Ash Wednesday 2026: February 18

Ash Wednesday 2026 marks the beginning of Lent, a sacred period of forty days dedicated to self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We gather with Canon Scott on February 18 to receive the sign of ashes on our foreheads, a visible reminder of our mortality and our need for God’s mercy.

As we listen to the ancient call to “return to the Lord with all your heart,” we embark on a journey of renewal that will lead us through the wilderness to the joy of Easter.

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The Collect for Ash Wednesday 2026

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Readings for Ash Wednesday 2026

Old Testament: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains, a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.

12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy. 17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'”

Psalm 103:8-14

8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 He will not always accuse us, nor will he keep his anger forever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.

13 As a father cares for his children, so does the Lord care for those who fear him.

14 For he himself knows whereof we are made; he remembers that we are but dust.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

20b We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

6:1 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Reflection on the Readings for Ash Wednesday 2026

Join us as we begin our Lenten journey!

Old Testament – Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

The prophet Joel sounds an alarm—the Day of the Lord is coming, a day of darkness and gloom. Yet even in the face of divine judgment, God extends an invitation: “Return to me with all your heart.” This is not a call for outward displays alone but for genuine conversion—”rend your hearts and not your clothing.” Joel reminds us that our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The entire community is summoned—young and old, even newlyweds—to gather for a solemn assembly. Between the vestibule and the altar, the priests are to weep and plead for God’s mercy. This is a corporate call to repentance, a communal turning back to the God who relents from punishing and desires to bless his people.

Psalm 103:8-14

This psalm celebrates God’s compassionate character. The Lord is full of mercy, slow to anger, and overflowing with kindness. God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our wickedness. Instead, his mercy is as high as the heavens above the earth, and he removes our sins as far as the east is from the west—an infinite distance. Like a loving father who cares for his children, the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. Why? Because “he himself knows whereof we are made; he remembers that we are but dust.” This tender acknowledgment of our mortality and fragility is at the heart of Ash Wednesday. We are dust, yet beloved dust, cherished by a God who is quick to forgive and slow to condemn.

Epistle – 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Paul delivers an urgent appeal: “Be reconciled to God.” He reminds us of the astounding exchange at the heart of the gospel—God made Christ, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God. Paul emphasizes the urgency of this moment: “Now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!” Lent is not a time to delay or postpone; it is the present moment of grace. Paul then describes the paradoxes of Christian ministry and discipleship—enduring hardships yet commending ourselves through purity, knowledge, patience, and genuine love. We may be treated as impostors yet are true, as dying yet fully alive, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich. This is the upside-down reality of following Christ.

Gospel – Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Jesus warns against practicing piety for show. When we give alms, pray, or fast, we must not do so to be seen and praised by others—that superficial approval is the only reward we will receive. Instead, our spiritual practices should be done in secret, before our Father who sees in secret. Give alms without fanfare. Pray in your room with the door shut. When you fast, don’t look dismal—wash your face and anoint your head so others won’t know. These practices are not performances for human applause but intimate acts of devotion to God. Jesus concludes by reminding us where to store our treasures—not on earth where they decay and can be stolen, but in heaven. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.

The central theme of these readings is authentic repentance that transforms the heart, not just outward appearances. Joel calls us to rend our hearts, not our clothing. The psalmist assures us that God, who knows we are dust, extends infinite mercy. Paul urges us to accept this grace now, in this acceptable time. And Jesus teaches that true piety happens in secret, before the God who sees everything. As we receive ashes on our foreheads today—a very public sign—we are reminded of this paradox: we wear a visible mark of our mortality and repentance, yet the real work of Lent happens in the hidden places of our hearts. Today, we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” But we also remember that we are beloved dust, dust that God formed with his own hands, dust into which he breathed the breath of life. This Lent, may we return to the Lord with all our hearts, trusting in his compassion and allowing him to create in us new and contrite hearts.