These are some key facts to understand the importance of Ash Wednesday, in order to live well this liturgical time of preparation for Easter.
1. Ash Monday: The first day of Lent
Ash Monday, which this year is celebrated on 12 February, begins the 40 days in which the Church calls the faithful to conversion and to truly prepare themselves to live the mysteries of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ, in the Holy Week.
Ash Monday is a celebration contained in the Roman Missal. He explains that at Mass the ashes made from the palms blessed on Palm Sunday of the previous year are blessed and imposed on the foreheads of the faithful.
2. The imposition of ashes arose in the first centuries of Christianity
The tradition of imposing ash dates back to the early Church. At that time, people placed ashes on their heads and presented themselves to the community in a “penitential habit” to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Holy Thursday.
3. The ash reminds us of the need for God’s mercy
The ash is a symbol. Its function is described in an important document of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, more precisely in article 125 of the “Directory on popular piety and liturgy”:
“The beginning of the forty days of penance, in the Roman Rite, is characterized by the austere symbol of ashes, which distinguishes the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday. Typical of the ancient rites with which converted sinners submitted to canonical penance, the gesture of covering oneself with ash has the meaning of recognizing one’s own fragility and mortality, which needs to be redeemed by God’s mercy. Far from being a purely external gesture, the Church has preserved it as a sign of the attitude of the penitent heart that each baptized person is called to assume in the Lenten itinerary. The faithful, who come in large numbers to receive the Ashes, must be helped to grasp the inner meaning of this gesture, which opens to conversion and the effort of Easter renewal.
4. Ashes have more than one meaning
The word ash, which comes from the Latin “cinis”, represents the product of the combustion of something by fire. This early adopted a symbolic sense of death, expiration, but also humility and penance.
The ash, as a sign of humility, reminds the Christian of his origin and his end: “God formed man with dust from the ground” (Gn 2,7); “until you return to the earth, for you were made of it” (Gen 3:19).
5. The ashes are produced with the palms of Palm Sunday
For the ceremony, the remains of the palms blessed on Palm Sunday of the previous year must be burned. These are sprinkled with holy water and then scented with incense.
6. The ashes are imposed on the forehead at the end of the homily
This act takes place at Mass at the end of the homily and the laity are allowed to help the priest. The ashes are imposed on the forehead, making the sign of the cross with them while the minister says the Biblical words: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return”, or “Convert and believe in the Gospel”.
Then, whoever receives the ashes must retire in silence, meditating on the phrase or invitation that has just been made.
It is important to remember that in 2021, the Vatican published instructions to distribute the ashes in order to guarantee the safety of the faithful and priests in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some countries that still have a high number of virus infections, local churches announced that they will maintain these measures in their territories.
7. Ashes can also be imposed without Mass
When there is no priest, the imposition of ashes can be done without Mass, in an extraordinary way. However, it is recommended that the act be preceded with a liturgy of the word.
It is important to remember that the blessing of the ashes, like all sacramentals, can only be performed by a priest or deacon.
8. Ashes can be received by non-Catholics
Anyone can receive this sacramental, including non-Catholics. As the Catechism (1670 et seq.) specifies, the sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit as the sacraments do, but through the Church’s prayer they “prepare to receive it and dispose to cooperate with it.”
9. It is not mandatory to receive the ashes
Ash Monday is not a holy day and therefore the imposition of ashes is not mandatory. However, that day a large number of people attend Holy Mass, something that is always recommended.
10. On Ash Monday, fasting and abstinence are mandatory
Fasting and abstinence are mandatory on Ash Wednesday, as on Good Friday, for those over 18 and under 60. Outside those limits, it is optional. That day the faithful can have a “strong” meal only once a day.
Abstinence from eating meat is mandatory from the age of 14. Every Friday of Lent is also mandatory abstinence. The other Fridays of the year as well, although depending on the country it can be replaced by another type of mortification or offering such as the recitation of the rosary.