Ash Wednesday MASS - February 18th, 2026. Weekday Solemnity-​

Ash Wednesday MASS  - February 18th, 2026. Weekday Solemnity-  

Readings for Ash Wednesday Mass -
First Reading: Joel 2:12-18
Psalm: Ps 50:3-6. 12-14. 17. "Be Merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned."
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20 - 6:2
Gospel Acclamation: cf Ps 94:8  "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory! If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!"
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6. 16-18
Homily
Blessing and Distribution of Ashes
  Distribution of Ashes
      Prayer of the Faithful

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed Photo ID: 1615569214 - Ash Wednesday, crucifix made of ash, to dust as in the Christian religion. Lent beginning- Photo Contributor: vetre
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To listen to the audio recording of the readings, prayers and reflections for Ash Wednesday, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-ash/s-9pTns9XnTDF
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Prologue:  Faith, Hope and Love, the first day of the season of Lent, Ash Wednesday. 

Welcome as we gather to mark the beginning of the season of Lent, 40 days of prayer, penance and self-denial, reminding us of our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness. This season also prepares us for the renewal and new life celebrated in the Easter season.

Ashes, as we know, is a symbol of destruction and death. They're used as an ancient Judeo-Christian symbol of our journey from death to new life. We use ashes from the old burnt palm branches that were used in Palm Sunday Masses.

When we think about Lent, we generally think in terms of giving something up, a kind of dying to self, but the readings today suggest Lent is about beginnings, coming to new life, deepening our relationship with God and others and transforming who we are and how we live. This is Faith, Hope and Love. 

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Homily - 

In this Lenten fasting, we also remember and imitate the example of Jesus, who fasted forty long days in the wilderness, as he prepared to begin his life-giving ministry on earth.

Lent is a time of prayer, penance and good works, which are three aspects of one thing. The purpose of fasting and abstinence is not to punish ourselves, nor is it a time of testing our willpower and personal strength, but rather it's to create a space in us for God, and a detachment from whatever may keep us at a distance from coming to an ever-closer connection to God. This is a beautiful season, and it's a time for God to help us loosen our willfulness and self-focus.

The idea that Lent is some kind of a test of our willpower and resolve, our resistance to temptation, actually defeats the real purpose of this time. It's precisely not about our willpower, but rather surrendering our wilfulness and self-focus to God's giving and loving will. If we enter into the season with a humble, contrite and not willful attitude, God's grace will produce wonderful fruits in us that will last.

Overcoming sin and defeating habits is not about willpower, since it is our willfulness and the imperfection of our ability to will all that is good for us without God's help that often leads us to falling into things we know are harmful to us and to others. Imagine an army that tries to fortify its castle, focusing on only the outside, making sure that the walls and doors are strong and resistant to attack, but the enemy is constantly looking for gaps in the fortress, even tiny floors where the armour is weak or imperfect. Then they can break through these gaps and once inside, they can wreak havoc.

The idea of Lent is not to build a powerful external armour so that if there is a flaw, we're hopeless inside, and a lot of these things are coming from inside, from a heart that's not entirely given over to God. Lent is allowing God's grace and the virtues and gospel to fill us up from the inside out, fill our hearts and minds, so that if the enemy found a gap, they'd come inside and the heart would be completely filled with Jesus' values, that there was simply no room for them, and they'd have to retreat. So we rely not merely on outward shields, as if the inner life is so completely weak that it would fall at once when breached.

In self-denial and in giving of time to more prayer and good works, our hearts move ever closer to God. Distractions like excess food or other things that take up our time and energy are avoided, helping us to become more focused and attentive, and more charitable. Let's read and pray with God's word in the scriptures even more in this season, because this living word is the source of our grace and life, and also let's read and reflect on the enormous resources of the lives and wisdom of the saints, who have before us heroically shown how to allow God's grace to fill us up and transform us and grow in holiness and love.

Let our heartfelt prayer this year be, Lord, help us to be true ambassadors for you in our words and actions. Lord, let no one look at our lives and actions and ask, where is your God? Let our love and practical charity shine out with the answer. During Lent we give to the excellent cause of Project Compassion, run by the Catholic charity Caritas, which of course means love in action.

May this and so many ordinary and everyday acts of kindness, patience, forbearance, mercy, practical help and compassion fill our minds and hearts with Jesus' loving heart. For Project Compassion you can visit www.caritas.org.au forward slash project dash compassion for more information and for donation options.  

[Please visit - https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion for more information and for donation options] 

Lent is a six-week gift to the church from God, as a time of nurturing positive habits of prayer, self-denial and giving of our time and resources for worthy causes, to build up our spiritual health and build up good habits and attitudes that become so automatic and natural to us that we do them without hesitation and for no other reason than our love for God, so that as the reading says today, our left hand doesn't even know what our right hand is doing, but what it is doing is something good and for God.

