28 February 2026 (Saturday) / Lenten Weekday / Saturday of the First Week of Lent

28 February 2026 (Saturday)

Lenten Weekday.
Saturday of the First Week of Lent.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 16-19
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8
Verse Before the Gospel: Second Corinthians 6: 2b
Gospel: Matthew 5: 43-48

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 16-19

16 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these commandments and judgments: and to keep and fulfill them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
17 Thou hast chosen the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways and keep his ceremonies, and precepts, and judgments, and obey his command.
18 And the Lord hath chosen thee this day, to be his peculiar people, as he hath spoken to thee, and to keep all his commandments:
19 And to make thee higher than all nations which he hath created, to his own praise, and name, and glory: that thou mayst be a holy people of the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8

R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they who search his testimonies: that seek him with their whole heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
4 Thou hast commanded thy commandments to be kept most diligently.
5 O! that my ways may be directed to keep thy justifications.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned the judgments of thy justice.
8 I will keep thy justifications: O! do not thou utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Verse Before the Gospel: Second Corinthians 6: 2b
2b Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Gospel: Matthew 5: 43-48

43 You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy.
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you:
45 That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this?
47 And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this?
48 Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.

For our reflection today:

This Gospel passage is rightly considered the magna carta of Christian non-violence. It does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of "turning the other cheek" (cf. Lk 6: 29) claims, but in responding to evil with good (cf. Rom 12: 17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice.
One then understands that for Christians, non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person's way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God's love and power that he is not afraid to tackle evil with the weapons of love and truth alone.
Love of one's enemy constitutes the nucleus of the "Christian revolution", a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power: the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in his merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world! Here is the heroism of the "lowly" who believe in God's love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives. (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 18 February 2007)

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)