Lent is also a time when Catholics are enjoined to do good works, fast and pray.ĭuring Ash Wednesday, the faithful have their foreheads marked with ashes (from the burnt palm fronds) as a sign of penance. The ashes remind us forcefully of our need for redeeming grace as they recall words from the rite for. The church father Tertullian (AD 160-215) writes of the practice as a public expression of repentance and of our human frailty that stands in need of Christ.

Or: Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris. The ancient practice of imposing ashes on the faithful gives Ash Wednesday its name. Then the Priest places ashes on the head of all those present who come to him, and says to each one: Paenitemini, et credite Evangelion. In the latter case, it is to be part of a liturgy of the word and conclude with the prayer of the faithful, Blessing and Dismissal. The priest sprinkles the ashes with holy water, without saying anything.

The ashes to be smeared on the crown signify our repentance from sin, which has marred the grace of Baptism,' it futher read.ĬBCP-ECL said the formula for the imposition of ashes 'Repent, and believe in the Gospel,' or 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return' is said only once 'applying it to all in general.'ĭue to the large number of people who will come to church for the imposition of ashes, the CBCP-ECL said, enough ministers and ashes as well as the compliance to health protocols must be ensured.Ĭatholics observe the start of the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday. The blessing and imposition of ashes should take place either in the Mass or outside of the Mass. 'In Baptism, we have been anointed on the crown of the head. 'We have been reminded last year that this option is an opportunity to catechize our people on both the penitential and baptismal characters of the Lenten season,' the CBCP-ECL recommendations for Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Paschal Triduum observance read. But the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Liturgy said the sprinkling of ashes on the crown will remain an option.

Imposition of ashes for grief