From Vatican News
“I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from
words that offend and hurt our neighbour.”
Pope Leo XIV made that invitation at the heart of his message
for Lent 2026, which was released on Friday.
As Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, the Pope said
this liturgical season offers Christians an opportunity to place the mystery of God back at the centre of our lives.
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 the mystery of His saving passion, death, and resurrection.
Pope Leo focused on the importance of listening to God and to
those around us, allowing ourselves to enter into authentic relationships.
“In the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives
and in society,” he said, “Sacred Scripture helps us to
recognise and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering.”
Christians, said the Pope, can cultivate inner openness to
listening, as God does, by growing in awareness that the
poor challenge our lives and economic systems, as well as
the Church.
Pope Leo XIV then turned to how fasting helps open us to
the deep desire for justice, which he said frees us from
complacency.
“Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it
easier to recognize what we ‘hunger’ for and what we
deem necessary for our sustenance,” he said. “Moreover,
it helps us to identify and order our ‘appetites,’ keeping
our hunger and thirst for justice alive”.
Fasting, he added, teaches us to govern our desire by
purifying, freeing, and expanding it, in order to direct our
desire toward God and good deeds.
However, we must fast in faith, humility, and communion
with the Lord, and not in a way that leads to pride,
said the Pope, adding that other forms of self-denial also
lead to a more sober lifestyle.
Pope Leo then pointed to an under-appreciated form
of abstinence, which is refraining from hurtful words.
“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,” he said. “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.”
If we do so, we will let words of hatred “give way to words of
hope and peace.”
Pope Leo went on to emphasise the communal aspect of
listening and fasting, which can be lived out in our
parishes, families, and religious communities.
By listening to the cry of the poor and setting our
hearts on a path of conversion to Christ, we train our
conscience and improve the quality of our lives and
relationships, he said.
“It means allowing ourselves to be challenged by reality
and recognising what truly guides our desires—both within
our ecclesial communities and as regards humanity’s thirst for
justice and reconciliation.”
Pope Leo XIV concluded his 2026 Lenten Message with a
call for Christian communities to become places where
those who suffer find welcome.
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