Pope’s Lenten message: Abstain from harsh words and rash judgement

By Devin Watkins

“I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor.”

Pope Leo XIV made that invitation at the heart of his message for Lent 2026, which was released on Friday.

As Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, the Pope said this liturgical season offers Christians an opportunity to place the mystery of God back at the center of our lives.

Every journey of conversion, he said, begins by letting God’s word touch our hearts, so that we may renew our commitment to follow Christ in the mystery of His saving passion, death, and resurrection.

Pope Leo focused on the importance of listening to God and to those around us, allowing ourselves to enter into authentic relationships.

“In the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives and in society,” he said, “Sacred Scripture helps us to recognize and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering.”

Christians, said the Pope, can cultivate inner openness to listening, as God does, by growing in awareness that the poor challenge our lives and economic systems, as well as the Church.

Pope Leo XIV then turned to how fasting helps open us to the deep desire for justice, which he said frees us from complacency.

“Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it easier to recognize what we ‘hunger’ for and what we deem necessary for our sustenance,” he said. “Moreover, it helps us to identify and order our ‘appetites,’ keeping our hunger and thirst for justice alive”.

Fasting, he added, teaches us to govern our desire by purifying, freeing, and expanding it, in order to direct our desire toward God and good deeds.

However, we must fast in faith, humility, and communion with the Lord, and not in a way that leads to pride, said the Pope, adding that other forms of self-denial also lead to a more sober lifestyle.

Pope Leo then pointed to an under-appreciated form of abstinance, which is refraining from hurtful words.

“Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves,” he said. “Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities.”

If we do so, we will let words of hatred “give way to words of hope and peace.”

Pope Leo went on to emphasize the communal aspect of listening and fasting, which can be lived out in our parishes, families, and religious communities.

By listening to the cry of the poor and setting our hearts on a path of conversion to Christ, we train our conscience and improve the quality of our lives and relationships, he said.

“It means allowing ourselves to be challenged by reality and recognizing what truly guides our desires—both within our ecclesial communities and as regards humanity’s thirst for justice and reconciliation.”

Pope Leo XIV concluded his 2026 Lenten Message with a call for Christian communities to become places where those who suffer find welcome.

“Let us ask for the strength that comes from the type of fasting that also extends to our use of language,” he said, “so that hurtful words may diminish and give way to a greater space for the voice of others.”