sing, my fear began to dissipate, and I woke up.

Evil tends to present itself as an apparent good, as normal, and appears safe. Otherwise, we would reject the temptation outright. Satan and his demons are active through whispers and nudges, they look for our weaknesses and through the same tactics as peer pressure, seek to inject their poison and manipulate our actions. I am not talking about possession here, I am just talking about their divisive influence. The most dangerous evil is the one masked in faith. Someone who can speak the verses of a Bible and quote chapter and verse does not a Christian make. The devil can do the same thing as we saw in today’s Gospel from Matthew when he tempted Jesus to throw himself down from the parapet of the temple.

To call on Jesus through his name is one thing. To know Jesus is not just a historical figure of the past, to know and to build our relationship with him is a different matter. As I shared, calling on the name is no incantation to ward off evil. When we call his name, we invite him to be with us. The more we do so, the more we recognize that he is already here, just waiting for us to invite him to help, to guide, to expel Satan and his minions from our midst.

This Lent we are invited daily to examine our conscience and assess honestly who we are serving. As with the Parable of the Talents, we cannot sit on our hands and do nothing like the wicked servant. That is the most effective tool Satan has, that he can influence us to do nothing, to be indifferent in the face of the dehumanization of the person in all of its forms. Another horror is when we rationalize what we know is unacceptable in ourselves as well as others, such as giving in to the temptations of gossip, prejudicial, and/or divisive talk, that lead to actions, such as the centurions who placed a robe and crown of thorns on the bloody, scourged body of Jesus and mocked him.

May we see this icon of Jesus, scourged, bloody, wearing a crown of thorns, and mocked in our minds eye whenever we are tempted to or justify anyone who would, even in the smallest of ways, belittle, demean or degrade the dignity of another person, through thoughts, words, and/or actions. We need to remember St. Mother Teresa’s Five Finger Gospel – “You-Did-It-To-Me”: what we do to the least among us, we do it to Jesus (cf. Mt 25:35-45).

We need to resist the temptation of beating ourselves up when we have sinned, when we have forgotten the truth that we are God’s beloved daughters and sons. Beating ourselves up is a lie. May even appear good, but doing so keeps the focus on us not God. We are still caved in upon ourselves instead of opening up to the love and forgiveness of God and one another. God does not define us by our sin and our worst mistakes. As Pope Francis has said, God never tires of forgiving us, we tire of asking for forgiveness.

Jesus shows us the way to defend ourselves against Satan’s temptations. When we are tempted with disordered pleasures, let us fast, for: “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” When we are tempted with pride, a disordered self-love, putting ourselves in the place of God, let us not put “the Lord, your God, to the test” but instead pray and trust in Jesus. When we are tempted with grasping for possessions, seeking happiness in them, remember we do not worship things: “The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Let us give alms to release our attachments to the material.

We need to assess our day, our thoughts, actions, and words with the Holy Spirit honestly and humbly. Thank God and be grateful when we have chosen to follow Jesus, and acknowledge and repent when we have placed ourselves or something or someone else before Jesus or given into temptations of the enemy. We leave less room for the enticements and temptations of Satan when we seek our security not in ourselves, but in our relationship with Jesus. This Lent let us fast to free ourselves from disordered pleasures, pray to turn away from pride and back to God, and give alms to trust in God alone so not to be possessed by the things of this world.

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Photo: Quiet moments like these helps us to breathe, pray, and remember who we are and whose we are.

Quote from St. Augustine in The Liturgy of the Hours. New York: The Catholic Publishing Co., 1976.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, February 22, 2026

“I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

Think about how good we feel after coming to be on the other side of healing from a bad cold or the flu, recovering from a twisted ankle, a broken collar bone, or other health conditions. If you have ever experienced an asthma attack or had the breath knocked out of you, it is such a relief to able to breathe fully again. We experience a feeling of wholeness that was missing during the midst of our suffering where we may have pondered a time or two whether or not we would ever get better.

The same can be said for estranged relationships. There is a distance of separation that can be agonizing, an inner gut-wrenching experience that gnaws away at us. We wonder if there can ever be a coming back together. When there is reconciliation, forgiveness, and mending of the brokenness, we can experience relief, lightness, and joy that we never imagined possible while in the midst of the conflict, the silence, and the separation.