The Gospel has a lot of wisdom in it. Those things that are done for no other reason but the love of God and not for anything else, not for notice, not for reward in this life, not for people's admiration, actions done purely for the glory and praise of God alone, this is close to the nature and heart of God. This is also at the heart of the Gospels and of our faith.

It's the source of lasting truth. So let's make this time of Lent the wonderful joy-filled gift that it really is, a time of peaceful self-denial and making space for God, fostering positive habits that will last well beyond 40 days, and may God, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to perfection in the secret of our own hearts. 

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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion

 

#Elizabeth Harrington – Liturgy Brisbane  © Liturgybrisbane.

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed Photo ID: 1615569214 - Ash Wednesday, crucifix made of ash, dust as in the Christian religion. Lent beginning- Photo Contributor: vetre
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
{{May God's Spirit of Wisdom and Awe abide in you.}}

(no penitential rite, as the ashes – given later – are the penitential act on this day).
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After the Homily -
(as placed on the forehead.. the minister says: - ): 
"Repent, and believe in the Gospel."
Or alternatively:
"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
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Memorial Acclamation
Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.
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Preface: Lent III
Eucharist Prayer II
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{my heartfelt thanks for your participation in this time of reflection, prayer and praise.}
Dismissal:

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.


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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
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To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks


Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney, Australia).

-Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy," inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020

[ Production - KER - 2026]
May God bless and keep you.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, February 15th, 2026 (EPISODE- 571)

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, February 15th, 2026 (EPISODE- 571)

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, February 15th, 2026 (EPISODE- 571)

Readings for Sunday, February 15th, 2026 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A
FIRST READING: Sirach 15:16-21 (diff)
Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34. "Happy are they who follow the law of the Lord."
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 2:6-10
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matthew 11:25). Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth. You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
GOSPEL: Matthew 5:17-37 or 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed.Stock Photo ID: 2105703446.  Judaic - prophet - faith -church - Talmud law space.  Photo Contributor: ArtMari
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers, and homily), for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, February 15th, 2026, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-571-the/s-f8wK5j2gZXd  (EPISODE-571 )
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PROLOGUE:

Our Lord really turns the heat up this weekend in the readings. He lays things on the line. We have been given real freedom, so no excuses.

 

We are called to be children of God, not petty rule-makers or breakers. The Lord wants to share His heart with us, His love. He wants to implant that love deep in our souls, and from that, true discipleship flows.

 

The law flows from the loving heart of God. A love that reaches out, gives, sacrifices, includes and helps.

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HOMILY

Mahatma Gandhi, famous for his wisdom, his promotion of human rights, and his nonviolent resistance, was a practising Hindu. Nevertheless, Christianity intrigued him greatly, and he read extensively about it.

 

And in reading the Gospels, Gandhi was deeply impressed by our Lord Jesus. He wanted to know more about this Jesus whom Christians call the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. One Sunday morning, Gandhi decided he would visit one of the Christian churches in Kolkata.

 

When he sought entrance to the church, he was stopped at the door by the ushers. He was told he was not welcome. Nor would he be permitted to attend this church as it was for either high-caste Indians or whites only.

 

He fitted neither of those narrow descriptions. Because of this rejection, the Mahatma turned his back on Christianity, saying, if it weren't for Christians, I'd be a Christian. (%%)  

Sadly, this is another in the list of history's all-too-many examples of Christians becoming a stumbling block for those trying to approach Christ.

 

It's an unspeakable tragedy that repeats itself far too often. Even to this day, we have to be so vigilant against being "un-Christian Christians." This can happen in really big ways and in small ways that are still quite devastating.

 

And the results are the same. The contradiction observed by observers between God's love on the one hand and the legalism, lack of charity, and harshness of some of God's disciples on the other can be a real and permanent turn-off. I'm sure many of us can blush when we recall times when we ourselves modelled the complete opposite of Christ's loving message in our own actions or reactions.

 

These contradictions are a trap into which any of us could fall. The Lord doesn't want us to lose heart or give up, but warns us to be very wary, constantly on our guard against our contradictions, and to repent and work with God's grace to reshape our attitudes without delay and save us, Lord, from acting the opposite to your ways and not even seeing the contradiction. Christ didn't preach "heal, forgive, suffer, die, and rise again" for that kind of self-indulgence or lack of self-awareness.

 

Today's gospel is summed up beautifully in this quote from the British writer Michael Green. God's law is not the limit of obedience. Rather, it's the springboard from which we dive into the wonderful, refreshing, life-giving and deep waters of love and devotion to our Lord.

 

The law of God is the curb along the road of love. We don't spend all our time as we drive along a road looking at the sidewalk, but by travelling wonderfully down the centre lane of this highway of God's love. The law was never meant to be an end in itself, but rather it's a distillation, an expression of God's values.

 

When people only focus on the letter of the law or outward observances without looking to the inner heart, they're really missing the forest for the trees. Jesus warned the Pharisees that this is exactly what they had ended up doing. They had not gone deeper into the meaning and spirit behind the law, and so they had become hollow.

