February 15 through 21, 2026
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(February 16, 2020: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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“You have heard it said…but I say to you.”
Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it life is wasted time
Look inside your heart, I’ll look inside mine.
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be.
Bring me a higher love, bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love, where’s that higher love I keep thinking of?
- Steve Winwood
In today’s Gospel Jesus calls us to a “higher” love. Jesus urges us to avoid practicing or pursuing spiritual minimalism, i.e., looking to do only the bare minimum of what is required or living life by the “good enough” method. Jesus clearly raises the bar when he tells his listeners that it isn’t just enough to avoid killing your neighbor, but you must also avoid growing angry with – or holding a grudge against – your neighbor. Indeed, you must be reconciled with your neighbor. It isn’t enough to just avoid committing adultery, but we must also avoid looking at others in ways that objectify or discount them for our own gratification or advantage. Indeed, rather than waste your time by looking at others your time would be better spent by examining yourself. It isn’t enough to just avoid making a false oath, but you should also avoid putting yourself in any situation in which you would feel obliged to swear to anything. Simply say what you mean, and mean what you say.
Jesus’ “higher love” is really at the heart of Francis’ notion of “devotion.” He wrote:
“Genuine, living devotion presupposes love of God, and hence it is simply true love of God. Yet it is not always love as such. Inasmuch as divine love adorns the soul, it is called grace, which makes us pleasing to God’s Divine Majesty. Inasmuch as it strengthens us to do good, it is called charity. When it has reached a degree of perfection at which it not only make us do good but also do the good carefully, frequently and promptly, it is called devotion…In addition, it arouses us to do quickly and lovingly as many good works as possible, both those commanded and those merely counseled or inspired.” (IDL, Part 1, Ch. 1)
For his part, St. Francis de Sales also challenges us to avoid spiritual minimalism. It isn’t good enough to avoid lying; we must be truthful. It isn’t good enough to avoid gluttony; we must be disciplined. It isn’t good enough to avoid being parsimonious; we must be generous. It isn’t good enough to avoid injuring others; we must heal others.
Let us pray…
God, help us to live this higher love. Help us to avoid trying to simply ‘get by’ in life; help us to understand what it means to truly live…by fully loving.
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(February 16, 2026: Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time)
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“Consider it all joy when you encounter trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance…”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“We must recall that Our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance and that we must work out our salvation, enduring with all possible meekness the injuries, denials and discomforts we meet.” (Part III, Chapter 3, p. 128)
Jesus had his share of success during his public ministry. He healed the sick. He freed the possessed. He fed the hungry. He satisfied the thirsty. He welcomed the marginalized. He consoled the sorrowing. He found the lost. He raised the dead. Of course, Jesus also had his share of trials and tribulations during his public ministry. He was subjected to criticism. He was subjected to misunderstanding. He was subjected to ridicule. He was subjected to rejection. He was subjected to abandonment, arrest and crucifixion. He was subjected to death.
In short, Jesus took the bad with the good in his attempt to preach – and practice – the Good News. While Jesus didn’t go looking for trouble, he wouldn’t it trouble either, especially when it came to promoting the justice and peace of the Kingdom of God.
In our day-to-day attempts at living a devout life we, too, need to take the bad with the good. While we shouldn’t go looking for trouble, we shouldn’t be all that surprised when trouble finds us. Like Jesus, when trouble comes our way, let’s do our level best to not allow it to dissuade us from doing good – and being good – in the lives of other people.
We may not consider it “all joy” when we encounter trials, but it’s not a bad idea to remind ourselves – by looking at the life of Jesus himself – that trials often go hand-in-hand with triumph.
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(February 17, 2026: Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time)
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“Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation…”
Some trials that we encounter in life come from without. Some trials that we encounter in life come from within. Many – if not most – of the latter we know as “temptations.” In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales counseled:
“Temptation to a certain sin – to any sin, for that matter – might last throughout our whole life, yet it can never make us displeasing to God’s Majesty provided we do not take pleasure in it or give consent to it…You must have great courage in the midst of temptation. Never think yourself overcome so long as temptations are displeasing to you, keeping clearly in mind the difference between experiencing temptation and consenting to it. Let the enemies of our salvation put as many baits and enticements in our path as they please. Let them stand continually at our heart’s door in order to gain entrance. Let them make all the proposals they wish. As long as we remain steadfast in our resolutions not to take pleasure in the temptation, it is utterly impossible for us to offend God…As long as this act of refusal remains within our heart we may rest assured that charity – the life of the soul – remains within us, and that Jesus Christ our Savior – though hidden and covered over – is present in our soul. Hence by means of the continued practice of prayer, the Sacraments and confidence in God, our strength will return and we will live a healthful and happy life.” (Part III, Chapters 3/5)
Temptations are a part of life. Of course, so, too, are inspirations! Living a healthful and happy life consists in saying “no” to the former and “yes” to the latter.
Today, what part will you pursue?
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(February 18, 2026: Ash Wednesday)
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Lent is a time when each of us is challenged to recognize our need for conversion. We are invited to closely examine our relationship with God, ourselves and one another. Simply put, Lent asks us to name those sins, vices, weaknesses -- anything -- that prevent us from making real in thought, word and deeds our God-given dignity.
