February
23, 2026
Monday of the First Week of
Lent
Lectionary: 224
Reading
1
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
The LORD said to
Moses,
“Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
“You shall not
steal.
You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.
You shall not swear falsely by my name,
thus profaning the name of your God.
I am the LORD.
“You shall not
defraud or rob your neighbor.
You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.
You shall not curse the deaf,
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but you shall fear your God.
I am the LORD.
“You shall not act
dishonestly in rendering judgment.
Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty,
but judge your fellow men justly.
You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin;
nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake.
I am the LORD.
“You shall not
bear hatred for your brother in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove him,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD.”
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
R.
(John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Verse
Before the Gospel
2 Corinthians 6:2b
Behold, now is a
very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who 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 drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022326.cfm
Commentary on Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18
The general theme
of the Book of Leviticus is in today’s opening sentence:
You shall be
holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
Today’s reading
comes from a section dealing with moral and religious regulations related to
daily life, with obvious links to the Ten Commandments. Some of them sound
somewhat strange today such as:
You shall not
round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. (Lev 19:27)
Presumably some of
Israel’s ‘pagan’ neighbours were doing this.
In today’s reading
the call is clear: the measure of our holiness is that of God himself.
Obviously that is not something to be even remotely achieved in our lifetime;
rather, it is an ideal to be constantly aimed at as we continually try to raise
our sights. But are there are any measures by which we can measure our progress
in something so abstract as holiness?
Very simply,
today’s reading says that holiness consists in the way we treat (or do not
treat) those around us. It is perhaps worth observing that everything here is
expressed in the negative, the things we ought not to do towards our brothers
and sisters:
- No stealing or fraud.
- No irreverent use of God’s name.
- No abuse of others through
exploitation or robbery or by failing to pay just wages at the proper
time.
- No abuse or neglect of the disabled:
the blind and the deaf are mentioned.
- Avoiding all forms of prejudice and
bias either towards the weak or the powerful.
- No passing of judgement on others
beyond the bounds of justice and fairness.
- Never criticising out of hatred, but
only out of a desire to help.
- No exacting vengeance and no holding
grudges.
It is quite
obvious that it is not enough just not to do these things, but
rather positively to do the opposite in each case. And they are all finally
summed up in one positive injunction:
…you shall love
your neighbor as yourself…
In the context
within Leviticus, it is clear that ‘neighbour’ means a fellow Jew, but Jesus—as
well as Paul and James in their letters—would extend its meaning to embrace
every single person.
Some of the
stricter Pharisees interpreted ‘loving the neighbour’ as implying that one
should ‘hate the enemy’. But others came closer to Jesus’ injunction that love
for neighbour should even extend to those who would want to harm us. For
instance, the medieval Spanish Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (also know as Nahmanides)
said:
One should
place no limitations upon the love for the neighbour, but instead a person
should love to do an abundance of good for his fellow being as he does for
himself.
It is clear from
this and the later teaching of Jesus that ‘neighbour’ included every single
person and not just those close to us by place, nationality, race, religion,
class or gender—even those who would want to harm us. And, as today’s Gospel
makes clear, our neighbour is particularly to be identified with any person who
is in need of help of any kind.
Later, Jesus would
push the command even further when he told us to love each other, not just as
much as we love ourselves, but to the degree that he loved us—by ‘emptying’
himself and giving his life for every single one of us.
As I reflect on
this passage during Lent, I may ask: Where do I stand in my relationships with
my friends, my ‘enemies’ or the needy in my community?
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Commentary on Matthew 25:31-46
Both of today’s
readings deal with the way we ought to behave towards each other. The First
Reading tells us the kinds of things we ought not to do, while the Gospel
emphasises more what we should be doing.
The Gospel
describes the great scene of the Last Judgment when all will face their Lord
Jesus. We will be divided into sheep and goats—i.e. those who are with Jesus
and those who are not. The criteria on which we will be judged are interesting.
There is nothing about the Ten Commandments (normally the matter of our
confessions). Nor is there anything about the behaviors mentioned in the First
Reading, which more or less reflect the contents of the Ten Commandments. There
is nothing about what we normally call ‘religious obligations’ (e.g. being ‘at
Mass’ on Sundays and holydays).
The test will be
very simple. Did we love all our brothers and sisters or not? There is some
discussion as to the identity of these ‘brothers and sisters’. Does it refer to
all who are hungry, thirsty, in need of clothes, in need of medical care or in
jail—or to a particular group? The passage may primarily be about Christians,
and especially Christian missionaries whose preaching brought them suffering
and persecution. These missionaries were more likely, too, to end up in prison.
To reject and abuse these people and their message is tantamount to rejecting
Jesus himself.
However, we have
traditionally extended the passage to include all who suffer in any way because
of our neglect, and we recognise Jesus as being present in these people in a
special way.
And the things we
are supposed to do are so simple: give food to Jesus hungry and drink to Jesus
thirsty; to clothe Jesus naked; to visit Jesus sick and Jesus in jail. And
naturally people will ask:
Lord, when was
it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison and did not take care of you?
And the Judge will
answer:
Truly I tell
you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it
to me.
He says “to me”,
not “for me”. Jesus identifies himself especially with the person
in need. Every time we neglect to help a brother or sister in need, we neglect
Jesus himself. Our worst sins, our most dangerous sins, will be our sins of
omission. We can keep the Ten Commandments perfectly and still fail here.
