28 February 2026 (Saturday) / Saturday of the 1st week of Lent / Lenten Weekday / Saturday of the First Week of Lent

28 February 2026 (Saturday)

Saturday of the 1st week of Lent.
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

Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
  ‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 118(119):1‐2,4‐5,7‐8

They are happy who follow God’s law!
They are happy whose life is blameless,
  who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
  seeking him with all their hearts.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
You have laid down your precepts
  to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm
  to obey your statutes.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
I will thank you with an upright heart
  as I learn your decrees.
I will obey your statutes;
  do not forsake me.
They are happy who follow God’s law!

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

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as 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)