A popular way of ritualizing this inner journey is to "give up" something for Lent. Some refrain from tobacco; others eschew alcohol; still others pass up all desserts. Some of us may give up something good during Lent; some of us may give up something bad during Lent, and still others may give up a combination of both.
Using traditional language, Lent is a time for fasting. Fasting, however, is only half of the story. Lent, in its fullest expression is also a season for feasting!
In their book A Sense of Sexuality, (Doubleday 1989) Drs. Evelyn and James Whitehead remind us that “fasting, at its finest, is neither solely punishment nor denial. We fast not only to avoid evils but to recapture forgotten goods.” Put another way, “the 'no' of fasting is fruitful only if we have some deeply valued 'yes' in our life.” The arduous discipline of feasting complements our fasting; we need something for which to fast.
That's right. Feasting requires no less discipline than fasting. The discipline of feasting celebrates well and heartily the God-given blessings that we enjoy without engaging in selfishness and excess.
Lent, then, is as much a matter of “doing” as it is “doing without”. St. Francis de Sales wrote in his Introduction to the Devout Life:
“Both fasting and working mortify and discipline us. If the work you undertake contributes to the glory of God and to your own welfare, I much prefer that you should endure the discipline of working than that of fasting.”
He continued:
“One person may find it painful to fast, another to serve the sick, to visit prisoners, to hear confessions, to preach, to assist the needy, to pray, and to perform similar exercised. These latter pains have as much value as the former.”
Whether through fasting or feasting, turning away from sin or turning toward virtue, these forty days of Lent are about out “insides”: our heart, mind, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, hopes and fears. It is the journey of the soul and spirit. “As for myself,” says Francis de Sales, “it seems to me that we ought to begin with the interior.”
And so we pray: God give us the grace to make a new beginning with the first of these forty days....and with every day that will follow hereafter.
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(February 19, 2026: Thursday after Ash Wednesday)
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“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord…."
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Hope is simply looking towards – and striving for – our supreme good, who is God. We hope for such things as we expect to gain by another’s aid, whereas we aspire to such things as we strive after by our own resources and by ourselves. Just as men who would hope without aspiring would be rejected as cowardly and irresponsible, so too, those who aspire without hope would be considered rash, insolent and presumptuous.”
From a Salesian perspective the virtue of hope must be used in tandem with the virtue of aspiration. Hoping without aspiring - that is, without doing our part to make God’s dreams come true - is nothing other than wishful thinking, or as Francis de Sales calls it, cowardice. On the other hand, aspiring without hoping - that is, believing that we can do this all by ourselves without God’s help - is arrogance.
Look at Lent as a kind of Christian parallel to making New Year’s resolutions, but instead of waking up one day a year with some strategies for becoming better versions of ourselves – that is, growing in holiness – Lent offers us forty days during which to do some serious soul searching and life changing. The virtue of hope is a critical companion for us during our Lenten journeys, precisely because it helps us to be clear about how much of our growth depends on us, and how much of our growth depends on God.
Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Happy are those who remind themselves that God’s dreams for us are far too big to be accomplished all by ourselves. At the same time, blessed too, are those who aspire in the Lord, and happy are those who recognize – and do – their part in making God’s dreams for us a reality.
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(February 20, 2026: Friday after Ash Wednesday)
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“This is the fasting that I wish: 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…”
The prophecy of Isaiah in today’s first reading could not be clearer - effective fasting needs to have tangible results. While doing without something in private may help us to make personal advances in the spiritual life, God prefers fasting that enables us to help others to advance in the spiritual life. God would much rather have us engaged in the fasting that enables us to “do”, rather than engaging in the fasting that simply stops at “doing without”.
It’s no accident that Jesus’ most scathing criticism of the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes focused on how their ways of fasting were of little – or no – help to others. In fact, the devotional practices of Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes actually laid heavy burdens on other people, burdens which these religious leaders were totally unwilling to help other people to carry. How can a person possibly hope to advance in his/her relationship with God while turning a blind eye to the plights of others – to say nothing of making others’ plights even worse?
Daniel adds: “Fast so as to make your voice heard on high.” How can our fasting make our voices heard on high? It can when our ways of fasting – our ways of doing– enable us to feed, nourish, free and empower others around us here below.
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(February 21, 2026: Saturday after Ash Wednesday)
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“If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday…”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“‘If a man does not offend in word, he is a perfect man,’ says St. James. Be careful never to let an indecent word leave your lips, for even if you do not speak with an evil intention those who hear it may take it in a different way. An evil word falling into a weak heart grows and spreads like a drop of oil on a piece of linen cloth. Sometimes it seizes the heart in such a way as to fill it with a thousand unclean thoughts and temptations. Just as bodily poison enters through the mouth, so what poisons the heart gets in through the ear and the tongue that utters it is a murderer…No man can tell me that he speaks without thinking…” (Part III, Chapter 27, pp. 194-195)
We are responsible for what comes out of our mouths. Words are not just words. They are powerful. They have an impact on other people. St. James states: “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.”
Would you like to be light in other peoples’ darkness? Would you like to be a remedy to others’ sadness and gloom? A good place to start is to simply – and consistently – watch the words that come out of your mouth.
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