February 22, 2026
First Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 22
Reading
1
The LORD God
formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God
planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now the serpent
was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (cf. 3a) Be
merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Reading
2
Brothers and
sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one, the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned.
For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation;
but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.
or
Brothers and
sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.
For if, by the
transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.
Verse
Before the Gospel
One does not live
on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Gospel
At that time Jesus
was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil
took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, ""All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then the devil
left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022226.cfm
Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
The Gospel of today’s Mass always features the temptations
of Jesus in the desert. It clearly links with the Lenten themes of
fasting, penance and reconciliation with God and with our brothers and sisters.
In the First Reading, there is a striking contrast between
Jesus in the Gospel, and our First Parents in the Garden of Eden. The Second
Reading connects the two events: it was the sin of our First Parents which
brought about the coming of Jesus to restore our relationship with God.
“Oh happy fault!” (O felix culpa!) as the liturgy of the Easter Vigil
says of that first sin. The weakness of our First Parents brought about
the coming of Jesus and all that he means to us for our lives. It is an
example of how even behind unpleasant and, in fact, evil happenings, God’s love
can be found at work.
It is not necessary for us to understand either the Garden
of Eden story or Jesus’s experience with Satan as being strictly
historical. These stories are primarily vehicles to communicate important
truths to us.
Led by the Spirit
Today’s Gospel story follows immediately on Jesus’ baptism and endorsement by
his Father as his “Son, the Beloved” to whom we are to listen.
Note that Jesus is led into the desert by the “Spirit” of
God. The purpose clearly is not to lead him to do evil, but as a testing
of his fitness for his coming mission. Will he fail like our First Parents or
like the Israelites of old? Or will prove himself worthy of the mission
he has been given?
The testing will be done not by God directly, but by the
“devil”—the Evil One, the Tempter. It is pictured as taking place in a
barren region between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. Jesus, like Moses before him,
had fasted for 40 days. He is alone in the wilderness without food. He is
hungry, weak and vulnerable. Now is the time for the Tempter to move in.
Who is Jesus?
Each of the three temptations touches on Jesus’ identity as the Son of God,
which had been revealed during his baptism.
This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. (Matt
3:17)
The devil then begins:
If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become
loaves of bread.
God fed the Israelites with manna in the desert.
Surely he will feed his own Son? Why have powers and not use them? Why
not take this opportunity to prove that you really are the Son of God?
It is important to realise that all temptations—and these
tests are no exception—come to us under the guise of some kind of
goodness. No sane person chooses the purely evil unless some positive
benefit is seen to come from it. In each of the three tests today, Jesus
is being led to do something which would seem to enhance his mission as Lord
and Saviour.
In responding to the devil, Jesus will not just use his own
words, but each time quote a saying from the Hebrew Testament. In this
first test, Jesus rejects the offer by saying that:
One does not live by bread alone…
True happiness does not consist in satisfying material wants
or in having many things, but in identifying ourselves fully with the vision of
life which God gives us through Jesus.
Further, for Jesus to have changed the stones into bread
would have been to show a lack of trust in the providential care of his Father,
who will see that he has all he needs for his life and mission.
Testing God
Satan’s next approach is to bring Jesus to the highest point of the Temple in
Jerusalem. This is God’s very dwelling place. Surely here he will
take care of his Son. The devil says:
If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down…
Jesus has just shown his trust in God by not changing the
stones into bread. Now here is a chance really to prove that trust.
Two things would happen:
First, God will not allow Jesus to be hurt. Now it is the devil himself
who cleverly quotes Scripture:
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’
God promises his providential care in the normal course of
our lives, but he never promises supernatural intervention when we do something
unreasonable. We are told in the Psalms:
Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved. (Ps 55:22)
And St Augustine said:
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though
everything depended on you.
God takes care of those who take care of themselves.
Second, if Jesus jumps and is miraculously saved, then
everyone will know his divine origin and will believe in him! But Jesus
quotes the Scripture back again:
Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Real faith is total trust; it is not, as Scripture scholar
William Barclay says, “doubt looking for proof”.
Showdown
After the failure of the first two attempts, Satan now drops all
pretence. He brings Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all the
kingdoms of the world. All this can be Jesus’, if he falls down and
worships the devil. Is not this what Jesus wants: to bring all the
kingdoms of the world into his own Kingdom? Is that not the purpose of
his whole life?
It is, of course, an impossible bargain. It would make
no sense for the whole world to submit itself to Jesus as Lord, and then for
Jesus himself to submit to the Evil One. Yet, it is a bargain we
constantly try to make—to belong to God and to go to any lengths to get the
things we want—material wealth, success, a recognised standing in the eyes of
others, or whatever we deem important to our happiness.
Jesus will put it differently later on:
…what will it profit them if they gain the whole world
but forfeit their life? (Matt 16:26)
What can one give in exchange for the deep relationship with
God for which we were born?
