Today’s Thoughts to Live by | Ash Wednesday

by Cardinal Orlando Beltran Quevedo, O.M.I, Archbishop-Emeritus of Cotabato

Some Notes on Lent and Ash Wednesday

The Lenten season translates the Latin word “Quadragesima,” or “Forty Days” or more literally “40th.” The practice of fasting for 40 days before Easter began in the 4th century. The Council of Nicea in 325 established a 40-day fasting period before Easter. St. Athanasius of Alexandria enjoined his flock to do so, and included another stricter fast for Holy Week. Still there were great divergences of practice. Some had three or four weeks of fasting. Previous to this, fasting was done for one or a few days to prepare for the Lord’s Passion. The desire to realize the exact number of 40 days led to the practice of beginning Lent on Ash Wednesday.

Writing to St. Augustine of England, St. Gregory said, “We abstain from flesh meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese and meat.” One single meal was taken during a fasting day. Later, some mitigations were introduced, such as taking a cup of tea or coffee, with a fragment of bread in the early morning.

The Lenten fast echoes the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry. In the Old Testament, Moses went to the mountains for 40 days and nights to pray and fast before receiving the 10 Commandments. Likewise the prophet Elijah fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights before he received the word of God (1 Kgs. 19:8-9).

For us, Lent is a period of repentance which ends with great celebration of Easter. It is a period of praying, fasting, and almsgiving; mortifying the flesh, repenting for sins, simple-living, and self-denial. Often observed are Stations of the Cross, veiling of crucifixes and religious statues, especially in the last two weeks of Lent, and removing flowers from the altars.

The last week of Lent begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Thursday, as the Mass of the Last Supper begins. But fasting and abstinence continues on Good Friday. The making of a Lenten sacrifice for the duration of 40 days is a traditional practice. Abstinence from alcohol is also traditional Lenten practice.

Further, we ought to consider what we can commit to — perhaps to do something positive for others everyday. In his 2026 Lenten Message, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV invited us to “refrain from words that offend and hurt our neighbor.” Every journey of conversion, he said, begins by letting God’s word touch our hearts, so that we may renew our commitment to follow Christ in his Paschal Mystery. Hence, a daily reflective reading of Scriptures is a Lenten suggestion.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a day of universal fast and abstinence in the Church. Fasting is required from ages 18 to 60. Abstinence is required from age 14.

On Ash Wednesday, Palms from the previous Palm Sunday are blessed and imposed after the homily. The “Gloria” is omitted except in solemnities and feasts on special celebrations. The two Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation are appropriate for the season of Lent.

Ashes are significant in the Bible. They signify mortality. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (see Gen. 3:19), grief and repentance (see Est. 4:1; Job 42:6; Dan. 9:3), humility before God, and renewal. They remind us of death, when our bodies return to the dust of the earth. But ashes also carry hope. They mark the start of a journey back to God, who always welcomes us with open arms. At the heart of Lent and Ash Wednesday is our turning back to God.

Prayer — 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 Christ our Lord. Amen.