Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026

In the first reading the Lord says, “Return to me with your whole heart.” 

I was thinking about what I was going to say about that. I was going to say something like, “This is very difficult—to give God our whole heart.” But, I realize, it's not difficult. It's actually impossible. We can't give God our whole heart. It's impossible…without God's help. We absolutely need God's help to do this. We're fooling ourselves if we think otherwise. 


And, so, we have to get in the habit of asking God for help. “God, help me through this.” “God, help me overcome this.” “God, take away my anxiety; give me strength.” Those should be prayers we should pray every single day.


It is so pleasing to God for him to hear you pray that way and it opens us to his help.


…In the second reading, Saint Paul says, ‘Be reconciled to God.’ That means repentance has to be real, and, for many of us, it means a good confession this Lent. 


If your’e putting confession off, stop. There's literally nothing to be afraid of. The priest literally doesn’t care what your sins are. And God is begging you to be reconciled to him and his church through that sacrament that He gave us.


Then, Jesus warns in the Gospel: we can do religious things on the outside and still be far from Him on the inside.


Almsgiving, prayer, fasting, even receiving ashes on our forehead; those things are very important and they do matter, but we do it to strengthen your relationship with God the Father.


…And, I want to end with one thing Pope Leo recommends to worldwide Catholics this Lent. He says:


“I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of [fasting]: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media[,] and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”

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