27 February 2026 (Friday) / Friday of the 1st week of Lent (optional commemoration of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church) / Friday of the First Week of Lent / Lenten Weekday / Day of Abstinence from Meat (age 14 and up) Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial) / Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (Alternative/Regional Memorial)

27 February 2026 (Friday)

Friday of the 1st week of Lent (optional commemoration of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church)

Friday of the First Week of Lent.
Lenten Weekday.
Day of Abstinence from Meat (age 14 and up)
Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial)
Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (Alternative/Regional Memorial)

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Ezekiel 18: 21-28
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Verse Before the Gospel: Ezekiel 18: 31
Gospel: Matthew 5: 20-26

First Reading : Ezekiel 18:21‐28

Thus says the Lord:
  ‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law‐abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?
  ‘But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object, “What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law‐abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.’

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 129(130)

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
  Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
  to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
  Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
  for this we revere you.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
  I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
  more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
  and Israel on the Lord.)
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Because with the Lord there is mercy
  and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
  from all its iniquity.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

Verse Before the Gospel: Ezekiel 18: 31
31 Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel : Matthew 5:20‐26

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
  ‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’

For our reflection today:

We think of Jesus' words: "If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Mt 5: 23ff.). God, knowing that we were unreconciled and seeing that we have something against him, rose up and came to meet us, even though he alone was in the right. He came to meet us even to the Cross, in order to reconcile us. This is what it means to give freely: a willingness to take the first step; to be the first to reach out to the other, to offer reconciliation, to accept the suffering entailed in giving up being in the right. To persevere in the desire for reconciliation: God gave us an example, and this is the way for us to become like him; it is an attitude constantly needed in our world. Today we must learn once more how to acknowledge guilt, we must shake off the illusion of being innocent. We must learn how to do penance, to let ourselves be transformed; to reach out to the other and to let God give us the courage and strength for this renewal. (Address ok Pope Benedict XVI to the members of the Roman Curia and Papal representatives for the traditional Exchange of Christmas greetings, 21 December 2009)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God."

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)