MESSAGE OFPOPE LEO XIVFOR LENT 2026: A TIME OF CONVERSION THROUGH LISTENING AND FASTING
Photo Credit: EWTN Vatican
In his message for Lent 2026, Pope Leo XIV has called on Christians worldwide to embrace the season as a sacred opportunity for renewal, urging the faithful to place the mystery of God back at the center of their lives.
Against the backdrop of modern anxieties and distractions, the Pontiff described Lent as a journey, one that leads believers to walk with Christ on the road to Jerusalem, contemplating the mystery of His Passion, death, and Resurrection. This journey, he said, offers not only reflection but transformation, inviting the faithful to deeper commitment and spiritual rebirth.
Central to this year’s Lenten observance, the Pope emphasized, is the virtue of listening. Conversion, he explained, begins with attentiveness to the Word of God, welcoming it into the heart and allowing it to shape thought and action. Listening, he noted, is not passive; it is an intentional act that fosters a meaningful relationship with God, who must remain the fulcrum of Christian life.
Drawing from Scripture, the Holy Father referenced the Book of Exodus (Ex 3:7), recalling the moment God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush and declared that He had heard the cries of His people suffering in Egypt. That divine attentiveness, the Pope observed, underscores the profound importance of listening in the Christian vocation. Just as God listens to humanity, so too must believers cultivate hearts attentive to His voice and to the suffering of others.
He affirmed that God continues to speak through the liturgy and Sacred Scripture, guiding the faithful toward truth amid the vulnerabilities and uncertainties of society. In listening to the Word, Christians are better equipped to respond compassionately to the plight of the abandoned and marginalized. The Pope urged believers to seek the face of God and learn to listen as He does, with mercy and understanding.
Alongside listening, fasting stands as an indispensable pillar of Lenten conversion. Rooted in ancient ascetic tradition, fasting, the Pope explained, is more than food abstinence; it is a spiritual discipline that reveals what truly sustains the human heart. “Precisely because fasting has a direct effect on the body,” he noted, “it helps us recognize what we truly hunger for and what we choose as nourishment.”
Such discipline, he said, shapes one’s relationship with others, fostering self-control and solidarity while guarding against complacency. Referencing the spiritual wisdom of Augustine of Hippo, the Pope observed that fasting refocuses the soul on God and the practice of charity. By tempering desires, it purifies the heart and aligns believers more closely with divine will.
He further pointed to the example found in the Book of Nehemiah (Neh 9:1–3), where the people gathered to hear the public reading of the Law, professing their faith and renewing their covenant with God through prayer and fasting. This scriptural witness, he said, remains instructive for Christians today.
In concluding his message, the Holy Father challenged the faithful to “give voice to the voiceless,” exercising care in speech and action. Through sincere listening and fasting free from sin and hypocrisy, he said, believers can become instruments of liberation and hope within their communities.
He closed with a prayer that this Lenten season may deepen attentiveness to God and renew hearts in faith, invoking his heartfelt blessing upon all as they embark on the sacred journey toward Easter.
Anita Aryeh
DEPSOCOM, Accra
