The first day of Lent
Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season marked by fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

The practice of wearing ashes comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the priest applies the blessed ashes to a person’s forehead, he speaks the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Alternatively, the priest may speak the words, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Priests administer ashes during Mass and all are invited to accept the ashes as a visible symbol of penance, and a call to think about your mortality.The ashes are made from blessed palm branches, taken from the previous year’s palm Sunday Mass.

It is important to remember that Ash Wednesday is a day of penitential prayer and fasting.  Small children, the elderly and sick are exempt from this observance.