Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 22, 2026
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, “”All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
When I reflect on a gospel passage, I often try to place myself in the scene. In today’s gospel, this is a challenge since only Jesus and Satan are mentioned until the angels show up to minister to Jesus at the end. Who witnessed this exchange? It’s described in each of the synoptic gospels, so clearly it was considered important for all to hear.
The Bible is full of drama and adventure, and this scene has it all: a hero and a villain, extreme hunger and temptation, wilderness and dizzying heights, a test of knowledge, wits, and will. I imagine myself as a spectator in a gathering crowd. Jesus and Satan spar with words from the Hebrew Scriptures, which first-century Jews would have recognized and understood immediately. The crowd is mesmerized, wondering how Jesus will respond to each challenge and silently cheering him on.
In this spiritual battle of supreme evil versus supreme goodness, Jesus prevailed. This is encouraging news as we begin our own Lenten journeys, our individual forty days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Jesus was tempted as we all are tempted. He overcame these temptations through trust in the word of God.
May we be strengthened and inspired by the words and actions of Jesus, to resist whatever tempts us away from him and towards evil and sin. May we, too, have confidence in the powerful word of God. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Prayer
Almighty and everliving God, as we step into this holy season of Lent, show us the way. Bless and guide our every effort that we might navigate the tempest of temptation. May our hungers, our ambitions, and our misguided affections not distract us from your promise and our purpose revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today’s feast celebrates St. Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus built the Church. “You are Peter,” Jesus said, “and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
The early Church in Rome was in the custom of marking the date that Peter arrived to publicly lead their community. Each year on this date, they dedicated the empty chair Peter sat on when he presided over the community in prayer. He used to sit in the chair to receive newly converted Christians who were baptized. Still dripping wet, they would come to him in this chair to be anointed and confirmed.
February 22 was chosen to coincide with what was understood as the anniversary of the day on which Jesus entrusted the Church to Peter with the words from Matthew’s Gospel above. The actual chair of this feast was lost long ago in one of the several invasions and plunderings of Rome.
St. Peter is depicted in several places on campus. The mosaic featured today stands on the exterior of the front of the Basilica, and the stained glass window (shown below) comes from that church as well. Relics of St. Peter rest in the reliquary chapel, including a piece of the cross on which he was crucified upside-down.
On today's feast, many may have on their minds the scandals and the corruption in the Church that have been front page news in recent years. Peter, although a saint, was an ordinary man who had to constantly convert himself throughout his life to follow Christ more completely. The community founded upon him must always do the same. May we pray today for the constant conversion of the hearts of each minister and member of the Church, that we may reach out to those who have been wounded and that we may all seek to convert and heal the mystical body of Christ of which we are a part.
On this feast of the Chair of St. Peter, let us pray for the pope and for the Church!