Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection February 25, 2026
Wednesday – First Week of Lent
25th February 2026 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Jonah 3:1-10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19 (R. 19b)
R/. A broken and humbled heart, O God you will not spurn.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
V/. Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, for I am gracious and merciful.
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
At that time: When the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Wednesday – First Week of Lent
Main Point: We always seem to wait for some huge wake up call to change our lives. But God is asking us to see the simple truth right in front of us, and start turning around today.
1. In the first reading, Jonah finally does what God asks. He walks into the giant, evil, city of Nineveh and gives the very, very, very short, and very very very blunt, and very very very direct sermon, “Forty days more, and Nineveh will be destroyed.” He gives no speech, no wordy eloquence, no miracles. Only the bare, hard truth.
2. So, what happens, you ask? The people LISTEN. From the king of the city to the beggar on the streets, they STOP what they are doing, and they PUT ON the burlap and they FAST. They didn’t argue with Jonah. They didn’t ask him to prove his statements. They didn’t preach to him. They JUST CHANGED.
3. Moving on to the Gospel. Jesus is in front of the audience. These people have seen Him heal the sick, and they have seen Him feed a couple of thousands. He has performed miracles and they fold their arms and they say:” Give us a sign”.
4. Imagine how these people felt as Jesus was speaking to them. In His frustration, Jesus said, *This generation is an evil generation, it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.* Jesus then gives them a warning. One day, people from Nineveh will judge you. Why? Because they repented after a grumpy, reluctant prophet, and you will not repent for the reason that God Himself, the Son, is standing right in front of you!
5. I can admit that I sometimes act like that crowd. I can think of a number of things that I can do to improve my life. I know that I should be more patient or I should gossip less and pray more, but I put it off. It is like I am waiting for an extraordinary feeling to do these things.
6. We do not need to see anything more miraculous than God whispering to us. Jesus is here and His love says that it is enough. We don’t need anything else than to be kind and honest. We already know what to do.
7. The residents of Nineveh didn’t delay. They received guidance and completely altered their way of living, God recognized their sincerity and spared them. He is still eager to do the same thing for us, if we stop justifying.
My Practice: What is the one thing that I need to do that is within my control, but I keep deferring? I will cease the cycle of asking God for a ‘sign to do it and I will make the first action.
