Daily Catholic Lectio. Wed, 18 February ‘26. The Acceptable Time

Daily Catholic Lectio

Wed, 18 February ‘26

Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-18. 2 Cor 5:20-6:2. Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

The Acceptable Time

Today, on Ash Wednesday, we enter the holy season of Lent. We receive ashes on our foreheads — a silent yet powerful sign. The green palms that once waved in joy, crying “Hosanna,” have dried, burned, and become ashes. What was once praised and visible now returns to dust. Glory and frailty, celebration and repentance — both belong to life.

When do we move from one side to the other? Saint Paul answers us with clarity and urgency:

“Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2). Not tomorrow. Not when life becomes easier. Not when we feel ready. Now.

1. What Is Lent?

Lent is not merely a stretch of forty days on a calendar. It is not simply the time between February and Easter. It is a graced time — a moment capable of changing us. It is kairos: a decisive hour of God’s action.

It is a season of preparation. We prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ not as a distant memory, but as a living reality that must touch our lives.

It is also a season of reversal. Instead of excess, we choose restraint. Instead of accumulation, we choose generosity. Instead of drifting away from God, we choose to return. Lent teaches us to rediscover what truly matters.

2. The Attitude of Lent

In the first reading, the prophet Joel cries out: “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). Even the bridegroom must leave his chamber. Even the bride must step out. No one is exempt. Conversion interrupts routine, comfort, even celebration. The whole community must gather. Yet Joel adds something deeper: “Rend your hearts and not your garments.” God is not satisfied with external gestures alone. Ashes on the forehead must correspond to openness of the heart.

Lent calls us to three movements.

First, return to God — because He first turns toward us. The call to conversion is rooted in mercy. “He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and rich in kindness.”

Second, return to ourselves – fast and discipline us. Fasting is not about pride or display. It is about humility. It reminds us of our fragility and dependence. It teaches us that we are not sustained by bread alone.

Third, turn toward others. True repentance leads to compassion. When we recognize our own need, we begin to see the need of our brothers and sisters. The acceptable time is not only vertical — toward God — but also horizontal — toward one another.

3. The Challenges of Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday confronts us with three challenges.

First, seize the present moment. “Now is the acceptable time.” We often live in postponement: tomorrow I will change; later I will forgive; someday I will pray more seriously. But salvation happens in the present.

Second, Jesus in the Gospel (Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18) introduces another movement: “When you pray, go into your room and close the door.” If Joel gathers the people outwardly, Jesus sends us inwardly. Our world lives outwardly — public image, constant exposure, endless commentary. But the deepest transformation happens in secret. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving — done quietly — reshape the heart.

Third, we must soften hardened hearts. A frozen heart cannot change. A hardened spirit cannot hear God’s voice. Lent is a season of thawing — of allowing grace to break what has become rigid within us.

4. Listening and Fasting

In his Message for Lent 2026, Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that every path of conversion begins with listening. God himself listens. He heard the cry of his people in Egypt. Listening is divine before it becomes human. We are called to listen to the Word of God, to the cry of the poor, and to the voice of conscience within us. In a noisy world, listening is already an act of conversion.

The Holy Father also speaks of fasting as a concrete way to prepare ourselves to receive the Word. Fasting reveals what we truly hunger for. It orders our desires and frees us from complacency. Lived in humility, it expands the heart toward God and toward justice. He proposes a very practical fast: fasting from harmful words. Abstaining from harsh speech, slander, gossip, and judgment. Learning to speak with kindness and respect — in our families, in our communities, even in public discourse. Let our words bring peace. Let them carry hope.

5. A New Lent

Often we associate Lent only with sin, sorrow, and sacrifice. But Christ has already conquered sin. He has broken the ancient curse. Lent is not a journey toward despair; it is a journey toward joy.

The Cross is not the end — it is the bridge.

A young man once stood on one side of a river and asked an older man on the opposite bank, “How do I cross to the other side?” The older man replied, “You are already on the other side.” In Christ, the crossing has begun. He has passed from death to life through the Cross. If we hold onto the mystery of the Cross here and now, the shore of resurrection will not be far.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us journey this Lent: Toward God — in prayer. Toward others — in charity. Toward ourselves — in fasting and honesty.

May this truly be for us an acceptable time — a time of grace, a time of renewal, a time of salvation.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy