01/20/2026
Mark your calendars, friends—Lent arrives early this year!
Ash Wednesday falls on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, kicking off the holy season of preparation for Easter.
(And yes, if anyone spots irony here—“posting about Lent already while we’ve grumbled about Christmas creeping in too soon”—the comparison doesn’t quite hold up.)
Announcing a date on the calendar isn’t celebration; it’s simple information. Knowing when Lent begins is worlds apart from actually entering into it. Lent is a spiritual campaign—a serious battle of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Just as you don’t wait until exam morning to study or until the first shot rings out to train for battle, wise preparation happens before the fight begins.
This is precisely why the Church has long proclaimed the date of Easter (and all the moveable feasts) right after Epiphany: to help the faithful structure their lives around the liturgical year—especially this greatest annual campaign—rather than stumble into it unprepared.
Secular premature Christmas festivities aren’t preparation at all; they’re full-on celebration ahead of time. If someone can’t distinguish between publishing liturgical dates and stringing up lights & trees, that’s not hypocrisy—it’s a mix-up of categories.
Foreknowledge isn’t the problem.
The Church herself provides it every year for our benefit. Let’s use this early heads-up to get ready—spiritually, prayerfully, and intentionally—for the grace-filled journey of Lent ahead.
