March 8, 2026: Third Sunday of Lent

We get physically thirsty as humans, but we also have deeper spiritual thirsts that only God can satisfy.

The Hebrews got thirsty during their desert journey, and their complaining showed their lack of trust in God and a deeper spiritual thirst.

The woman came to the well to get water, but had deeper spiritual thirsts as revealed when she told Jesus she had no husband.

It's telling that Jesus was physically thirsty and asked the woman for a drink of water.  Yet He also thirsts for us to come to Him and have our deeper spiritual thirsts satisfied by His endless well of life-giving water.

While we might try to satisfy our thirsts in other ways, only water meets our bodies' need in the fullest way, and God alone offers us living water that can keep us whole. It's similar to how we don't just feed on bread alone but on God's Word.

We turn to Him because when we were sinners, Christ died for us, and from His death and Resurrection, He has poured out the Holy Spirit into our hearts so we can constantly be in touch with living waters that invigorate our souls.

I recall being at St. Augustine Mission, founded by St. Mother Katharine Drexel, 13 years ago on the 3rd Sunday of Lent.  She saw great need among the African Americans and Native Americans, and thirsted for someone to meet it.  Pope Leo XIII told her to be the missionary to them.

Her thirst drove her to find her purpose in life, and then to work in fulfilling the thirst of the needy, just as we can do when we draw constantly on the living water of God.

March 1, 2026: Second Sunday of Lent

This journey in a spirit of penance and great intentionality through Lent gives us a new perspective on life.

Abram gains a new lease on life when God calls him to go forth to a new land, and in this new way, God will bless him and then Abram's descendants will be a blessing in all the world.

Jesus offers a new perspective to three of the Apostles.  Up to this point, He has talked about His Passion.  Then He leads three Apostles up a high mountain, and gives them a glimpse of His glory when He is transfigured.

They saw the glory that would come when Jesus was raised from the dead, just as we're reminded of where we're headed during this Lenten journey.

Even as much as St. Peter talked about staying in that glory, much like we might want to, we descend the mountain, and follow the way of Christ, as God commands us.

Christ is truly the Beloved Son of God, sent to fulfill God's will, to bring about a greater good, and a greater glory.

So we can be courageous in following the way of Christ as His disciples, bearing hardship, yet with great reassurance that we are bound for glory, as we open ourselves to the transformation God works in us to unveil His glory.

As I celebrate Nebraska's birthday today, I recall how 13 years ago this week, I went forth with a group for a service trip at St. Augustine Mission in Winnebago, NE, a week that gave me new perspective and glimpses of Heaven, and truly transformed me, in the spirit of St. Mother Katharine Drexel, who went forth, devoted herself to God as a religious sister, and making an impact by serving.

February 22, 2026: First Sunday of Lent

Adam and Eve experienced the goodness of God.  But then a doubt planted by the cunning serpent caused them to turn away from God, and the effects harmed teh succeeding generations of humanity.

Then Jesus came and reversed the curse of sin.  He also showed what faithfulness and obedience look like.  In comparison to the Hebrews, who were unfaithful in their desert journey, Jesus, led by the Spirit, contended with the devil in the desert and showed obedience in three different temptations, drawing from the Word of God to show what it means to be in a relationship with God.

So when the transgressions of Adam and Eve unleashed the fury of sin and death upon the world, Christ, by His obedience, offered us the gift of forgiveness and life, which was a truly great gift.

We are called during this Lenten season to turn away from our own desires and more deeply embrace God and His grace that is truly life-giving because it enables us to live obediently to the One True God.

Because He saved us in Christ, we look to Him as the One worthy of worship.

Normally, February 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter.  In the Gospel reading for that Feast, we read how St. Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  This Feast speaks to our Lenten journey as we are called to honor God and live His way, proclaiming Who He is.

It's also the birthday of George Washington, another example of leadership, and as he contributed to starting a new nation, he had a sense of noble principles which to strive for and realize for the flourishing of all people.

When we live as God calls us to, seeking a relationship with Him, Who is the Truth, we find true freedom, acclaiming God as God alone, Who rules the world.

February 18, 2026: Ash Wednesday

We are called to repent, changing the focus of our lives.

We are reminded that we have come from dust and we will return to dust.

Yet even with this world broken by sin, God provides a way for us to return to Him, through the Gospel.

So we turn anew to the Gospel to believe the Good News it proclaims and live the reality of being reconciled back to God.

We do so with hearts that seek to be pleasing not to people but ultimately to God, Who provides the way of salvation for us out of sin and into Eternal Life.

February 15, 2026: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The commandments of God have life-giving power, if we go beyond just the words.

Jesus clearly stated in the Gospel reading that He didn't come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.  He fulfilled it by showing how the Law calls us to shape our interior disposition to reflect God's character, to be people of integrity and display holiness in our relationships, not seeking to tear others down, but to edify them.

This is the greater wisdom of which St. Paul writes that embraces God's presence, rather than repelling Him.

So even now that Christ has come to Earth, the Law remains.  Furthermore, Christ grants us the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit so we can go beyond just following the letter of the Law to heed its intent and to live it so we can embrace the heart of God and show it in how we live.

February 8, 2026: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus Christ calls us to be salt and light, becuase God has created us to be filled with His goodness and shine forth His love that He pours into us.

Like St. Paul writes, in humility, we magnify the power of God as we put love in action through deeds that serve others.

And as the prophet Isaiah writes, as people of faith, we don't just settle for religious rituals.  We are called to transformation that leads us to meet the needs of others, and to be charitable, holding back from malicious speech, and then our Light shines as God truly works through us.

We are not meant to live for ourselves, but to find fulfillment as we are transformed to shine what God has put into us.

February 2, 2026: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The people of Israel marveled at God's Presence descending on the Temple in Jerusalem.

When Mary the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph brought Jesus Christ to the Temple to offer Him in accordance wiht hte Law, there was rejoicing anew in the presence of God coming to the Temple.

Two faithful people, Simeon and Anna, praised God for the appearance of Jesus Christ in the Temple.  Simeon rejoiced in the Savior Who is a Light to the nations and the glory of God's people Israel.

We spent Advent preparing to welcome Christ, and we spent Christmas Season marveling at how God manifested Himself in Christ.  Once again, we behold how God has revealed Himself in Christ and open our hearts to let Christ transform us into Temples of His Glory, so that, free from disordered desires, we may bear His Presence into the world.