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On February 27, the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows  (1838–1862), the young Italian Passionist whose short life overflowed with radiant joy, perfect obedience, and profound tenderness toward the Sorrowful Heart of Mary. In 2026, this Friday of the First Week of Lent—marked by obligatory abstinence from meat—his feast harmonizes beautifully with the season's call to penance. Gabriel transformed asceticism into delight, embracing suffering

Thursday of the First Week of Lent Reading I Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25  Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the LORD. She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids, from morning until evening, and said: “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that you, O LORD, always free

On February 26, Catholic and Orthodox tradition honors Saint Porphyry  (c. 347–420), the resolute bishop who, through persistent prayer, imperial support, and miraculous signs, led the conversion of Gaza—one of the last great pagan citadels in the late Roman Empire—from idolatry to Christianity. Though the modern Roman Calendar marks this Thursday in the First Week of Lent as an ordinary weekday, Porphyry's ancient feast day endures in many local churches and hagiographical s