February 16, 2026
Monday of the Sixth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 335
Reading
1
James, a servant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 119:67, 68, 71, 72,
75, 76
R. (77a) Be
kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The Pharisees came
forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
"Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021626.cfm
Commentary on James
1:1-11
Today we return to the New Testament and for the next two
weeks we will be reading from the Letter of James. There is a refreshing
directness about this letter. It does not beat about the bush and pulls no
punches in calling Christians to order. The emphasis is very much on
‘doing’—actions speak louder than words.
The letter is addressed to “the twelve tribes in the
dispersion” (or diaspora), that is, to Jewish Christians scattered
over the Mediterranean countries. James sends them greetings of joy. In spite
of what he is going to say, he is not to be seen as a ‘pourer’ of cold water.
In today’s reading he makes three related points. First, he
begins by addressing his readers as “brothers and sisters”. He does so 15 times
in this short letter. He may need to rebuke them, but he does so in a spirit of
fraternal love.
He urges his readers to see in their trials as Christians a
source of joy:
…because you know that the testing of your faith produces
endurance.
We see the same when Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said:
Blessed [Happy] are you when people
revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on
my account. (Matt 5:11)
Speaking from his own experience, Paul said the same:
…we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that
affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope… (Rom 5:3-4)
The trials that James mentions here are those that come from
outside. In tomorrow’s reading he will speak of the inner trials of temptation
to wrongdoing.
In a 2005 Lenten reflection on Gethsemane, a Place
to Learn a Lesson, Father Ron Rolheiser writes::
We don’t want failure, humiliation, sickness, powerlessness,
poverty or inferiority of any kind, yet these, more than success and glamour,
are what produce character and depth inside us.
Obviously, we do not go out of our way to look for such things,
but when they come, their long-term results can be beneficial both for
ourselves and others.
We can get upset sometimes when we see the Church attacked
or rubbished in the media. Yet experience has shown again and again that
nothing strengthens and matures one’s faith than to have it challenged. When
things go too easily our faith becomes flabby and weak. The Church is always
strongest where it is the object of persecution and attack.
St Ignatius Loyola once said he hoped that the Jesuits would
always experience persecution; for him, it was a sign they were doing their job
of proclaiming the gospel. We should not be worried when the Church is
attacked; only when it is ignored. Then we really know that the salt has lost
its taste.
Second, James tells us to pray for wisdom. Wisdom here is
not something abstract and academic. It is not just a vast knowledge of Church
doctrine. Rather it is a deep insight into how to live the gospel and do God’s
work. It is the gift to know that, even in suffering and setbacks, the love of
God may be guiding and strengthening us. For those who ask, it will be given
simply and unreservedly. But it needs to be asked for in faith, that is, with a
deep trust that God always wants the best for us.
We are not to be like a wave on the sea driven here and
there by the wind. Through our faith and trust, the Letter to the Ephesians
tells us:
We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and
blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery…but speaking the
truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into
Christ… (Eph 4:14-15)
This search for wisdom is to be done with confidence, sure
that God will give this gift which we need to be followers of Jesus. While it
gives us a certain self-confidence, it does not mean that we possess all the
truth. But we know what we know and are ready to learn more. The vacillating
person will not get anywhere. In times of trial this wisdom is greatly needed
so that we can respond in an appropriate way, in truth and love.
Third, James says that the poor man should be aware of his
special status in the eyes of God:
Blessed [Happy] are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:3)
With nothing of their own, their total dependence is on God.
Throughout the letter the author reaffirms the teaching of Jesus that worldly
prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God’s favour, as the people of the Old
Testament and even Jesus’ own disciples tended to believe in their early days
with Jesus (see Mark 10:24-26).
Remember also the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke
16:19-31). If all his dependence has been on his material wealth, the Rich Man
is really in a lowly position despite his status and power. As such, he “will
disappear like a flower in the field” and will leave this world with nothing.
The rich man needs to be aware of how vulnerable and weak he is. His wealth can
evaporate in the same way the hot midday sun makes the grass and flowers droop
in its heat.
The truly rich are not those who have the most, but rather
those whose needs are the least. James will have a lot more to say to the poor
and the rich as the letter proceeds.
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Commentary on Mark
8:11-13
The Pharisees, disturbed by what Jesus is saying and doing,
demand a “sign from heaven” to indicate that his authority comes from
God. He refuses to acquiesce to their request; they will not get a sign
on their terms.
The irony, of course, is that Jesus’ whole life is a sign—a
sign of God’s loving presence among us. In Mark, the ordinary people can
see this clearly. Only the leaders and (in Mark) Jesus’ own disciples are
slow to learn.