 

The Pharisees are not just those people who opposed Christ 2,000 years ago. They're not merely the actual Pharisees who were living like hypocrites, but this group also represents anyone, even today, even within our own Christian faith tradition, who keep outward observances while their hearts and attitudes remain very far from the Lord. Our Lord preaches to the Pharisees of this day, and even the Pharisee that might be lurking away somewhere in our own hearts.

 

God's wise saying to us in the first reading is really quite powerful. God says, of course, I've given you true freedom. You are free to touch the cool water; it will feel cool. You're just as free to touch the flame if you want, but beware: if you choose to touch fire, you will burn yourself.

 

So choose wisely, choose the good, avoid the harmful. Use your freedom to choose life and not death, to choose God's ways, not our own ways. At the heart of God's desire for us is to walk the paths that are for our good and avoid any avenues that will prove nothing but harmful to us.

 

Jesus is calling us as his disciples to learn the meaning of God's law and its purpose, not merely its outward expression or its legalistic limits. We hope that God will grant us ever-deeper wisdom to discern the loving kindness and compassion behind the rules and regulations, and to apply ourselves to that love. Our Lord is inviting us not to settle for the outward shell of observance, but to dive deeply into being a loving disciple who truly lives as a son or daughter of God among many siblings.

 

The first and most important law of God is love of God and love of neighbour. It's the one law that admits of no exception. Furthermore, all other laws from God, and any other laws anywhere, must be held to the litmus test of how they apply this overarching law of love.

 

So it's not good enough to merely keep the commandments by not killing anyone, because we must strive also not to have anger or uncharitable thoughts about our brother or sister. It's not sufficient to say I've never actually been unfaithful when it's possible to break the spirit of this command by being disrespectful in the way we look at others or how it's sadly possible to treat others as objects devoid of their personhood. What an absolute joke we could make of God's law by limiting it only to extremes or diluting it with endless lists of curious but rather vague observances.

 

It's not good enough to do everything in the name of Jesus if our ordinary, everyday yes is unreliable, or our no doesn't mean what it says. This particular passage really interests me more than ever now. A simple yes or no is very powerful and effective, but "yeses" and "noes" with added explanations, reasons, commentaries aren't, when one thinks about it, are little more than excuses, fibs, self-justifications or gripes.

 

So truly our yes needs to be yes and our no, no, without anything more or less. And even more challenging, today's readings remind us never to blame God for our failings. Do not say it's the Lord's doing that I fell away.

 

These are merely excuses that try to remove our own adult free responsibility. Whilst we have freedom, we're reminded quite sharply by this weekend's scriptures, the Lord never gave people permission to use their freedom to sin or to ignore his laws. He gave them the freedom to keep his law and his love.

 

Yes, God has given us true freedom, but it's also a freedom to live by God's law and to act responsibly, maturely, and always with love.
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References:

Fr Paul W. Kelly;

(%%) [ By LAMA CHUCK STANFORD and ARVIND KHETIA.  Article - APRIL 17, 2015 07:00 AM:  from];

https://amp.kansascity.com/living/religion/article18756585.html 

Also referenced in Link, M. (1992). Vision.  Year A. Allen, Tex.: Tabor Publications.

My Daily Visitor (Our Sunday Visitor);

Break Open the Word

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed.Stock Photo ID: 2105703446.  Judaic - prophet - faith -church - Talmud law space.  Photo Contributor: ArtMari


To listen to the Sunday Mass each week (including homily) from Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, please visit this link: Liturgy for you at Home (by SPCP) -  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

Also found at -   https://tinyurl.com/FHLpwk


Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A  (Sunday, February 15th, 2026) (EPISODE- 571)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{my heartfelt thanks for your participation in this time of reflection, prayer and praise.}}

As one family in Christ, let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries by calling to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you are the image of the unseen God: Lord, have mercy.//You are the firstborn of all creation: Christ, have mercy//You are the head of the body, the Church: Lord, have mercy.//
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34. "Happy are they who follow the law of the Lord."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 11:25). Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth. You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Sundays Ordinary V
Euch Prayer II

(theme variation:  4)

(welcome cycle-   (welcome 6) Good evening/morning. Welcome to this Eucharist as we celebrate the NNN Sunday in SSSSSS. For all who are celebrating special events at this time, may God's blessing and care be deeply experienced for you and your families. Please check that your mobile devices are switched off or set to silent.  Our Presider tonight/today is Fr………………………… Please stand as we sing our entrance hymn: "__________" *)

(pre+post variation: v2-long)
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{My heartfelt thanks for your participation in this time of reflection, prayer and praise.}

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the Liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins Publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney, Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of  William John Kelly -     Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly, 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing -  P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: -  Shure MV5 Digital Condenser (USB)

Editing equipment: NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor

[Production -  KER -  2026]
May God bless and keep you.
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