Sin damages our relationship with God and one another. Unchecked and unbridled sin can rupture those relationships. The Pharisees and the scribes questioned why Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners, and Jesus replied: “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners” (Lk 5:32).

Jesus is a light in the darkness. For Levi and his friends, who were ambling in the darkness, Jesus shone gently and warmly. They realized there was a sage path to walk and they did. A great celebration of fellowship ensued in Levi’s home because these men and women, who had been outcasts, who were separated from the greater community were forgiven, welcomed, and embraced. They were loved by Jesus as they were. They did not have to change first for Jesus to call Levi and gather with them.

They were welcomed into the kingdom and reign of God. Their ticket to reconciliation and healing was accepting the invitation of Jesus, to receive and experience his love and welcome. Levi and the other sinners did not run from the light of Jesus, but were willing to recognize their need for healing, were willing to repent, to turn away from their prior ways of life, and so were reborn!

They were divinized because of their willingness to participate in the life of Jesus. Levi chose not to just be a repentant sinner, but continued to follow Jesus. He gave his whole life to him and allowed himself to be transformed. He chose to leave the path of darkness and to follow the Way. He continued to follow Jesus such that it was no longer he who lived, as Paul had experienced, but Christ who lived in him (cf. Galatians 2:20)!

Jesus invites us, as he invited Levi, to come and follow him. We are given the same invitation and opportunity for healing, discipleship, and transformation. Will we resist rationalizing and justifying our sinful thoughts, actions, and habits, welcome the light of Jesus that reveals our venial and mortal sins, and admit that we are in need of healing, repent, be forgiven, and be released from all the energy we have expended in protecting and hiding from ourselves and our God who loves us more than we can ever mess up?

We say yes, by quietly spending time, especially each evening, and recalling our day. When we are willing, Jesus reveals to us those ways in which we have not lived according to his will. Jesus does not reveal our sins to condemn or shame us, he does so to convict us in the hope that we will identify, renounce, and confess them. Then he will forgive us. Even when uncovering deeply rooted and mortal sins, through the intimate encounter with Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will be forgiven and freed.

Jesus loves us as we are. Yet holding on to our sin, keeps us at a distance from experiencing the greater breadth and depth of his love. We only need to be willing to be contrite, to embrace sorrow for the harm we have inflicted with our personal sins, and go to the Divine Physician in our time of prayer and/or Reconciliation. Once absolved, the heavy weight is lifted and we are healed and go forward into the light to engage in penance, atone for our sins, and are better able to forgive others as we have been forgiven, and to love as we have been loved!

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Photo: Jesus is the light that reveals the path to lead us out of darkness.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, February 21, 2026

A fast from the busy can help us to decompress and reset.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read today about the account of Jesus comparing himself to a bridegroom: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:15). In a sense, the bridegroom has been taken from us, in another sense, he is closer to us now than he was when he was with his disciples and walked the earth. The fullness of his reign though will not be consummated until Jesus comes again, but while we wait, when we are willing to set aside other distractions and be still, we can hear and experience of the beating of his Sacred Heart.

We need food for our survival, but we don’t need as much as we think we do! Fasting from food is not the only focus of our Lenten fast. The discipline of fasting provides an opportunity to keep our passions in check. By resisting the impulse of instant gratification, we are able to better discern between apparent goods and the actual Good in our lives. When we are able to navigate through the maze of distractions, diversions, temptations, and allurements on a physical level, we can begin to go deeper into the spiritual reality to begin to expose some of the demons that we feed, such as “distrust, apathy, and resignation”.

Pope Francis mentioned that these three demons “deaden and paralyze the soul of a believing people.” He continued by stating that: “Lent is the ideal time to unmask these and other temptations, to allow our hearts to beat once more in tune with the vibrant heart of Jesus.”

