February 2026

Jesuit and Catholic and Brophy

A Reflection From Fr. Bill Muller, S.J.

Vice President for Mission and Identity

Lent is coming. We know the drill: pray, fast, give alms. And we know that fasting from pettiness and anger and jealousy is much better than fasting from candy or broccoli and that giving some time to help a shelter or food bank (someplace like St. Vincent de Paul) gets you to rub shoulders with real people you’d never meet if you donated money. And the prayer. Well, we’d all like to pray more, at least most of us say that, but a few minutes here and there in a busy day is pretty good. Though we are all called to be mystics in one way or another, we do so at God’s invitation within the context of our daily lives. “Finding God in all things” means God can be found in the ups and downs of our everyday human experience. So keep alert to God’s presence – let that be our Lent.

Last October, Pope Leo XIV published a letter entitled “Drawing New Maps of Hope” about Catholic education on the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II declaration on education (Gravissimum Educationis). That declaration warned, as Pope Leo reminds us, “against reducing education to functional training or an economic tool: a person is not a ‘skills profile,’ cannot be reduced to a predictable algorithm, but is a face, a story, a vocation.” It strikes me that too often it is too easy not to see the face, listen to the story, or know the vocation of the young person in front of us. We make a conscious effort here – Pope Leo’s letter is an important reminder – to know and appreciate the faces, the stories, and the vocations of our students. The Pope’s letter is worth the read. 

At the end of the letter the Pope asks educational communities to “disarm words, raise your eyes, and safeguard the heart. Disarm words, because education does not advance with polemics, but with meekness that knows how to listen. Raise your eyes. As God said to Abraham, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars’ ( Gen 15:5): know how to ask yourselves where you are going, and why. Safeguard the heart: relationships come before opinions, people before programmes.”

Pope Leo’s letter is an important lens to view Catholic education and it might also be a way to live out our Lent this year. Disarm your words; listen. Raise your eyes to see where you are going and know why you are going that way. Safeguard your heart; it’s all about relationships.

So for Lent 2026: disarm and listen, take stock of where you are going, strengthen your relationships. You can also pray, fast, and give alms.

February Dates of Note

African American Heritage Month

1 – Abolition of Slavery Day
2 – The Presentation of the Lord – Candlemas Day
4 – World Cancer Day
5 – Feast of St. Agatha
6 – Feast of the Martyrs of Japan
St. Paul Miki, S.J., and Companions
7 – Charles Dickens Birthday (1812)
11 – International Day of Women and Girls in Science
14 – Valentine’s Day
15 – Susan B. Anthony Birthday (1820)
18 – Ash Wednesday – Lent Begins
20 – World Day of Social Justice
27 – International Stand Up to Bullying Day

Pope Leo’s Prayer Intention for February

For Children with Incurable Diseases
Let us pray that children suffering from incurable diseases and their families receive the necessary medical care and support, never losing strength and hope.

Learn more hereEN ESPAÑOLBROPHY COLLEGE PREPARATORY MISSION & IDENTITY »

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