About Today
Wednesday 25 February 2026
Wednesday of the 1st week of Lent
Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Other saints: St Ethelbert (c.560 - 616)
Hallam, Southwark
Ethelbert, or Aethelberht, was King of Kent from about 580 or 590 until his death. He was the first king in England to convert to Christianity: according to Bede, this happened shortly after St Augustine arrived on his mission to the English. He helped the Church to establish itself by making it a gift of land at Canterbury.
Other saints: Bl. Maria Adeodata Pisani (1806 - 1855)
Malta
She was the daughter of noble Maltese parents, who separated while she was still a small child. She renounced her wealth and position and became a nun at the age of 21 despite her mother’s disapproval. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Other saints: St Walburga (- 776)
Plymouth
Walburga was the daughter of the saintly Saxon prince Richard of Wessex. At the invitation of St Boniface, she accompanied her brothers SS. Willibald and Winebald to Germany, where she founded monasteries. She died on May 11th 776, as Abbess of Heidenheim, and her body was placed in a rocky niche in Eichstadt. It was said that there began to exude from this place a miraculously therapeutic oil, which drew many pilgrims.
No sign will be given, except the sign of Jonah
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
At that time: When the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.’
Reflection on the Medieval Illuminated Page
Our illuminated manuscript page, showing Jonah being swallowed by the great fish, comes from the Bible of St John XXII. It once belonged to the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope (1316–1336), remembered also for canonising St Thomas Aquinas. The miniature captures Jonah in a posture of prayer even at the moment of peril, set against a stylised medieval city that likely represents Nineveh. It beautifully shows how biblical history was imaginatively translated into the visual language of the artist’s own time. Such images were not mere decoration: they served as visual theology, guiding meditation, teaching Scripture to those who encountered the page, and not able to read. These illuminations transform the written Word into a luminous encounter with salvation history!
Across medieval Europe, the art of illumination reached extraordinary sophistication. Monastic scriptoria and later urban workshops collaborated to produce manuscripts on fine vellum, enriched with gold leaf, burnished silver, and pigments derived from lapis lazuli, malachite, and other costly minerals. Even after the arrival of printing, illuminated books continued to be prized as objects of devotion and status. These fragile works were vulnerable to war, humid conditions and overall wear and tear. So few have survived.
In today’s Gospel reading, the word ‘sign’ appears four times, emphasising its significance. To Jesus’ disciples and the early Christians, the meaning of the ‘sign of Jonah’ would have been clear. Just as Jonah remained in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights before being delivered safely onto dry land, so too would Jesus remain in the tomb for three days before rising gloriously from the dead. However, while the people of Nineveh repented upon hearing Jonah’s preaching, not all would accept the message of Christ—a truth that remains relevant even today.
Jonah being Devoured by the Whale,
Illustration from the Bible of St John XXII,
France, 14th Century,
Latin manuscript from the Palace of the Popes of Avignon, folio III recto
© Musée Atger, Montpellier, France
Wednesday of the 1st week of Lent
Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Other saints: St Ethelbert (c.560 - 616)
Hallam, Southwark
Ethelbert, or Aethelberht, was King of Kent from about 580 or 590 until his death. He was the first king in England to convert to Christianity: according to Bede, this happened shortly after St Augustine arrived on his mission to the English. He helped the Church to establish itself by making it a gift of land at Canterbury.
Other saints: Bl. Maria Adeodata Pisani (1806 - 1855)
Malta
She was the daughter of noble Maltese parents, who separated while she was still a small child. She renounced her wealth and position and became a nun at the age of 21 despite her mother’s disapproval. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Other saints: St Walburga (- 776)
Plymouth
Walburga was the daughter of the saintly Saxon prince Richard of Wessex. At the invitation of St Boniface, she accompanied her brothers SS. Willibald and Winebald to Germany, where she founded monasteries. She died on May 11th 776, as Abbess of Heidenheim, and her body was placed in a rocky niche in Eichstadt. It was said that there began to exude from this place a miraculously therapeutic oil, which drew many pilgrims.
No sign will be given, except the sign of Jonah
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
At that time: When the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.’
Reflection on the Medieval Illuminated Page
Our illuminated manuscript page, showing Jonah being swallowed by the great fish, comes from the Bible of St John XXII. It once belonged to the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope (1316–1336), remembered also for canonising St Thomas Aquinas. The miniature captures Jonah in a posture of prayer even at the moment of peril, set against a stylised medieval city that likely represents Nineveh. It beautifully shows how biblical history was imaginatively translated into the visual language of the artist’s own time. Such images were not mere decoration: they served as visual theology, guiding meditation, teaching Scripture to those who encountered the page, and not able to read. These illuminations transform the written Word into a luminous encounter with salvation history!
Across medieval Europe, the art of illumination reached extraordinary sophistication. Monastic scriptoria and later urban workshops collaborated to produce manuscripts on fine vellum, enriched with gold leaf, burnished silver, and pigments derived from lapis lazuli, malachite, and other costly minerals. Even after the arrival of printing, illuminated books continued to be prized as objects of devotion and status. These fragile works were vulnerable to war, humid conditions and overall wear and tear. So few have survived.
In today’s Gospel reading, the word ‘sign’ appears four times, emphasising its significance. To Jesus’ disciples and the early Christians, the meaning of the ‘sign of Jonah’ would have been clear. Just as Jonah remained in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights before being delivered safely onto dry land, so too would Jesus remain in the tomb for three days before rising gloriously from the dead. However, while the people of Nineveh repented upon hearing Jonah’s preaching, not all would accept the message of Christ—a truth that remains relevant even today.
Jonah being Devoured by the Whale,
Illustration from the Bible of St John XXII,
France, 14th Century,
Latin manuscript from the Palace of the Popes of Avignon, folio III recto
© Musée Atger, Montpellier, France