Florida Catholic | Ash Wednesday

Ashes symbolize penitential dimension of Lenten season

Published: 02.15.08

Betty Halpern receives ashes from Bishop Frank J. Dewane on Feb. 6 during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Catholic Center. In his homily, the bishop emphasized the conversion aspect of Lent by encouraging those in attendance to experience the season this year as if they were going through it for the first time.
KRISTIE NGUYEN | FC

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. On this day, ashes are blessed and are used to mark the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of the season’s penitential character.

The palm leaves and branches from last year’s Palm Sunday liturgy are burned to produce the ashes used on Ash Wednesday.

When the priest places the ashes on people’s foreheads, he says, “Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19) or “Turn from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).

In the Bible, ashes were worn as a symbol of mourning, sorrow and repentance.

During most of the church’s first millennium, ashes were used for those admitted to the Order of Penitents.

Like the catechumens preparing for baptism at Easter, the people in the Order of Penitents were to undergo a journey of conversion. Penance, symbolized by the ashes, was seen as a second attempt to foster conversion. Early church fathers called penance a “second baptism.”

Historically, Lent was the time when the whole faith community prayed and fasted for the catechumens.

Those who were already baptized also sought their own conversion as they prepared to renew their baptismal promises at Easter. Today, the faithful are encouraged to continue these practices, as the Lenten focus on baptism and penance is rooted in the journeys of both the catechumens and the Order of Penitents.

Sources: AmericanCatholic.org; Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia; Ignatius Bible, Second Edition

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Ashes symbolize penitential dimension of Lenten season

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