18 February 2026 - the Father who sees in secret

 

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

When you give alms...

When you pray...

When you fast...

Today we begin our annual campaign of Lenten renewal and transformation. Although we are invited to the traditional practices of prayer, fasting, and alms-giving, these are not meant to be manifestations of self-hatred. We do not undertake them because we are bad, in order to punish ourselves, but because they are good, in order that we might grow in holiness. 

But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

The point of our Lenten practices not so much what happens externally, much less what others witness, but rather what happens within our hearts. It isn't so much about whether these actions are functional or meet some success criteria as to whether they lead us closer to the Father who sees in secret.

When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.

We sometimes seek consolation prizes through our Lenten practices, something less than drawing near to God, something apparently more easily attainable. But such prizes have a very limited ability to console. We may seek pity from others, or simply content ourselves with a narrative of self-pity within our own thoughts. We may seek to appear pious or generous in the eyes of others, or simply content to think of ourselves as paragons of virtue. But all of these options fall short of acting for the Father who sees in secret, who is interested, above all, in what happens within our hearts.

There is something more at work here than a merely automatic consequence of virtuous asceticism. We are asked to enter into something deeper than would be possible without the assistance of grace. We are invited to experience a transformative that we could never bring about through our own efforts, to "become the righteousness of God" in Christ. To do so we must rely on God in such a way that if he were not there we would fall flat. But he is there, always, in secret, awaiting us. 

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

Matt Maher - 40 Days

 

17 February 2026 - leaven out

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.

They had forgotten to bring bread. To us it seems a minor mistake. But the disciples seemed to be kicking themselves for it and seeing everything else through the lens of that failure. 

Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod." 

No doubt they assumed that the supernatural bread miracles of which they had just been a part were in view, since Jesus was still talking about bread. But they were stuck on the level of the physical reality. Their fixation on their own minor mistake prevented them from seeing the spiritual significance.

And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?

The fact that they did not actually have physical bread was not actually a problem since they still had Jesus himself, the bread of life. They needed to recognize this fact in order to avoid the temptation to rely on other strategies to feed the crowds. The leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod might lead to some measure of success, as it seemed at the time. But that success was ultimately based on divisiveness and destruction. Rather, the disciples needed to rely on the bread of life to unite the world, just as relying on Jesus had allowed the crowds to remain united. His gift allowed both Jews (at the feeding of the five thousand) and Gentiles (at the feeding of the four thousand) to remain centered on him, represented by the twelve and seven baskets left over respectively.

The disciples assumed a mindset of scarcity based on their mistakes, and the possibility of those mistakes to impede their purpose in life. But they were meant to realize that with Jesus they always had a superabundance that was more than equal to any situation in which they found themselves. The real danger of a lack of bread was that they would fail to turn to Jesus for help but instead try different strategies to solve their problems, whether merely human, or demonic. They were, we know, slow learners. After one multiplication of loaves they still seemed unable to conceive that there might be a second. And after both they still somehow assumed that a lack of bread might be their biggest problem.

No one experiencing temptation should say,
"I am being tempted by God";

The disciples seemed to act as though God was tempting them, in the sense that he was out to get them, looking for any reason to condemn them. They did not yet fully understand that he was entirely good and that "all good giving and every perfect gift is from above". They were not yet convinced of the love God had for them (see First John 4:16), at least, not fully. Thus Jesus pointed their attention away from themselves, away from their negligible, minor mistakes, and toward the superabundance of God as it was present in his own person, demonstrated in this case by the leftover fragments of bread. 

We have said before that we too have a hard time believing in God's abundance, even after we have experienced it. And so we must again repeat that, and point to today's Gospel as more evidence to help confirm that belief. We too get hung up on our failures in ways that make us less open to trusting in Jesus, as though our mistakes have surprised him, or somehow negated his ability to work through us. There is great risk when we write ourselves off as disqualified, risk that we might turn to the alternative leaven available in our own day in order to feed ourselves and the world.  Believing that God loves us, really knowing and understanding it in our hearts, is not a nice but optional extra. It is essential that we let him convince us of his love so that he can work through us as much as he desires, even in spite of our limitations and failings.

And now, a few alleluia songs before Lent. After all, as Saint John Paul the Great said, "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!". Shout out any favorites I missed in the comments.

Caleb & John - Hallelujah Feeling

 

Newsboys - He Reigns

Michael W Smith - Agnus Dei

 

Singing Hallelujah

 

Saint Michael's Singers - Alleluia Sing To Jesus

16 February 2026 - a doubtful test

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

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."

