FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND, 2026​

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INTRODUCTION​

Today's gospel tells of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. His forty-day fast becomes
     the basis of our Lenten pilgrimage. In the early church, Lent was a time of intense
     preparation for those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. This catechetical focus on
     the meaning of faith is at the heart of our Lenten journey to the baptismal waters
     of Easter. Hungry for God’s mercy, we receive the bread of life to nourish us for
     the days ahead.

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PRAYER OF THE DAY

Lord God, our strength, the struggle between good and evil rages within and
     around us, and the devil and all the forces that defy you tempt us with empty
     promises. Keep us steadfast in your word, and when we fall, raise us again and
     restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and
     reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.​

FIRST READING

GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Human beings were formed with great care, to be in relationship with the creator,
     creation, and one another. The serpent’s promise to the first couple that their
     eyes would be opened led, ironically, to the discovery only that they were naked.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and
     keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every
     tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
     not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

     3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord
     God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any
     tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of
     the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree
     that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” 4 But
     the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, 5 for God knows that when you
     eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
     evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a
     delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she
     took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with
     her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were
     naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.​

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PSALM

PSALM 32
(Response) Mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. (Ps. 32:10)

1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven,
and whose sin is put away!
  2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,
  and in whose spirit there is no guile!
  3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away,
  because of my groaning all day long.
  4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;
  my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.
(Response) Mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. (Ps. 32:10)

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not conceal my guilt.
  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
        Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble;
when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.
7 You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go;
I will guide you with my eye.
(Response) Mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. (Ps. 32:10)

9 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding;
who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.”
10 Great are the tribulations of the wicked;
but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.
11 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord;
shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
(Response) Mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. (Ps. 32:10)

SECOND READING

ROMANS 5:12-19
Through Adam’s disobedience, humanity came under bondage to sin and death,
     from which we cannot free ourselves. In Christ’s obedient death, God graciously
     showers on us the free gift of liberation and life.

12 Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin,
     and so death spread to all because all have sinned 13 for sin was indeed in the
     world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death
     reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of
     Adam, who is a pattern of the one who was to come.

     15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one
     man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the gift in the
     grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the gift is not
     like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass
     brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification.
     17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much
     more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of
     righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

     18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one
     man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as
     through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through
     the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.​

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​​​​GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)

GOSPEL READING

MATTHEW 4:1-11
Jesus experiences anew the temptations that Israel faced in the wilderness. As
     the Son of God, he endures the testing of the evil one.

1 Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He
     fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter
     came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to
     become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
     ‘One does not live by bread alone,
     but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
     5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the
     temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
     ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
     and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
     so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
     7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
     8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the
     kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give
     you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with
     you, Satan! for it is written,
     ‘Worship the Lord your God,
     and serve only him.’ ”

     11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

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