Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Jesus Embodies Mercy – Wednesday of the first week of Lent
When the crowds were increasing, he [Jesus] began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of
Man will be to this generation.” (Luke 11:29-30) (Luke 11:29-32)
There’s much that is mysterious about the story of Jonah. It’s not at all clear why God chose him or sent him to prophesy in Nineveh. It’s much clearer why he’d want to escape the mission, so improbable did it seem. The response of the Ninevites and their king is…
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
The Prayer of Jesus – Tuesday of the first week of Lent
“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)
The real God is not impressed by verbosity and leaves us in no doubt that more and more words, or better and better words, don’t interest him. He’s more interested in simple words that come from the heart, as we see in the prayer that Jesus teaches. The words of…
Monday, 23 February 2026
The Law of God is Liberation – Monday of the first week of Lent
“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36) (Matthew 25:31-46)
The real God is not far away. He is as close to us as the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned; and they can be uncomfortably, even embarrassingly close. At times, we prefer a God who is far away, because then we can get on…
Sunday, 22 February 2026
Through the Desert, Home to the Garden – 1 LENT
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) (Matthew 4:1-11)
The First Sunday of Lent has us initially in the garden and then in the desert. The interplay between garden and desert is at the heart of the Bible. The garden is the land of life, the desert the land of death. The garden is our true home, from which…
Saturday, 21 February 2026
The Journey of Repentance – Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:29-32) (Luke 5:27-32)
In this time of Lent, we recognise the truth that we are sinners, not yet among the righteous who have entered the world of right relationship and come to the feast which it promises. We are on the way; we are works in progress. But if we see ourselves as…
Friday, 20 February 2026
Right Relationships with God and Others – Friday after Ash Wednesday
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly… “(Isaiah 58:6-8) (Matthew 9:14-15)
The religion of ancient Israel is called, at times, ethical monotheism. The way we relate to God is strictly related to the way we relate to other human beings. You can’t honour God if you dishonour other human beings. In other words, you can’t separate the vertical (how we relate…
Thursday, 19 February 2026
The Call to Listen and to Choose – Thursday after Ash Wednesday
“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving
the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for
that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live
in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19–20) (Luke 9:22-25)
The call to listen and to choose is at the heart of Lent. The Book of Deuteronomy speaks of obedience, which means a deep listening to a voice other than our own, since if we hear only our own voice we are imprisoned in a hall of mirrors which becomes…
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Be Reconciled to God – Ash Wednesday
“So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)
God doesn’t need to be reconciled to us. We need to be reconciled to God. St Paul doesn’t beg God to be reconciled to us but says to us: “be reconciled to God”. God doesn’t turn from us; we turn from God. We want to dethrone and replace God, whom…
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Do You Still Not Understand? – Tuesday of the sixth week in Ordinary Time
“Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” (Mark 8:15) (Mark 8:14-21)
Jesus asks the disciples seven questions, the climax being “Do you still not understand?” So, how are they, and we, going to handle the huge questions that come next in Mark, including “Who do you say I am” and the suffering and rejection, death and rising again and taking up…
Monday, 16 February 2026
Demanding a Sign – Monday of the sixth week in Ordinary Time
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ (Mark 8:12) (Mark 8:11-13)
I was struck in this Gospel when it said that Jesus ‘sighed deeply in his spirit,’ the kind of sigh that feels known to most of us. Jesus, questioned once again by the Pharisees seeking to test and trap Him, must have been exhausted with their games. They approach Him…