Jesus absolutely rejects the offer:
Away with you, Satan!
It reminds us of one of the words said to Peter when he
tried to deflect Jesus from the way he had to go and was told:
Get behind me, Satan! (Matt 16:23)
Symbols of real tests
In fact, these three tests are really symbols of real tests that we find in the
life of Jesus.
Jesus did produce large quantities of bread on two
occasions, but not for himself, but rather to feed the hungry.
He rejected calls from his opponents to prove who he was by
performing some striking signs. He said the only sign would be his own
death and resurrection.
After one of the feedings (as told in John’s Gospel), he had
the crowd at his feet and they wanted to make him king. Instead, he fled
to the mountains to pray to his Father, and packed his ambitious disciples off
in a boat and into a storm which gave them something else to think about—their
own survival!
Jesus passes all three tests and will continue to do so all
during his life right up to the moment of his death. In the garden of
Gethsemane, he will beg to be spared the horrors of his Passion, but will then
put aside his own fears of suffering and death and accept his Father’s
way. On the cross he will make the despairing cry:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt
27:46)
And soon after, in total submission, he will say:
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (Luke
23:26)
The way of the Father is the only way that will lead him—and
us—to the life that never ends. And then, all tears will be wiped away.
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Sunday,
February 22, 2026
First Sunday of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send
Your Spirit to help us read the Bible as You read it
to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word written in the
Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the
disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the
cross, which seemed to signal the end of all hope, appeared to them as source
of life and resurrection.
Create silence in us that we may listen to Your
voice in Creation and in
Scripture, in events and
people, above all in the poor and the suffering. May Your
word guide us so that we too, like the disciples on the way to
Emmaus, may experience the force of Your
resurrection and witness to others that You are alive
in our midst as source of brotherhood and sisterhood, of justice and peace. We
ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who have revealed the
Father and sent Your Spirit. Amen
Reading
A Key to the Reading:
Let us read this text
describing the temptations of Jesus, temptations that are also those of all
human beings. While reading this text we should pay attention to the following:
what are the temptations, where do they take place, and how does Jesus deal
with them?
A Division of the Text to Help
with the Reading:
•
Mt 4: 1-2: The situation where and whence the
temptation arises: desert, spirit, fast and hunger
•
Mt 4: 3-4: The temptation concerning bread.
•
Mt 4: 5-7: The temptation concerning prestige.
•
Mt 4: 8-11: The temptation concerning power.
The Text:
1-2 Then
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
And He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward He was hungry.
3-4 And
the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command
these stones to become loaves of bread." But He answered, "It is
written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
5-7 Then the devil took
Him to the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to
Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
'He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you
up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him,
"Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"
8-11 Again, the devil took him to a very high
mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;
and he said to Him, "All these I will give You, if You will fall down and
worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! for it is
written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you
serve.'" Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered
to Him. A Time of Prayerful
Silence
so that the Word of God may enter
into our hearts and enlighten our lives.
Some Questions
to help us meditate and pray.
•
What were the temptations? What is the
connection between the Spirit, the desert, the fast and hunger and the
temptation of Jesus?
•
What does the word temptation suggest to us
today? How does it affect me in my daily life?
•
The tempter or Satan is he
what takes me away from or makes me deviate from God’s
path. It may be that I have already been Satan for someone, just like Peter was
for Jesus.
•
The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to be
tempted by the devil. This calls to mind the temptations of the people in the
desert after the exodus from Egypt. What does Matthew wish to suggest and teach
through this reminder of the temptations of the people in the desert?
•
The devil uses the Bible to tempt Jesus. Jesus
uses the Bible to overcome temptation!
Can the Bible be used for everything? How and for what end do I use the Bible?
•
The temptation of the bread. How can we speak of
God to those who have all they need? How can we speak of God to those who are
hungry?
•
The temptation concerning prestige. Prestige
from knowledge, from money, from faultless moral conduct, from appearances,
from fame, from honor: Do these exist in my life?
•
The temptation concerning power. Wherever two
people meet, a relationship of power comes into play. How do I use the power
that comes my way: in my family, in the community, in society, in my
neighborhood? Do I give in to the temptation?
A Key to the Reading
for those who wish to go deeper
into the matter.
•
Jesus was tempted. Matthew renders the
temptations intelligible:
temptation of bread, temptation of prestige, temptation of
power. These are various forms of messianic hope that, then, existed among the
people. The glorious Messiah who, like a new Moses, would feed the people in
the desert: "command these stones to turn into
bread!" The unknown Messiah who would impose himself on all by
means of a spectacular sign in the Temple: "throw
yourself from here!" The nationalist Messiah who would come to
dominate the world: "All these things I will
give to you!"
