February 14
1st Sunday of Lent
Feast shown for the year 2027; movable feasts can vary from year to year.
The First Sunday of Lent marks the beginning of an intense period of spiritual preparation leading up to Easter, the central feast of the Christian faith. This Sunday's significance is deeply rooted in Scripture: it commemorates Jesus' forty days of fasting and temptation in the desert, as narrated in the Gospels. Biblically, the number forty signals a period of trial, purification, and preparation—echoing the forty years Israel spent in the wilderness. During this Sunday, Catholics are especially invited to contemplate the mystery of Christ's own struggle against temptation and His fidelity to the Father, setting the tone for the weeks ahead. The liturgy strongly features themes of conversion, repentance, and trust in God's mercy. Practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are emphasized, recalling ancient Christian traditions meant to prepare hearts and minds for the Paschal celebration. The readings, prayers, and hymns of the First Sunday of Lent urge the faithful to enter a spiritual desert themselves, turning away from sin and opening themselves more fully to the transforming grace of God. The Church keeps this Sunday as a holy threshold, calling every believer into a deeper relationship with Christ so as to experience fully the joy of Easter.
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Liturgical texts of February 14, 2027
The liturgical day
Mass readings
First readingGn 9, 8-15
God said to Noah and to his sons:
“Here I am, establishing my covenant with you,
with your descendants after you,
and with every living creature that is with you:
the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals of the earth,
everything that came out of the ark.
Yes, I am establishing my covenant with you:
never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood,
and never again shall there be a flood to devastate the earth.”
God said further:
“Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you,
and with every living creature that is with you,
for all generations forever:
I set my bow in the clouds,
that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth,
and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will remember my covenant that is between me and you,
and all living creatures:
the waters shall never again become a flood
to destroy all creatures of flesh.”
– The word of the Lord.
Psalm24 (25), 4-5ab, 6-7bc, 8-9
Lord, teach me your ways,
make me know your path.
Guide me by your truth, teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
Remember, Lord, your compassion,
your love that is from always.
In your love, do not forget me,
because of your goodness, Lord.
The Lord is upright, he is good,
he shows sinners the way.
His justice guides the humble,
he teaches the humble his path.
Second reading1 P 3, 18-22
Beloved,
Christ also
suffered for sins,
once for all,
he, the righteous, for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God;
he was put to death in the flesh,
but made alive in the Spirit.
It was in him that he went to proclaim his message
to the spirits who were in prison.
These, long ago, had refused to obey,
at the time when God's patience was waiting,
when Noah built the ark,
in which a small number, only eight people in all,
were saved through the water.
This prefigured baptism
which now saves you:
baptism does not wash away outward stains,
but it is the pledge to God of a good conscience
and it saves through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
he who is at the right hand of God,
after having gone to heaven,
he to whom angels are subject,
as well as the Powers and Authorities.
– The word of the Lord.
GospelMc 1, 12-15
Jesus had just been baptized.
Immediately the Spirit drove him into the desert,
and, in the desert,
he stayed forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He lived among wild animals,
and the angels waited on him.
After John was arrested,
Jesus went into Galilee
to proclaim the Gospel of God;
he said:
"The time is fulfilled:
the kingdom of God has come near.
Repent
and believe in the Gospel."
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org