These people who asked for a sign where like those about whom James wrote in his epistle. They asked for wisdom, but did not ask in faith. They were like a wave of the sea driven and tossed about by the wind. They asked in order to demonstrate that their doubts about Jesus were accurate rather than because of any openness to the fact that they might be mistaken about him. Neither faith nor true wisdom can arise from rigorous skepticism. None of us are qualified to put God to the test as though by some kind of science experiment. In some way faith must always issue from a spark that is his gift. It doesn't begin in us, but by a response to an invitation from God whose eternity precedes any interest in him on our part. We aren't so wise that we can even frame the question of the identity of Jesus in a way we could test. We can't create a valid null hypothesis that we could set out to disprove. We may be aware of the claims of the supernatural, things that transcend what ought to be possible if what is claimed of him were false. But he never seems to feel obliged to do these things just to measure up to our scrutiny. He does them when needed, and not in a lab. But then, it is not as though we are neutral observers, ready to go one way or another based on evidence. We do not stand over and above the creation of which we are a part. We have prior commitments. We are either tied down to this world by the gravity of sin or else are in some stage of responding to the invitation to faith that sets us free. This does not mean it is foolish to respond to the invitation to faith with the assent of belief, as though to do so meant relying on random chance. But it is the case that the question of truth can never be separated from the moral content of choosing for or against God. 

But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.

God gives wisdom generously to those who are sincere. When James tells us that he does not give to those who ask while doubting he does not mean that he only gives to those entirely without any doubtful thoughts whatsoever. Rather, he means that our request should be motivated by confidence. Otherwise, if we ask because we doubt, but say we desire wisdom, we will be acting in contradiction to ourselves. Jesus taught us that to the one who has much, more will be given. It is true here in matters of faith, prayer, and wisdom. But no one need start with little or nothing. We all have the option to begin, either on the basis of our own poverty, or with the abundance God never ceases to offer us.

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."

The Pharisees imagined that they already possessed wisdom. By insisting on this illusion they prevented themselves from being open to actually receiving it. But, as Scripture says, he gives wisdom to the simple (see Psalm 19:7). Thus we must become like children. We must, as the saying goes, empty our cup, so that God can fill us.

 

Songs In His Presence - Psalm 19: Lord, You Have The Words

 

15 February 2026 - fire or water?

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

We have seen that an external and performative approach to the law leaves much to be desired and is ultimately insufficient. The Pharisees were able to manipulate the law by selectively prioritizing verses that seemed to endorse their sinful impulses. For instance, they were able to take the law about Sabbath rest and use it to justify their hostile opposition of Jesus. They ended up flipping the goodness motivating the law on its head such that they ended up trying to destroy life rather than saving it. If it is "life and death, good and evil" that are before man, as Sirach wrote, they clearly stretched forth their hand to death. And yet, for all this, the law was not at fault. There were limits to what the law could accomplish in fallen human hearts. It might prevent murder and adultery, but it did this by way of external consequences, rather than by inner conversion. Jesus did not desire to simply disregard the law and start fresh. Rather he fulfilled, not only by further specifying the provisions of the law, but by fulfilling God's promise through the prophets to give new hearts to the human race.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (see Ezekiel 36:26).

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people (see Jeremiah 31:33).

Thus it is not enough for us to avoid murder will still cherishing and indulging anger within our hearts. This is similar to how it was not enough for the exile generation to leave Egypt when the Egyptian idols still dominated their hearts, when they still longed for the leeks, the garlic, and the melons of they who held them captive (see Numbers 11:5).

The internal transformative to which we are called is a gift. But it is one with which we must cooperate if our righteousness is to surpass the scribes in the Pharisees. The Spirit is the one who initiates. But we must respond when he convicts us. When he makes us notice that we are dwelling on anger or allowing ourselves to careen dangerously toward occasions of temptation to lust we must use the strength he gives us to not only avoid the bad but even replace it with good. We can, perhaps, reconcile with those with whom we are angry, or at least pray for them. We can pray for the human dignity of those toward whom we were tempted to treat as objects of lust. Or, if we cannot even safely think of them, we can at least maintain custody of our eyes and turn our minds elsewhere, to the true, the excellent, and the praiseworthy (see Philippians 4:8). Anyone who has ever attempted this struggle without active reliance of God's grace while readily confirm that it feels overwhelming and impossible. But because Jesus fulfilled the law and gave us new hearts it is possible with his help.