•
In the Old Testament, identical temptations
allow the people in the desert to fall after their exodus from Egypt (Deut 6:
3; 6: 16; 6: 13). Jesus repeats history. He resists the temptations and
prevents them from perverting God’s plan. The
tempter or Satan is whatever makes us deviate from God’s plan. Peter was Satan for Jesus (Mt 16:23).
•
Temptation was always there in the life of
Jesus. It went with Him from the beginning
to the end, from His baptism to His death on the cross.
The more the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom spread in the
midst of the people, the greater the pressure on Jesus to adapt Himself to the messianic expectations of the
people to be the messiah desired and expected by others: "a glorious and
nationalist messiah," "a messiah king," "a messiah high
priest," "a messiah judge," "a warrior messiah,"
"a messiah doctor of the law." The letter to the Hebrews says,
"Like us, he was tried in all things, except sin" (Heb 4: 15).
•
But temptation never succeeded in distracting Jesus
from His mission. He continued firmly on His journey as "The Servant Messiah,"
as proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah and awaited especially by the poor, the anawim. In this, Jesus did not
fear-provoking conflicts with the authorities and with those dearest to Him. All those who tried
to make Him deviate from his path received
hard replies and unexpected reactions:
•
Peter tried
to take Him away from the cross: "Far
from it, Lord, this will never happen!" (Mt 16: 22). And he heard the
reply, "Get behind me, Satan!" (Mk 8: 33).
•
His relatives,
wanted to take Him home. They thought He was mad (Mk
3:
21), but they heard harsh words, which seemed to create a rupture (Mk 3: 33).
Then, when Jesus had become famous, they wanted Him
to appear more often in public and to remain in Jerusalem, the capital (Jn 7:
3-4). Again, Jesus replies showing that there
is a radical difference between his purpose and theirs (Jn 7: 6-7).
•
His parents complained: "Son, why have
You done so?" (Lk 2: 48). But Jesus replies, "Why were you
looking for Me? Do you not know that I must be about
My Father’s business?" (Lk 2: 49).
•
The apostles were glad of the publicity Jesus
was getting in the midst of the people and wanted Him to turn
towards the people. "Everyone is looking for You!"
(Mk 1: 37). But they heard the refusal, "Let us go elsewhere, to the
neighboring villages and cities, so that I may preach also to them; it is for
this that I have come!" (Mk 1: 38).
•
John the Baptist wanted to coerce Jesus into
being "the strict judge messiah" (Lk 3: 9; Mt 3: 7-12; Mt 11: 3).
Jesus reminded John of the prophecies and asked him to compare them to facts,
"Go tell John what you have heard and seen!" (Mt 11: 4-6 and Is 29:
18-19; 3: 5-6; 61: 1).
•
The people, when they saw the signs of the
multiplication of the bread in the desert, concluded, "This surely is the
prophet who is to come on earth!" (Jn 6: 14). They got together to urge
Jesus to be "the messiah king" (Jn 5: 15), but Jesus took refuge on
the mountain to be with the Father in solitude.
•
When in prison and at the hour of darkness (Lk
22: 53), the temptation to be "the
warrior messiah" appeared. But Jesus says, "Put your sword back
into its scabbard!" (Mt 26: 52) and "Pray that you may not enter into temptation" (Lk 22:
40,45).
•
Jesus turned to the Word of God and there found
light and nourishment. Above all, it is the prophecy of the Servant, proclaimed
by Isaiah (Isa 42: 1-9; 49: 1-6; 50: 3-9; 52: 13-53, 12) that fills Him and
motivates Him to go on. At the baptism and in the transfiguration, He receives
the Father’s confirmation for His journey, His mission. The voice from heaven
repeats the words with which Isaiah presents the Servant of Yahweh to the
people, "This is My beloved Son, hear Him!" (Mk 1: 11; 9: 6).
•
Jesus defines His mission with these words,
"The Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His
life for the redemption of many!" (Mt 20: 28; Mk 10: 45). This lesson He
learned from His mother, who said to the angel, "Behold the handmaid of
the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word!" (Lk 1: 38). By
turning to the Word of God to deepen awareness of His mission and by seeking
strength in prayer, Jesus faced temptations. In the midst of the poor, the
anawim, and united to His Father, faithful to both, He resisted and followed
the way of the Servant Messiah, the way of service to the people (Mt 20: 28).
Psalm 91 (90)
God Our Protector is With Us in
Times of Temptation
He who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to
the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and
from the deadly pestilence;
He will cover you with His
pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the
terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that
stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your
habitation, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
For He will give his angels charge of you to guard you in
all your ways.
On their hands they will
bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the
lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I
will protect him, because he knows My name.
When he calls to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in
trouble, I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My
salvation.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank
You for Your word, which has made the Father’s
will clearer to us. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and
give us the strength to follow what
Your Word has revealed to us. Like Mary,Your Mother, may we not only
listen to the Word but also put it into practice. Who live and reign with the
Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
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