When we are willing to discipline our impulsiveness, to slow down, to take time to recollect even with a few deep breaths, we can begin to see more clearly God’s will for our lives. We can then be more open to God’s invitation to grow in relationship with him and each other. We can better assume the posture of John the Apostle by resting our head on the chest of Jesus (cf John 13:25), such that our hearts will beat in the same rhythm as his Sacred Heart.

This is the gift of contemplation drives us to service. This is the same rhythm that beat in the prophet Isaiah who reminds us in today’s first reading what true fasting is all about:  “releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own” (Isaiah 58:6-7).

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Photo: Stillness, quiet moments, while experiencing the wonder of God’s creation helps us to experience, can help us to slow down and allow our heart to beat with he rhythm of Jesus’ sacred heart.

Link for Pope Francis homily:

Pope Francis offers a “worksheet” for Lent: Check it out!

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, February 20, 2026

Let us take up our cross and walk into the light of Jesus.

Jesus said to his disciples, all who could hear him, and his words have rippled out to his disciples in each successive generation up today: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). We can best take up our cross daily by putting into practice the three pillars of Lent offered yesterday, which are almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. These disciplines aid us in resisting the temptations from those substitutes that we can place before God, seeking our fulfillment, stability, and security in power, pleasure, honor, and wealth apart from or instead of God. We can also allow ourselves to be tempted to stray from the guidance of the 10 Commandments as well as succumb to the root causes of all our sins found in the six capital or deadly sins: Avarice or greed, and some would include sorrow as another capital sin, envy, pride, wrath or anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth.

Giving ourselves some time to be still and to breathe deeply is a good, intentional action to begin Lent. It is important to make such a simple practice of recollection a daily routine. From this place of letting go and just stopping from everything else, of choosing to make time to spend with God alone, we can then pray about how we can put these pillars of Lent into practice for these next forty days. If forty days are too much, think about the next week, or even just how we can put one, two, or all three into practice today.

As we make steps to slow down and be still, we will also need to be aware of our own resistance. To be more aware of our sinful inclination to be indifferent or fearful of being present to those in need in our realm of influence is also helpful. Praying and seeking the help of God to give us the discernment and the eyes to see who among us are in need, the courage to act and to give of ourselves to others can also be a good start. This is how we will be moved to acts of almsgiving with our time, talent, and treasure.

Returning to prayer throughout the day will help to establish a habit of prayer. This often is accomplished best when we schedule set times to read, meditate, pray, and contemplate on the readings of Lent, to be still and rest in the Lord before the Eucharist in adoration or present in the tabernacle, pray the rosary, walk or sit among the beauty of God’s creation, and/or spend some quiet time reading a spiritual book, or the life of a saint. It is also good to just be silent and still. While at work, it can be as simple as stopping for a few moments at set times, say each hour, to stretch, take a breath, and repeat a verse or short prayer, such as, “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.” When we are feeling tired, instead of constantly saying, “Im so tired.”, ask God for strength to continue and the guidance to be sure to get the proper rest.

Each day it is helpful to evaluate what we consume, what time and energy we expend, and discern what we can fast from. We can identify what foods aren’t healthy for us, what activities that we can let go of so we can devote more time to practices that empower, encourage, and lift up others as well as ourselves. We can fast from thinking, speaking, or acting in any way that is judgmental, unkind, belittling, or demeaning.

When we put something in place that will help build a foundation for a closer walk with Jesus like reading the Bible, spending time in prayer, walking outside, taking a course online or in person, spending time in silence, we have to take something out of our lives. May we take something away that would lead us astray. Jesus guides us to take up his cross and follow him. Doing so helps us to discipline ourselves so that we will be transformed and freed from that which seeks to enslaves us.

We take up our cross when we make time to pray, to be still, and follow God’s lead. We take up our cross when we fast from any negative, demeaning, or derogatory thoughts, words, and actions and replace them with thinking, speaking, and acting in ways that bring hope, encouragement, and life. We take up our cross when we embrace opportunities to give of our time, talent, and treasure to build up and serve others in our realm of influence. Let us take up our cross today and each day during this season of Lent and repent, to turn away from sin and turn back to God, so to know better the One who died on the cross for us, the One who gave his life for us that we might restore our relationship with our God and Father and experience the love of the Holy Spirit!

