Presider’s Page for 1 March 2026 (Second Sunday of Lent) Now that we are ten days into the season of Lent, our goal is clarified in today’s liturgy. The Gospel of the Transfiguration reminds us that we are destined for glory. Like the disciples, we keep this glimpse of glory in our hearts in the…
24 Feb 2026 – Tuesday of Week 1 of Lent (1) Isaiah 55:10-11 God’s word comes down from heaven like rain, to make the earth fruitful For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving…
23 Feb 2026 – Monday of Week 1 of Lent Memorial: St Polycarp, martyred in 155, bishop of Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey), born c 69 and a disciple of St John. (1) Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Practical guidance for worship and for social compassion The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the…
22 Feb 2026 – 1st Sunday of Lent (A) During Lent we may reflect on our Baptism as a sharing in the life of Jesus. Our growing in the image of God has an aspect of dying to self and another aspect of rising to God’s new life of love. The seed of this movement…
21 Feb 2026 – Sat. after Ash Wednesday (1) Isaiah 58:9-14 If they are converted, they are blessed, with waters that never fail Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.” If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of…
20 Feb 2026 – Fri after Ash Wednesday (1) Isaiah 58:1-9 True religion differs from merely external observance Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know…
19 Feb 2026 – Thurs after AshWednesday (1) Deuteronomy 30:15-20 A warm call to fidelity. Choose life, that you and your offsspring may live! Keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances,…
18 Feb 2026 – Ash Wednesday (1) Joel 2:12-18 Return to me with all your heart. Spare your people, Lord “Now, now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord, your God, for he…
17 Feb 2026 – Tuesday of Week 6 Optional memorials: The Seven Founders of the Servite Order, in the early 13th century seven young Florence merchants decided to live better Christian lives. They became known as the Servants of Mary and followed the rule of St Augustine. St Fintan, born in Leinster wit his religious formation in Terryglass,…
Presider’s Page for 22 February 2026 (First Sunday of Lent) The Rite of Election of Catechumens is celebrated today. We celebrate the first Sunday of Lent. All over the world today, men and women are beginning a period of preparation for their baptism at the Easter Vigil. Like them, we spend Lent preparing to renew…
16 Feb 2026 – Monday of Week 6 1st Reading: James 1:1-11 The testing of your faith produces endurance My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that…
15 Feb 2026 – 6th Sunday, (A) Using freedom well. It is not our misdeeds which accuse us before God, but our hearts, fractured and divided as they are. Jesus insists that we go deeper than our external deeds. The vital question is what is going on in our hearts, our thoughts and motivations? The…
14 Feb 2026 – Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril and Methodius were brothers born in Byzantine Thessalonika, northern Greece, in the 9th century, who brought Christianity to the Slavic peoples of modern Czech Republic and Hungary. For their work they were declared co-patrons of Europe in 1999, by Pope John Paul II, to stand alongside Saint…
13 Feb 2026 – Friday of Week 5 1st Reading: 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19 The prophet Ahijah announces the breakup of David’s kingdom When Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open…
12 Feb 2026 – Thursday of Week 5 1st Reading: 1 Kings 11:4-13 Solomon’s sins are traced to the influence of his pagan wives; as punishment his kingdom will be divided. When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the Lord his God,…
11 Feb 2026 – Wednesday of Week 5 World Day of the Sick Optional Memorials: Our Lady of Lourdes, honouring the appearance of Our Lady to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, who said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” St Gobnait, lived in Ballyvourney, Co Cork, great devotion to her there. Honoured for her gifts of caring for and curing the…
10 Feb 2026 – Tuesday of Week 5 Memorial: St Scholastica, died c 543, sister of St Benedict, spent her life as a consecrated virgin. Patron of convulsive children. 1st Reading: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 The temple dedication ends with a beautiful prayer Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence…
Presider’s Page Sunday 15 Feb 2026 – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) Day of Prayer for Temperance Opening Comment Today’s readings ask for decisions, challenging Christians to choose the right path. We gather to worship God, who can help us in all our choices. Penitential Rite To prepare ourselves for the challenges of God’s…
09 Feb 2026 – Monday of Week 5 (Cycle 2) 1st Reading: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13 A cloud of divine splendour fills the sanctuary of the new Temple Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in…
08 Feb 2026 – 5th Sunday, (A) Theme: Salt and Light Tyranny and oppression still flourish in many places abroad; and in less spectacular fashion closer to home. Unfairness and structural abuse often stare us in the face, such as long-term poverty, unemployment and homelessness. Christ invites us to solidarity with people in dire need….