The next time we
examine our conscience, let us think about that. Whether we realise it or not,
every time we spontaneously take care of a brother or sister in need, it is
Jesus himself we are serving.
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Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord, holy God, loving Father,
you give us the task to love one
another because You are holy and You have loved us before we could love You.
Give us the ability to recognize Your
Son in our brothers and sisters far and near. Make us witnesses that love
exists and is alive and that You, the God of love, exist and are alive now
forever.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 25: 31-46
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of
Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious
throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate
them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He
will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who 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 drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you
clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the
righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed
you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome
you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit
you?'
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I
say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did
for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry,
and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and
you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison,
and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we
see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not
minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did
not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go
off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Reflection
The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as the New
Messiah. Like Moses, Jesus also promulgates the Law of God. As with the ancient
law, the new one, given by Jesus, also contains five books or discourses. The
Sermon on the Mountain (Mt 5: 1 to 7: 27), the first discourse, opens with
eight Beatitudes. The discourse on vigilance (Mt 2: 4, 1 to 25, 46), the fifth
discourse, contains the description of the Last Judgment. The Beatitudes
describe the door of entrance into the Kingdom, enumerating eight categories of
people: the poor in spirit, the meek, the afflicted, those who hunger and
thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers and the
persecuted because of justice (Mt 5: 3-10). The parable of the Last Judgment
tells us what we should do in order to possess the Kingdom: accept the hungry,
the thirsty, the foreigners, the naked, the sick and the prisoners (Mt 25: 35-36):
At the beginning, as well as at the end of the New Law, there are the excluded
and the marginalized.
•
Matthew 25: 31-33: Opening of the Last Judgment.
The Son of Man gathers together around Him the nations of the world. He
separates people as the shepherd does with the sheep and the goats. The
shepherd knows how to discern. He does not make a mistake; sheep on the right,
goats on the left. Jesus does not make a mistake. Jesus does not judge nor
condemn. (cfr. Jn 3: 17; 12: 47). He does not separate alone. It is the person
himself/herself who judges and condemns because of the way in which he/she
behaves toward the little ones and the excluded.
•
Matthew 25: 34-36: The sentence for those who
are at the right hand of the Judge. Those who are at the right hand of the
judge are called Blessed of my Father! That is, they receive the blessing which
God promised to Abraham and to his descendants (Gen 12: 3). They are invited to
take possession of the Kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the
world. The reason for the sentence is the following: I was hungry, a foreigner,
naked, sick and prisoner, and you accepted me and helped me! This sentence
makes us understand who are the sheep. They are the persons who accepted the
Judge when he was hungry, thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and prisoner.
Because of the way of speaking about my Father and the Son of Man, we can know
that the Judge is precisely Jesus Himself. He identifies Himself with the
little ones!
•
Matthew 25: 37-40: A request for clarification
and the response of the Judge: Those who accept the excluded are called just.
That means that the justice of the Kingdom is not attained by observing norms
and prescriptions, but rather by accepting those in need. But it is strange
that the just do not even know themselves when they accepted Jesus in need.
Jesus responds: Every time that you have done this to one of my brothers, you
have done it to me. Who are these little brothers of mine? In other passages of
the Gospel of Matthew, the expression “my brothers” indicates the disciples (Mt
12: 48-50; 28: 10). This also indicates the members of the community who are
more abandoned and neglected who have no place and are not well received (Mt
10: 40). Jesus identifies Himself with them. In the broader context of the last
parable, the expression “my smallest brothers” is extended and includes all
those who have no place in society. It indicates all the poor. The just and the
blessed by my Father are all the persons from all nations who accept and
welcome others with total gratuity, independently of the fact that they are
Christians or not.
•
Matthew 25: 41-43: The sentence for those who
were at the left-hand side. Those who were on the other side of the Judge are
called cursed and they are destined to go to the eternal fire, prepared by the
devil and his friends. Jesus uses a symbolic language common at that time to
say that these persons will not enter into the Kingdom. And here, also, there
is only one reason: they did not accept or welcome Jesus as one who is hungry,
thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and/or a prisoner. It is not that Jesus
prevents them from entering into
the Kingdom, rather it is our way of
acting that is our blindness which prevents us from seeing Jesus in the little
ones.
•
Matthew 25: 44-46: A request for clarification
and the response of the Judge. The request for clarification indicates that it
is a question of people who have behaved well, people who have their conscience
in peace. They are certain to have always practiced what God asked from them.
For this reason, they were surprised when the Judge says that they did not
accept Him, did not welcome Him. The Judge responds: Every time that you have
not done these things to one of my brothers, the little ones, you did not do it
to me. It is the omission! They did not do anything extra. They only missed
practicing good towards the little ones and the excluded. This is the way the
fifth Book of the New Law ends!
In the saints and Church
Fathers we have a lot to learn about virtues and vices. It is not enough to
just avoid vice, or sin, but to also work toward attaining virtue and virtuous
behavior. To do no harm is not the same as to help. This is what we are called
to do: to not just avoid doing wrong or harm, but to go out of our way to do good
as well.
Personal Questions
•
What struck you the most in this parable of the
Last Judgment?
•
Do I focus my life more on avoiding harm or on
doing good for others?
•
Stop and think: if the Last Judgment would take
place today, would you be on the side of the sheep or on the side of the goats?
Concluding Prayer
The precepts of Yahweh are honest, joy for the heart; the
commandment of Yahweh is pure, light for the eyes. (Ps 19: 8)
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