But I say to you, do not swear at all;

Divorce and the swearing of private oaths were realities that seemed necessary under the Old Covenant, in which the old way to influence behavior was by external regulations. But in the ideal of the New Covenant the marriage without the possibility or need of divorce became real. It was no longer merely assumed that adultery was going to be part of the story, and indeed, it did not need to be. In the New Covenant people could now desire the truth enough to avoid the need for amplification when they supposedly really meant what they were saying, which in reality often led only to greater degrees of dissembling, the evidence of which was the way the language of their oath swearing had been twisted with too much shame to directly address the Most High.

The fact that Jesus raised the standard of the law should not cause us dismay, as though he only increased the arduous difficulty of our call to righteousness. He actually makes it possible for us to harmonize in inner lives with our external actions, such that all are motivated by desire for the good, all are motivated by love. At first the vision seems illusory or at best oblique. But the more we lean into responding to the words of Jesus with the help of the Spirit the more we will even here and now begin to discover something of the reality that Paul described to the church at Corinth:

What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him, 
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

Elevation Worship - Trust In God

 

14 February 2026 - where can anyone get enough?

Today's Readings
(Audio)

His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”

After the earlier occasion when Jesus fed the five thousand they ought to have already known the answer to their own question. But it is true of all of us that we don't always immediately internalize the superabundance of Jesus even when he clearly manifests it in our own lives. We still tend to face future situations, even similar ones, as though we are on are own. The disciples may thus have forgotten that they did have a way to help. Or, if they dimly remembered, they didn't choose to remember fully because they were now in Gentile territory (the Decapolis) and they did not yet have enough room in their hearts for these people. Jesus had been moved with compassion for the five thousand, but was equally moved with pity for this crowd. He desired that his disciples enlarge their hearts and expand the borders of their compassion to recognize that these people had the same needs as anyone, and that, he, Jesus, was the solution.

If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.

The disciples role in feeding the crowds represented the duties of the Church to the world in the age to come. She was not only to meet the spiritual needs of the people, but also do everything necessary to ensure that their material needs were met, and this precisely so that they might not miss out on the spiritual things Jesus had to offer because they were otherwise too distracted. Such individuals might begin to discover the reality of Jesus but go out to find a way to met their needs but experience a collapse on the way of the budding spiritual life that was beginning to grow within them. Thus their material needs, while not primary, were almost like prerequisites in the hierarchy of necessities. Jesus would refuse to be made king merely on the basis of meeting physical needs. But when he could meet them in such a way that it conduced to the spiritual good of others he always did so.

He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.

The Church is not an NGO or a nonprofit that merely addresses itself to the many physical needs of the world. There is a difference about the love with which she addresses those needs, and the guidance she follows in doing so, and the aid she receives from the Lord as she does, that distinguishes her efforts. Every instance of genuine Christian love is a foreshadowing in preparation of the consummation of that love with Christ in heaven. Therefore all acts of love, even the corporeal acts of mercy, also lead to the Eucharist, since it is there that we partake of a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. We must not be content to merely give people bread and then leave them to their own spiritual resources. Of that bread it is said that they will hunger again. But the bread Jesus really wants to give, his flesh for the life of the world, leaves no more room for hunger.

They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people. 

The seven baskets left over may have represented the seven pagan nations. Perhaps the four in the four thousand pointed to the four cardinal directions. The lesson would then be that there was no one anywhere who was not loved by Jesus, no one who could not find room in his compassionate heart. The disciples were supposed to learn this lesson so that the needs, both material and spiritual, of the world could be met. So too are we to ensure that we don't have blind spots. So too must we ensure that we don't stop short of playing our part in the plans Jesus has to share his love with the world.

BarlowGirl - Enough

 

13 February 2026 - he has done all things well

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 

There are many times when the presence of a crowd isn't conducive to healing. It may lead to self-consciousness that makes one unwilling to be fully vulnerable to the Lord. Yet many of us are unwilling to be led away from the noise and confusion into a place of stillness where we can be alone with Jesus. Even if we can't effectively communicate with the crowds, we refuse to unplug so as to become plugged in to something better. We can't, or can only barely, hear the crowds through our own filters and preconceptions. What we often do hear sounds more like cacophonous unintelligible noise. When we try and speak into this milieu is it any wonder that our words don't come out as we intend, that we are unable to make ourselves completely intelligible, or to have the impact we desire? Yet, we think, better the devil you know than the messiah you don't. The world may be filled with noise, but we are used to that noise, even if it deafens us. Who knows what might happen alone in the silence with Jesus?

