February 20, 2026
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 221
Reading
1
Thus says the Lord
GOD:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (19b) A
heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Verse
Before the Gospel
Seek good and not
evil so that you may live,
and the Lord will be with you.
Gospel
The disciples of
John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022026.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
58:1-9
Today we have a magnificent and, in many ways, a frightening
passage from Isaiah. It points to where true religion is to be found.
We have here a wonderful prophetic call in the spirit of
those great prophets who lived in the post-Exile period. The call is for an
inward spirit to match outward observance. It is a call that pervades Jesus’
teaching in the Gospels, and is found touched on in today’s Gospel.
The prophet writes:
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Big feasts and the beginning of fasts were proclaimed by a
trumpet. At Mount Sinai, God’s voice is compared to a trumpet blast. Actually,
only one day, the Day of Atonement, was prescribed for fasting, but there could
be other days to commemorate some national disaster. Today our Ash Wednesday
fills a similar role, a day when many of our churches are packed.
The people are asking God to come near. They are calling out
for just laws. They want to have their fasting and their penances noticed by
God. On the surface, they seem to be so religious, so pious and docile, but all
the while they are neglecting to do what God really wants. They ask
plaintively:
Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?
God, through the voice of his prophet Isaiah, gives them a
powerful response, one they hardly expected. Instead of praise, they get
condemnation.
Yes, they fast all right, but at the same time they “serve
[their] own interest”. They do business on their holy days and oppress their
workers. They fast, but at the same time quarrel and squabble and physically
abuse the poor.
Is this what God wants? Is this real fasting and
penance…looking miserable?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Is it all these very pious acts that God cherishes and
wants?
The kind of fast that the Lord wants is something altogether
different. Is it not:
…to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin…
These words were written thousands of years ago. Yet they
still apply fully in our enlightened age. They contain a proclamation that will
be repeated by Jesus both in his words and actions. It is by doing these things
that we will really be in the spirit of Lent. It is a lot more than keeping the
fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, or giving up things like
sweets or smoking.
What is really important is to reach out in love and
compassion to those in need, and to treat every single person with respect and
dignity.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly…
What “healing”? It is the healing of the wound of our
sinfulness, shown by our lack of love and sense of responsibility. It is the
wound of our hypocrisy and false religion.
After doing all that, when we cry out to the Lord, he will
answer:
Here I am.
Yes, he is with us when, in the midst of pain and misery, we
reach out to him. He does not need for us to “lie in sackcloth and ashes”.
How do I think God sees me during this Lenten season? What
am I doing in response to God’s call to come to the help of my brothers and
sisters?
Comments Off
Commentary on
Matthew 9:14-15
The Gospels more than once contrast the lifestyle of Jesus
with that of John the Baptist. In today’s passage, we see the disciples of John
the Baptist asking Jesus why they and the Pharisees fast regularly, but his
disciples do not. (John himself never questions anything that Jesus does.)
The reason Jesus gave was because it was not normal to fast
when the bridegroom was still around. He is the Bridegroom and, as long as he
was present, it was a time for celebration. Fasting is a sign of mourning and
would be as inappropriate at this time of joy, when Jesus is proclaiming the
Kingdom, as it would be at a marriage feast.
But there is more than that. Jesus, in his life, pointed his
disciples to something deeper and more important than fasting, namely, reaching
out in compassion to others, bringing joy, comfort and healing into people’s
lives. Fasting can be very self-centred, as in the case of the Pharisees who
projected the attitude: ‘See how holy I am!’ (as we saw in the Gospel on Ash
Wednesday). Jesus expects more than that.
But Jesus does say that when the bridegroom is gone, when
Jesus is no longer visibly present, his disciples will fast. At that time, it
will be appropriate to fast as a sign of penance and purification. There is a
place for penitential acts and even asceticism. The Church (and every other
major religion) has recognised that over the centuries.
But it is the reaching out in caring love that is most
important. Without that, fasting has little to no value.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1006g/
Friday,
February 20, 2026
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord of the Covenant,
we have not to fear Your
judgment if like You we become rich in mercy and full of compassion for our neighbor.
May we not only know that You ask us but practice with sincere hearts to share
our food with the hungry and to loosen the bonds of injustice, that through us
Your light may shine and Your healing spread far and wide. Be with us in Your
goodness. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading – Matthew 9: 14-15
The disciples of John
approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but
your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding
guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when
the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."
Reflection
Today’s Gospel is a brief version of
the Gospel which we already meditated on in January, when the same theme of
fasting was proposed to us (Mk 2: 18-22), but there is a small difference.
Today, the Liturgy omits the whole discourse of the new piece of cloth on an
old cloak and the new wine in an old skin (Mt 9: 16-17) and concentrates its
attention on fasting.
Jesus does not insist on the practice
of fasting. Fasting is a very ancient practice and done in almost all
religions. Jesus Himself practiced it during the forty days (Mt 4:2). But He
did not insist His disciples do the same. He leaves them free. For this reason,
the disciples of John the Baptist and of the Pharisees, who were obliged to
fast, want to know why Jesus does not insist on fasting.
While the bridegroom is
with them, they do not need to fast. Jesus responds with a comparison. When the
bridegroom is with the friends of the spouse, that is, during the wedding
feast, it is not necessary for them to fast. Jesus considers Himself the
spouse. The disciples are the friends of the spouse. The time which Jesus is
with the disciples is the wedding feast. The day will come in which the spouse
will no longer be there. Then, they can fast if they so desire. In this phrase
Jesus refers to His death. He knows and He becomes aware that if He continues
along this path of freedom the religious authority will want to kill Him. Fasting
and abstinence from meat are universal practices. The Muslims have fasting
during Ramadan, during which they don’t eat until the rising of the sun. For
diverse reasons, people impose upon themselves some form of fasting. Fasting is
an important means to control oneself and this exists in almost all religions.
It is also appreciated by those who are health conscious.
The Bible has many
references to fasting. It was a way of making penance and of attaining
conversion. Through the practice of fasting, Christians imitated Jesus who
fasted during forty days. Fasting helps to attain the freedom of mind,
self-control, and perhaps a critical vision of reality. It is an instrument to
free our mind and not allow one to be transported by any breeze. It is a means
to take better care of health. Fasting can be a form of identification with the
poor who are obliged to fast the whole year and eat meat very rarely. There are
also those who fast in order to protest.
Even if fasting and
abstinence are no longer observed today, the basic objective of this practice
continues to remain unchanged and is a force which should animate our life: to
participate in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Surrender one’s
own life in order to be able to possess it in God. Become aware or conscious of
the fact that the commitment to the Gospel is a one way journey, without
returning, which demands losing one’s life in order to be able to possess and
find all things in full liberty.
Personal Questions
•
What form of fasting do you practice? And if you
do not practice any, what is the form which you could practice?
•
How can fasting help me to better prepare for
the celebration of Easter?
Concluding Prayer
Have mercy on me, O God, in Your faithful love, in Your
great tenderness wipe away my offenses; wash me clean from my guilt, purify me
from my sin. (Ps 51: 12)
