Wednesday, 10 February 2027

Ash Wednesday

Gospel: Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18

“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

Liturgical colour: Purple

Read the story together

The Gospel from the worksheets, told for little ones. Read it aloud on Saturday, or tap Listen.

Jesus’ Secret Ways to Love God

Jesus taught His friends three special ways to grow close to God: giving, praying and fasting. Some people did good things just so others would notice them. But Jesus said, “When you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet.” Give quietly, so even your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing!

Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door.” And when you fast, which means giving up some food, wash your face and smile, so nobody needs to know. “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The priest puts a little cross of ashes on our foreheads. It says, We belong to Jesus, and we want to grow closer to Him. For forty days we pray, share and give things up, to get our hearts ready for Easter!

Big idea: Lent is our time to grow closer to Jesus by praying, sharing and giving things up — quietly, just for God, who sees it all!

Quiet Gifts for God

Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door. Your Father sees you.” Jesus wants us to share with others too, quietly, just for God.

Today the priest puts a little cross of ashes on our foreheads. It says, I belong to Jesus!

Big idea: My little cross says I belong to Jesus!

Jesus’ own words are in red, like a red-letter Bible.

Slower

Went to Mass? Add your stickerCollect one each Sunday in the family app’s Mass Passport and earn season badges.

Lent and Easter at homeThe bean jar, the 40-day chart and the Alleluia garden.

For grown-ups

Ash Wednesday opens Lent with a smudge of ashes and a very gentle Gospel. Jesus does not ask us to look holy; He asks us to pray, give and fast where only the Father sees. The ashes remind us that we are small and that we belong to God, and the first reading puts it simply: “Come back to me with all your heart.”

For a family with little ones, Lent does not need to be grand. A short prayer in a quiet corner, coins saved in a jar for someone in need, one treat given up without fuss — these hidden gifts are exactly what Jesus describes. Children love a secret, so let them in on this one: the good things we do quietly are gifts between us and God. The goal is not to be seen, but to grow a little closer to Jesus each day until Easter.

Dinner-table questions

What does the little cross of ashes on your forehead mean?
Where is a quiet place at home where you can talk to Jesus?
What could our family share with someone who needs help this Lent?

This week’s family practice: Set up a giving jar and a small prayer corner today. Each evening of this first week of Lent, add a coin or do one secret kindness, then say a short prayer together there.

Print the family table cardThis week’s question, grace before meals and the practice, two to a page.

The day’s readings

First reading: Joel 2:12–18
Psalm: Psalm 51 — Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Second reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2
Gospel: Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18

Read them in full on Universalis →