On Wednesday of this week, together with the universal Church, we received ashes and thus began the season of Lent. Just as Pope Leo XIV taught us about the significance of fasting in his Lenten Message for 2026. The Pope said: Abstaining from food is an ancient ascetic practice that is essential on the path of conversion. Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it easier to recognize what we “hunger” for and what we deem necessary for our sustenance. Moreover, it helps us to identify and order our “appetites” keeping our hunger and thirst for justice alive and freeing us from complacency. Thus, it teaches us to pray and act responsibly towards our neighbour.
Today’s passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew also speaks of fasting. The disciples of John came to Jesus and said, “We and the Pharisees fast often, but why do Your disciples not fast?” (See Mt 9:14). They believed that only through fasting and prayer could one obtain true salvation from God. In their view, those who were with Jesus could not obtain the true salvation that God bestowed. So, when they saw that Jesus’ disciples did not fast, they came to Jesus and accused His disciples of not fasting and praying.
Often, we are like John and his disciples, as well as the Jews of that time, competing with others in our faith life. For example, we may compare who can recite more scriptures, thinking that the more scriptures we can recite, the more proficient we are in prayer. Or we may compare who observes more fasts, believing that our fasts will earn us God’s rewards. In fact, it is not these scriptures, or these fasts that bring us true salvation, but the merciful God.
Therefore, during this Lenten season, let us return to the original purpose of fasting and prayer, so that fasting, which is beneficial for us to rediscover God and re-establish a connection with Jesus Christ, can truly help us become worthy Christians. May we, under the illumination and guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, live this Lenten season well.
Show gracious Favor, O Lord, we pray, to the works of penance we have begun, that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity the bodily observances we undertake. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
February 19, 2026 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Gospel: Lk 9:22-25
Yesterday, together with the universal Church, we began the season of Lent by receiving the ashes in the Ash Wednesday service.
Today, the Gospel taken from St. Luke tells us of Jesus’ first prediction of His suffering. This was clearly completely at odds with the expectations of the disciples who were with Him. Those disciples hoped that Jesus would restore Israel, making it strong once again and completely freeing it from the rule of the Roman Empire. However, Jesus called them to walk a different path, to renounce their present lives and ways of living and to embrace the new life and way of living that Jesus Christ offers us.
Last year, when sharing the meaning of this passage with some young people, I said: All that we possess now, that is, the achievements we have made in society and all the worldly wealth, cannot grant each of us eternal life. On the contrary, all that belongs to this world will make us move away from God more quickly and fall into the clutches of the devil. Therefore, we should regard all things that are to our advantage as loss (cf. Phil 3:7 BC). For we who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (cf. Rom 6:3-6). Whenever we lose our worldly lives for the sake of our faith, we will surely save our lives, for Jesus taught His disciples, saying, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it” (cf. Lk 9:24B). This saying still holds true today.
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord! As Christians, we should follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the sinful desires of the flesh. Only in this way can we obtain eternal life, truly discern our vocation, and truly become genuine Christians.
Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord, and further them with your constant help, that all we do may always begin from you and by you be brought to completion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
February 18, 2026 Ash Wednesday Gospel: Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Lent: A Season for Renewal and Repentance
Today, the Universal Church solemnly celebrates the Holy Ashes liturgy, marking the beginning of Lent.
The passage taken from the Gospel of Saint Matthew reveals to us a profound truth: Our Savior Jesus Christ teaches differently from the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees emphasized strict adherence to the law of God, while the Sadducees stressed material sacrifices while downplaying true filial piety and love for God. Jesus calls us to focus on the relationship between our hearts and God.
In fact, we, too, can fall into the trap of doing good deeds merely for our own reputation, praying only to attract attention, and fasting just to restore our perishable bodies to their usual state. However, Jesus asks us to perform good deeds quietly, offer our prayers to God from the depths of our hearts, and truly understand the significance of fasting and abstinence.
On this first day of Lent, let us offer this prayer to God together:
Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
全属于祢 
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