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Photo: One way to take up our cross is to turn away from our phone, getting lost in anxious thoughts, or looking down at the ground, and instead look up to the glory happening above! Doing so yesterday morning on the way to 8:00 Mass! “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, February 19, 2026

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the way to become less so God can be more in our lives.

In our Gospel reading from Matthew today, Jesus presents us with the three pillars of Lent: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. With each pillar, he cautions his disciples to resist the temptation of engaging in these spiritual practices so that the focus is on them. Also, each spiritual practice is to not lead to accolades for their efforts.

We, like Jesus’ disciples then, are to embrace the purpose of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting which is to grow in our relationship with God. That means we are to become less and the Trinity is to become more real and realized in our lives. Humility is the virtue that is the antidote to the capital sin of all capital sins – pride.

“Pride is undue self-esteem or self-love, which seeks attention and honor and sets oneself in competition with God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary/p. 895). We grow in a healthy sense of self when we rest in the truth that we are God’s children and experience his love. Pride is disordered when we seek to put ourself first before God and stand opposed to God, saying we know better than he does. We can do life on our own, thank you very much. When we set ourselves apart from God and seek to determine our own course we remove ourself from the protection and guidance of God and open ourselves up to the other capital sins such as anger/wrath, sloth, gluttony, lust, greed, and envy.

Each of these sins are considered capital in the tradition of the Church because they are at the root of all sins, all disordered affections that can lead us away from the true, the good, and the beautiful that God wants to share with us in our lives. The three pillars of Lent that Jesus shares with us helps us to identify and uncover these sins from our lives because all three help us to repent, to turn back to God by taking the focus off of ourselves and returning it back to God where it belongs.

When we make the time to pray, to slow down and allow ourselves to be loved by God, we will experience his peace and rest. We may also then get in touch with any unresolved issues, places in need of healing, that when left unidentified and denied, can lead to reactions and unintended outbursts. Prayer helps us to grow in the virtue of patience which counters the sin of anger.

Putting into action each of these pillars will help us to counter sloth which is more than physical laziness although our spiritual apathy can grow from physical laziness. Making a firm resolve to put into practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving this Lent will help us to shake off the wet blanket of sloth. Fasting is the surest way to counter the sins of gluttony and lust which are both a disordering of our appetites for sensual pleasures. As we fast we will grow in the virtues of temperance and chastity. The practice of giving alms and willing the good of our neighbors counters the selfish grasping of greed and envy. When we practice being generous and kind and trust that God will truly provide for our every need, we will find less temptation to grasp and hold on and seek the downfall of others.

Jesus’ words help us to check in as we begin this Lent. Even if each Lent we have put into practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we need to take a deeper look at our motives. We give to others not “to win the praise of others”, not even to receive thanks, but specifically because another is in need. We pray, not “that others may see” us, to puff ourselves up, but to empty ourselves into the arms of our Father, recognizing how dependent on him we really are. We fast not “to look gloomy like the hypocrites”, so to draw attention to ourselves, but we fast to discipline ourselves from any unbridled passions and pleasures. We recognize that our discipline comes from acknowledging that apart from God we can do nothing and only with God that all things are possible.

Today as we receive our ashes, and even if there are those reading who do not (even if you are not Catholic, you may!), we are reminded that from dust we have come and to dust, we will return. We are created, finite beings, that are given a limited time to live our life on this earth. This is important to acknowledge so that we resist the temptation of taking our life, the gift of our time on this earth, for granted. We will enjoy our lives more if we are grateful for each moment, and don’t take ourselves too seriously.

We are also reminded to repent and believe in the Gospel. Jesus, can help us to recognize and be contrite for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions and reveal to us the empty promises of our distractions, diversions, and temptations. Through our participation in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, we turn back to the source of our lives. We will experience and better identify our restlessness, and seek not satisfaction in the finite, material things that will not last, but come to recognize that our fulfillment comes only when we find our true rest in the One who has made us for himself, our loving God and Father who awaits us with arms wide open.

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Photo: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Me we all do so this Lent and come out holier than we enter!

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, February 18, 2026