In the immediately foregoing passage, Jesus has just fed
4,000 people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. The signs are
there in abundance, but the Pharisees cannot see because they do not want to
see. Their blindness is a central theme to this part of Mark, as we shall
see. We too need to be aware of our own blindness and our failure to see the
signs of God’s love operating in our everyday lives.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2062g/
Monday,
February 16, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord God,
forgive us that in our weak faith
we ask sometimes for signs and wonders. We know that You are our Father, but it
is not always easy for us to recognize Your loving presence.
Give us eyes of faith to see the sign
that You are with us in Jesus and His message. We say so reluctantly, for it is
painful.
Purify our trust in You and in Jesus that we may become
more mature Christians, who love You through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Mark 8: 11-13
The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of
his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to
you, no sign will be given to this generation." Then he left them, got
into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.
Reflection
Mark 8: 11-13: The
Pharisees ask for a sign from Heaven. Today’s Gospel narrates a discussion of
the Pharisees with Jesus. Jesus also, as it happened with Moses in the Old
Testament, had fed hungry people in the desert, by multiplying the bread (Mk 8:
1-10). This is a sign that He presented himself before the people as a new
Moses. But the Pharisees were not capable of perceiving the meaning of the
multiplication of the loaves. They continued to discuss with Jesus and ask for
a sign from Heaven. They had understood nothing of all that Jesus had done.
Jesus sighed profoundly, probably feeling disgust and sadness before so much
blindness. He concludes by saying, “No sign will be given to this generation.”
He left them and went toward the other side of the lake. It is useless to show
a beautiful picture to one who does not want to open his eyes. People who close
their eyes cannot see!
The danger of dominating
ideology. Here we can clearly perceive how the yeast of Herod and the Pharisees
(Mk 8: 15), the dominating ideology of the time, made people lose their
capacity to analyze events objectively. This yeast came from afar and had sunk
profound roots in the life of the people. It went so far as to contaminate the
disciples’ mentality and manifested itself in many ways. With the formation
which Jesus gave them, He tried to uproot this yeast.
The following are some examples of
this fraternal help which Jesus gave to His disciples:
•
The mentality of a closed group. On a certain
day a person not belonging to the community used the name of Jesus to drive out
devils. John saw this and forbade it: “We tried to stop him because he was not
one of ours” (Mk 9: 38). John thought he had the monopoly on Jesus and wanted
to prevent others from using the name of Jesus to do good. John wanted a
community closed in upon itself. It was the yeast of the Elected People, the
separated People! Jesus responds, “Do not stop him! Anyone who is not against
us is for us!” (Mk 9: 39-40).
•
The mentality of a group which considers itself
superior to others. At times, the Samaritans did not want to offer hospitality
to Jesus. The reaction of some of the disciples was immediate: “May fire
descend from heaven and burn them up!” (Lk 9: 54). They thought that because
they were with Jesus, everyone had to welcome Him, to accept Him. They thought
they had God on their side to defend Him. It was the yeast of the Chosen
People, the Privileged People! Jesus reproaches them: “Jesus turned and rebuked
them” (Lk 9: 55).
•
The mentality of competition and prestige. The disciples
discussed among themselves about the first place (Mk 9: 33-34). It was the
yeast of class and of competitiveness, which characterized the official
religion and the society of the Roman Empire. It was already getting into the
small community around Jesus. Jesus reacts and orders them to have a contrary
mentality: “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last” (Mk 9: 35).
•
The mentality of those who marginalize the
little ones. The disciples scolded little children. It was the yeast of the mentality
of that time, according to which children did not count and should be
disciplined by adults. Jesus rebukes the disciples: “Let the little children
come to me!” (Mk 10: 14). The children become the teachers of the adults:
Anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never
enter it . (Lk 18: 17).
As it happened in the time
of Jesus, today also the dominating ideology arises once again and appears even
in the life of the community and of the family. The prayerful reading of the
Gospel, done in community, can help to change our view of things and to deepen
in us conversion and the fidelity which Jesus asks from us.
For Personal Confrontation
Faced with the alternative either
to have faith in Jesus or to ask for a sign from heaven, the Pharisees want a
sign from heaven. They were not able to believe in Jesus. The same thing
happens to me. What have I chosen?
The yeast of the Pharisees
prevented the disciples from perceiving the presence of the Kingdom in Jesus.
Has some residue of this yeast of the Pharisees remained in me?
Concluding
Prayer
Lord, You are generous and act generously; teach me Your
will. (Ps 119: 68)
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