Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection February 23, 2026

23rd February 2026 (Monday)

Psalter: Week 1

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. “You shall not oppress your neighbour or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbour. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbour: I am the Lord. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbour, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.

Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 (R. see John 6:63c)

R/. Your words, O Lord, are Spirit and life

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ

R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ

V/. Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the 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, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, 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, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Monday – First Week of Lent

Main Point: God isn’t concealed in the clouds, He’s concealed in the people we ignore the most.

1. Most people think that in order to be considered holy you need to look like a saint and pray all the time. However, Holiness is not a matter of appearance and the first reading gives us the example God shows us to Moses, which is very practical and down to earth.

2. God states, “Be holy because I am holy,” and then gives the steps. No stealing, no lying, no holding back any worker’s pay, and do not trip a blind person.

3. You can look at it like this, holiness is just good people in everyday life. It is the act and choice of loving your neighbor like yourself, even when you don’t feel like it, or you are busy or annoyed.

4. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus takes it even further. He gives each of us the questions to the final or the last test we will ever take in our life, and this test has nothing to do with how many prayers you know.

5. What was the test? Did you feed me? Did you visit me? Did you welcome me? The people in the story are confused and ask, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or sick?”

6. Jesus says, “What you did for the least of people, you did for me.” Truthfully, I have difficulty with that. It’s much easier to love a perfect being that I can’t see than to love the imperfect, the messy, the unhappy, the people that are right in front of me.

7. Jesus is waiting for you and I in the places we don’t want to go and in the people we don’t want to see. He is in the annoying classmate, in the neglected, and even the homeless. If we want to encounter God, we only have to look at the people around us.

My Practice: Let’s think of a specific person we want to bless as God’s blessing in our life who we consider the least, and why we will not only pray for them, but we will do a small, quiet act of kindness for them, and we won’t ask or expect any acknowledgment or thanks.