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Today’s Word: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 22, 2026

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7

Psalm 51: 3-6, 12-13, 17

Romans 5:12-19

Matthew 4:1-11

This is the First Sunday of Lent. The readings today focus on the origins of sin and the ultimate victory over it through Christ. This reflection explores the contrast between the first Adam’s fall and the second Adam’s triumph. Herein we use typology to compare the first man, Adam, with Jesus Christ the savior.

In Genesis today, we see the beginning of the human struggle. The serpent’s temptation isn’t just about fruit; it’s an invitation to be like gods – to be more than just human –  by deciding for ourselves what is good and evil. Adam and Eve weren’t lacking anything in the garden, yet they were convinced by the serpent they were missing out on divinity, something more. So as a consequence, instead of reaching godhood, they became aware of their own nakedness and shame, experiencing immediate alienation from God and each other. The serpent knew what he was doing in tempting Adam and Eve. Thus, came The Fall. Man is separated from God. We are born with Original Sin from Adam and Eve, which is washed away at our Baptism.

I will move on with the Gospel today. The passage from Matthew today shows Jesus, the new Adam, entering the desert to prepare for his ministry and face temptations. Unlike the first humans, Jesus relies entirely on the Word of God. Jesus is tempted three times before the tempter, the devil, flees from him. Jesus spends forty days and nights in the wilderness to fast and pray. The devil tempts Jesus by challenging him between his physical needs and spiritual life. The devil tells Jesus to make stones into bread to feed his hunger. Jesus replies simply by saying men do not live on bread alone, but by the Word of God. When the devil tempts Jesus a second time, it is between humble trust and testing with demands. Jesus tells the devil that it is not good to put God to the test, but hold on and trust God. When the devil tempts Jesus a third time, he does so by offering Jesus worldly power in exchange for worshiping the evil one. Jesus, of course, chooses loyalty to God the Father and serves the Father. Jesus rejects the devil’s temptation for worldly dominion and power because he knows true power lies in serving the Father alone.

The Second Reading today seems to bridge these two stories. St. Paul explains that while one man’s disobedience brought death, one man’s obedience – Jesus Christ – brings justification and life for all. This season is not about our own willpower to better ourselves. It is about acknowledging our pride, sinful nature, and self-reliance and turning toward the grace of Christ to be made righteous.

As we continue this Lenten journey on this First Sunday of Lent and beyond, the Responsorial Psalm today should become our prayer. In it, we are recognizing our sins and asking for mercy and forgiveness. We are invited to enter our own desert to quietly fast and pray in order to identify the areas where we have tried to be our own gods and to return to the joy of God’s salvation.

I will leave you with this verse today: “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.” (Psalm 63:1ab, 4 – RSV – 2nd Catholic Edition)

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Creating and Sustaining a Life of Prayer, Part 4

This is part four of my prayer series. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and have been able to take away helpful information about your own prayer life. This series was built on the foundation of learning about prayer, how to use it in your daily life, and, today, learn to create and sustain a life of prayer.

A helpful way to do that is to break down the way in which you pray. Let’s take the word PRAY and make an acronym. By doing this, it makes praying more meaningful.

The first letter in our acronym (P) stands for PRAISE. Let praise begin your prayer. Be thankful. Psalm 100:1-4 says, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!”

For the third letter (A) we ASK. Ask God for good things. Matthew 7:7-11 tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for brad will give hi a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” And remember, God wants you to ask. He will answer, but remember to give thanks to God, glorify Him. (John 14:13). Whatever you ask should be consistent with His word. (John 15:7). And what you ask of the Lord, should bring you joy. (John 16:23-24).

The second letter is (R) and stands for REPENT. Be sorrowful for whatever wrong you have done, even if you don’t know if what you did was wrong. Ask God to help you see whatever wrongdoing you may have done and be sorrowful and show remorse. Repent. Ask for forgiveness. Refer to Psalm 19:12, 14, where it says, “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

The final letter (Y) represents a time to be still. It means to YIELD. This is when you pause and stop talking, and you wait, listen, and seek to hear from God. How do you practice yielding to God when you pray? Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

So use PRAY when you pray. Let it help you continue your prayer life and you may see the goodness and wonders of God. Romans 12:12 tells us, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

One of my favorite passages in the bible is from Psalm 63. In verses 1-4 it says, “O God, your are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirst for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” This also refers to another Psalm, as in Psalm 141:1-2, “O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”

Again, I hope you’ve enjoyed this series. I will pray that you may keep that focus to Christ Jesus and the heavenly Father. Remember also that God hears us and knows what may be in the silence of our hearts. So take comfort in knowing that, as it says in Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Take care and God bless you!

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Creating and Sustaining a Life of Prayer

Throughout this month, I am going to do a series on prayer and cover such topics as what prayer is, how we use prayer, how to create a consistent prayer life and more. This will be a four-part series.

In today’s lesson, I will touch on what prayer is and how important it is to us as Christians to have some kind of prayer life.

First of all, the definition(s) found in the dictionary are put as “A devout petition to God or an object of worship,” “A spiritual communion with God or an object of worship,” or “The act or practice of praying to God or an object of worship.”

Simply put, “Prayer is simply two-way conversation between you and God.” – Billy Graham.
It is the “most important conversation of your day. Take it to God before you take it to anyone else.” – Anonymous

You can also look at prayer as getting to know God, communicating our desires to God, listening to God speak truths to our spirit, voicing our needs for God to help us, observing God in creation and praising Him, sitting with God in our pain and asking Him to comfort us, and expressing our gratitude by thanking God. And you can simply do this by keeping prayer as an open-ended conversation with God.

Here are some questions to reflect on:
– What is your earliest memory of prayer/praying?
– What is a time when you might have been surprised because God answered your prayer?

Psalm 55:1 says, “Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!”
Prayer is vital to our growth as Christians. The Gospels are filled with moments with Jesus in prayer – when he was alone and with others, before and after healing someone, before meals, and even after being nailed to the cross and as he was dying. Prayer is connecting with and growing with God. Treat prayer as a close relationship you might have with another person. Prayer can be filled with moments of gratitude, praying for others, or just sharing our needs, fear, or insecurities. Just open up a conversation and go to God about everything.
“Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God.” – Mother Theresa

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul writes about prayer, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”