The Season of Lent 2026 — "Repent, and believe in the Gospel"

Ash Wednesday this year is February 18, and with it,

we begin the season of Lent.  Some will welcome this penitential season, and others might be more reticent.  The tone is set by the words spoken as ashes are placed on our foreheads: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”  The alternate (and traditional) formula is “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you will return.” 

Ash Wednesday is one of only two days in the Church’s liturgical year on which we both fast (less food) and abstain (no meat).  The liturgical color changes to purple.  Our thoughts turn towards conversion.

The readings of Ash Wednesday present the three traditional Lenten practices: fasting, praying, and almsgiving.  These three ancient practices are aimed at conversion: a change of mind and heart from the ways of the world to the ways of God. 

Fasting is a reminder that we should hunger for God.  Praying connects us with the grace that enables conversion. 

And almsgiving moves our spiritual gaze from introspection to the real needs of people in the world.  A three-point battle plan to change “stony hearts” into “hearts of flesh.”

None of this comes easily, and this is why many Catholics groan at the word Lent.  Older Catholics will remember the days when Lent meant “giving up something,” like candy, TV, alcohol, or dessert.  In themselves, these are worthy penitential practices.  The problem is that no one ever explained why these practices were beneficial.  As much as my young mind could figure out, it meant “making up for my sins,” a kind of penance—but I don’t know whether they ever turned my mind to God.  When Vatican II came around, the practice changed from “giving things up” to doing something positive: service projects, alms for the poor, food baskets, clothing donations and prayer.  But the fervor for such actions soon waned, and I suspect that, for most people, Lent is no different from our very ordinary “Ordinary Time.”

One helpful and worthy practice during this season of Lent might be to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation; yes, to go to Confession.  How long has it been?  We can follow the example of our Catholic kids in second grade, who, during Lent, receive the sacrament for the first time.  As an adult and a priest, I remember my enthusiasm and excitement for the sacrament as a child!  Now, it is always humbling for me to hear the confessions of children, who are so open, honest, and loving.  Yes, they know right from wrong, and they confess it—without guile or hesitation or fear.  “Unless you turn and become like children,” Jesus says, “you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).  Conversion this Lenten season might mean, surprisingly, becoming more like children.

Perhaps one “painless” way to observe Lent, and a salutary one as well, is to attend Sunday Mass through the season and to conclude with Holy Week.  All of the readings are directed to a recognition of sin, a call to conversion, and an invitation to receive the grace of a loving God— a God who calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

By Msgr. Patrick S. Brennan