He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")

Had he healed the man if the presence of the crowd it might have seemed, even to the man healed, like it was more of a publicity stunt than an act of mercy. But by his one on one engagement with the deaf-mute man he demonstrated that his action was entirely for his sake. Not only that, but the way in which Jesus healed the man was deeply intimate. He touched him in a way both physical and spiritual, once again shaping the elements of creation, as he had done with Adam, but this time to restore and to heal him. Just as we are often afraid to come away from the crowds, so too are we often afraid to allow Jesus to touch us so deeply. But when we are willing, and let him have his way in us, we will hear in a new way. We will listen to God's word first, with none of the crowd to distract us, and will learn to speak in accord with that word.

And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. 

Only once we've had this encounter with Jesus can we hope to have useful communication with the crowds of our world. Only then will we know how to listen with compassion. And only then will we have something worth saying in response.

He ordered them not to tell anyone. 
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it. 
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well. 
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

It is true that there was no practical way to keep the crowds from realizing what had happened. But by telling them not to proclaim it he perhaps at least caused them to more fully appreciate what exactly the event was about which they desired to speak. It was not merely a miracle, much less self-promotion. It was in fact God fulfilling the promises that he had made through the prophets (see Isaiah 35:5-6). It is he alone who does all things well. 

Sonicflood - I Want To Know You

 

12 February 2026 - dog food?

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”

If it were us who came to Jesus in our time of need and heard this in reply we might have made a variety of different responses, from despair to anger. But would any of us respond with in the persistent, humble, and hopeful way that the Syrophoenician woman did? We sometimes feel a sense of entitlement that makes us imagine ourselves to be deserving of divine blessings. When God makes us reckon with the fact that it is his election that is the basis of blessings we tend to react by closing down, walling off, and walking away. Or else, we take it personally, as a condemnation of us as individuals. We internalize the reality of ourselves as "dogs" and wallow in the fact that we are apparently unwanted. Either anger or a sense of self-pity can equally keep us from receiving blessings of which God has by no means denied us. Are we too proud to receive that which is unearned and undeserved? Or are we too saddened by our own insignificance to even ask? Somehow, miraculously, this Greek woman did not succumb to either extreme.

She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”

Did Jesus say no? There were dozens of permutations of what he may have intended to say that implied a negative answer. It would have been easy to give up and go home. She was a foreigner, a woman, and a stranger. Jesus did not exactly give her such a welcome as to imply he was ready to help. He seemed to emphasize the difference between them, seemed to imply it was a barrier to her request. It would have been easy for a fallen human mind to assume the worst, as we often do. 

In some sense, the most miraculous thing in this account is that this woman didn't give up. She persisted, perhaps because she recognized that Jesus was more than a mere teacher and healer. She called him "Lord", and seemed to believe that his goodness could not leave even dogs without sufficient scraps to satisfy them. She might not have fully understood what it really meant to call Jesus Lord. But she did seem to regard him with an appropriate sort of reverence. This was not only demonstrated by the way she fell at his feet and begged him. It was demonstrated by the way she expressed faith in the superabundance Jesus possessed, from which he could give her what she asked without anyone else needing to have less because of it. It was not a zero sum game with God. He didn't have to balance blessings, because he always had more than enough, infinite sufficiency in himself. This fact that he could feed the dogs and the children with no one left in hunger or want was a nascent, implicit belief in his divinity.

Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

Her faith made possible one of the two times in the Gospels in which Jesus healed from a distance. Her healing not only fulfill her wishes and save her daughter. It implicitly demonstrated that the Gospel was meant to be bread for all peoples, both Gentile and Jew. It was among the first indications of the feast that would be fully revealed in the Eucharist.

When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,
and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,
as the heart of his father David had been.

Solomon seemed to turn to other sources to meet his desires. He turned to strange gods when his own God no longer satisfied him. We are often more like Solomon in this regard than the Syrophoenician woman, more ready to try alternatives than to persist in prayer. But this woman, among other lessons, demonstrates that the lack of an immediate is by no means a denial. Sometimes it really is meant to lead us to greater faith, and even to unlock blessings for those around us.

John Michael Talbot - I Am The Bread Of Life