1st Sunday of Lent: February 21/22, 2026

The two most important feasts of the liturgical year, Easter and Christmas, are both preceded by periods of preparation.

The four-week season of Advent helps us to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas.

And the six weeks of Lent help us prepare for the new life available to us through Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection, which is called the Paschal Mystery.

As Catholics, we take preparation very seriously.

In the life of an adult Catholic, there is a time for preparation preceding the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation. This used to be called the Rite of Christian Initiation for adults, now called the Order of Christian Initiation, during which time one learns about the Church’s teachings, about its prayer life, about its moral teaching, all before they are Baptized.

Some members of the young Church are in a time of preparation for their 1st Communion, when they are learning about the Mass, the importance of the Eucharist, and how we are nourished and changed by the very Body and Blood of Jesus.

Others are finishing up the preparation time for Confirmation which is on February 7th, and they have learned about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as other things.

A seminarian preparing for the Sacrament of Holy Orders prepares 8 to 9 years for the life of ministry as a priest. And a couple wanting to get married will spend several months in preparation for that life-changing Sacrament.

Before every Mass we are encouraged to spend some time in silent prayer to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Mass. Even better is to prepare oneself by reading and reflecting on the Scriptures to be used on the Sunday, that’s why they are listed on the front of the bulletin.

Yes, we Catholics take preparation very seriously. WHY?

One reason, I think, is so we know what we are getting into. A future priest needs to be prepared for the challenges of ministry, so needs to know his theology, gain some skills in ministering to the sick, the dying, and the doubtful.

Some things are not taught in seminary so need to be learned on the job, like understanding finances, how to manage a staff, or where to find the toilet paper for the times parishioners tell you that instead of someone else on the staff.

Preparing helps us to be realistic, and Lent helps us to be realistic about the demands placed on the followers of Jesus Christ.

First and foremost, that there will be temptations, temptations to give up, to take the easy way out, to give part of our hearts to God and not our whole heart. Jesus, himself, was tempted, so we can certainly expect temptations to come our way.

We need to be realistic about how the call to follow Christ is not an easy call to respond to. We have to work at it every day to become the person God has made us to be.

So we prepare during Lent by getting back to the basics, intensifying prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, and growing in awareness of the ways we are tempted.

Also, I think we take preparing seriously as Catholics so that we can come to a greater understanding of how God works through the Sacraments.

The adults I have worked with over the years, preparing for Baptism have told me that they have had some kind of profound encounter with God working in their lives that moved them to come to the Catholic Church, and then they found something that they previously lacked in life.

And the celebration of the Sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, allowed them to experience the acceptance and love that God has for them.

Our Confirmation candidates are hopefully growing in their anticipation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, first given to them in Baptism, which will be reignited and fanned into flame within their hearts as they are Confirmed and continue to mature in their faith.

Those preparing for First Communion grow in excitement as their day nears, knowing they no longer have to ask for a blessing, but will now be strengthened by the very body and blood of Christ.

Married couples celebrate the anniversary of their vows annually, and always strive to live better the promises they made to one another.

And I can never forget lying on the hard floor as the litany of saints was sung over me, now almost 38 years ago. And I remember saying to a friend of mine as we vested in the sacristy before my first mass, it still feels like I am playing dress up, as I was only beginning to adjust to being called Father.

As I said more than a few weeks ago on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, nowhere or at no time do we get more of God’s grace, God’s very life poured out for us and into us, than when we celebrate the special moments we all Sacraments.

So Lent is a preparation period. And through the Sacraments we receive during this 40-day preparation period, mostly the Eucharist, and hopefully Reconciliation, they can help us come to a new experience of God working in our lives. Because there are sins that God wants to free us from during this Lent, as we practice Lenten fasting. There is a new level of intimacy that God wants to bring us as we practice Lenten prayer. There is a new level of selflessness and charity God wants to teach us as we practice Lenten almsgiving.

In the Gospel, Jesus prepared for his public ministry by going off into the desert. He prayed and fasted and experienced temptation. We journey with him by going into our Lenten desert to pray and fast and combat our temptations.

If you haven’t already, spend some time this week coming up with some concrete ways of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to practice during Lent. And ask the Holy Spirit to help you discover not just what you want to do, but what God is calling you to do this Lent, that you may be open to receiving the gift of new life God wants to give you at Easter.