It is a
season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for
Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain
redemption.
Why we receive the ashes
Following the example of the Nine vites, who did penance in sackcloth
and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and
reminds us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are
told
"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return."
Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the
Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.
The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past.
Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance.
On
Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to
wear during the forty days of penance, and sprinkled over them ashes
made from the palms from the previous year.
Then, while the faithful
recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of
the church because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first man, was
turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience.
The penitents did
not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having won
reconciliation by the toil of forty days' penance and sacramental
absolution.
Later, all Christians, whether public or secret penitents,
came to receive ashes out of devotion.
In earlier times, the
distribution of ashes was followed by a penitential procession.
The Ashes
The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in
the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year.
The ashes are
christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense.
While
the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a reminder
that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with
repentant hearts.
His Divine mercy is of utmost importance during the
season of Lent, and the Church calls on us to seek that mercy during the
entire Lenten season with reflection, prayer and penance.