Jubilee Year of Saint Francis on the 800th Anniversary of His Death
February is the month dedicated to the Holy Family
February 11, World Day of the Sick. "The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing one another' pain"
Let your face shine on your servant.
JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH, SON, MOTHER, AND HEAD OF THE HOLY FAMILY,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
Dear faithful readers, just when you thought it was safe to go outside in the new calendar year, it's time to turn another page on the calendar. At the same time, we are privileged to see that we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on the 2nd.
Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all peoples; a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.
(Luke 2:29-32)
May we, too, go in peace these days. Jesus is the Peace the world does not give.
As usual, it's another busy month. This month is dedicated to the Holy Family, and not only can we invoke Jesus, Mary, and Joseph each and every day, we can also invoke beloved Saint Francis of Assisi, especially as the Holy Father proclaimed a Jubilee Year of Saint Francis to commemorate the 800th anniversary of il Poverello's death. Have you ever been to Assisi? If not, you might add it to your list of travel destinations. You will not be disappointed. And get ready for Ash Wednesday and the holy season of Lent, coming soon to a theatre near you. Mark your calendar for February 18, that would be Ash Wednesday. Then comes the first Sunday of Lent on the 22nd, a day to also commemorate Saint Peter's Chair. Have you ever been to Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome to see the golden chair of the rock on which the Church is built? While there you can also see the bones of Saint Peter, the Scavi, if you book in advance. If not, you can certainly see that on your Italian pilgrimage. You are going to be busy. Don't be too busy, however, to skip out on a gelato, or three or more. Yum.
Some other notables are February 10 to commemorate Saint Scholastica, whose twin brother is Saint Benedict. If you are keeping up with the daily reading of the Holy Rule, you will find yourself still in Chapter 7, Humility, the fourth step, all the way to Chapter 23, on Excommunication. The same day, the 10th, that is, sees the Shipwreck of Saint Paul, the birth of the Maltese Church. Up for the 11th is the ever-popular 6th-century Irish Saint Gobnait, the patron saint of bees, beekeepers, and the sick. "Least is the bee among winged things, but she reaps the choices of harvests" (Sirach 11:3). On the 26th we have Saint Alexander of Alexandria who hopefully was never confused about his name and where he was from. One never knows, though.
What is one way to prepare for Lent? First, go to Chapter 49 of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict, where our holy father exhorts us, among other things, "to add to the usual measure of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food and drink, so that each of us will have something above the assigned measure to offer God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (RB 49:5-6). Keep reading because we can also deny ourselves needless talking and idle jesting and still look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual long (RB 49:7). How will you make this Lent one of joy? And don't forget to look to Chapter 48 on The Daily Manual Labor. It is there that we find that we are to read the whole of a book straight through (RB 48:15). What spiritual reading will you tackle this season?
Last and not least, kind of, what follows is the customary Ash Wednesday offering by Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Fast of judging others; feast on the Christ indwelling in them.
Fast on emphasis on differences; feast on unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from compliance; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on nonviolence.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Gentle God, during this season of fasting and feasting, gift us with Your presence, so that we can be a gift to others in carrying out Your work. Amen.
Since we will move into the Lenten desert this month, how about we hear from the Desert Mothers and Fathers. We go to them, then, for a word or two ....*
Abba Gregory said, "These three things God requires of all the baptized: right faith in the heart, truth on the tongue, temperance in the body.
Abba Poemen said, "Teach your heart to guard that which your tongue teaches."
Another of the old men questioned Amma Theodora saying, "At the resurrection of the dead, how shall we rise?" She said, "As pledge, example, and prototype we have Him who died for us, and is risen, Christ our God.
Abba Pambo said, "If you have a heart, you can be saved."
Abba Paul said, "Keep close to Jesus."
Amma Syncletica said, "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in town, and they are wasting their time. It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of his own thoughts.
Amma Sarah said, "If I prayed God that all men approve of my conduct, I shall find myself a penitent at the door of each one, but I shall rather pray that my heart be pure towards all.
Abba Sisoes said, "Seek God, and do not seek where He dwells."
Abba Arsenius said,
"If we seek God, He will shew Himself to us, and if we keep Him, He will remain close to us.
Abba Anthony said, "Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ.
Abba Or also said, "If you have spoken evil of your brother, and you are stricken with remorse, go and kneel before him and say: "I have spoken badly of you, let this be my surety that I will not spread this slander further." For detraction is death to the soul.
Thankfully, we have more than a few saints to commemorate this month. May they intercede for us as we begin our Lenten journey. All saints, please pray for us.
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI,
SAINT BRIGID,
SAINT HENRY MORSE,
BLESSED BENEDICT DASWA,
BLESSED CANDELARIA OF SAINT JOSEPH,
SAINT ANSGAR, BISHOP,
SAINT BLAISE,
SAINT LAURENCE OF CANTERBURY,
SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY,
SAINT THEODORE OF CANTERBURY,
SAINT WERBURG,
SAINT ANNE LINE, NEE HEIGHAM,
BLESSED ANTHONY OF PAVONIO OP,
BLESSED BARTHOLOMEW OF CERVERIO OP,
BLESSED PETER OF RUFFIA OP,
SAINT GILBERT OF SEMPRINGHAM,
SAINT JOHN DE BRITTO,
BLESSED MARIE-EUGENE GRIALOU,
SAINT CATHERINE DE RICCI,
SAINT JOHN OF LEONISSA,
SAINT AGATHA, VIRGIN, MARTYR,
SAINT PAUL MIKI AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS,
SAINT MEL,
SAINT JEROME EMILIANI,
SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA,
SAINT CUTHMAN OF STEYNING,
SAINT TEILO,
SAINT APOLLONIA,
SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN,
SAINT PAUL,
OUR LADY OF LOURDES,
SAINT GOBNAIT,
BLESSED REGINALD OF ORLEANS OP,
SAINT JULIAN THE HOSPITALLER,
BLESSED JORDAN OF SAXONY OP,
SAINTS CYRIL, MONK, AND METHODIUS, BISHOP,
SAINT CLAUDE LA COLOMBIERE,
BLESSED NICHOLAS OF PAGLIA OP,
THE SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS OF THE SERVITE ORDER,
SAINT FINTAN OF CLONENAGH,
BLESSED WILLIAM RICHARDSON,
BLESSED JOHN OF FIESOLE OP,
BLESSED ALVAREZ OF CORDOBA OP,
BLESSED CHRISTOPHER OF MILAN OP,
SAINT PETER DAMIAN, BISHOP, DOCTOR,
SAINT ROBERT SOUTHWELL,
SAINT PETER,
SAINT POLYCARP, BISHOP, MARTYR,
BLESSED JOSEPHA GIRBES,
BLESSED CONSTANTIUS OF FABRIANO OP,
SAINT ETHELBERT,
BLESSED MARIA ADEODATA PISANI,
SAINT WALBURGA,
SAINT ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA,
SAINT GREGORY OF NAREK, ABBOT AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH,
SAINT OSWALD,
PRAY FOR US.
*All quotations come from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection, translated by Benedicta Ward (Cistercian Publications, 1984).
This month's photo: Welcome to a full moon on February 1, 2026. When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you set in place.
© Gertrude Feick 2026
