Daily Mass Readings for February 21, 2026

Liturgical Day: Saturday after Ash Wednesday

First Reading: Isaiah 58:9b-14

Thus says the LORD: If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday; Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; “Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you, “Restorer of ruined homesteads.”

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on my holy day; If you call the sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable; If you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice— Then you shall delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Response: Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me, for I am afflicted and poor. Keep my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God.

R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for to you I call all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading.

R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Alleluia: Ezekiel 33:11

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.

Gospel: Luke 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

This Isaiah reading hits me in the tired spots, talking about dropping the gossip and oppression to help the hungry instead, promising light and strength like a watered garden. It's God asking for real mercy, not just going through motions, and honoring the Sabbath as rest, not another to-do. The psalm picks that up, my plea for guidance when I'm feeling poor and afflicted, calling on God's kindness all day. The alleluia shows He wants our turnaround, not our end. Then the Gospel—Jesus calling Levi right from his shady job, dining with sinners, saying the sick need the doctor. That's God inviting us into change, no matter the mess.

In healthcare data, temptations to judge or cut corners creep in; with kids, it's snapping when patience runs thin, like the dog knocking over the aquarium filter again.

Today's invitation: Spot one moment of judgment today and replace it with a small mercy, like listening without interrupting. Lord, teach me your way; help me follow like Levi. Amen.