Ash Wednesday
(Beginning of Lenten Season
of the Church Year)

The Meaning of Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the first day of the penitential season of Lent. It is called Ash Wednesday because of the ceremony of placing ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence. This custom, probably introduced by Pope Gregory I, has been universal since the Synod of Benevento (1091). Sackcloth and ashes or torn clothes and ashes on the head have signified mourning, especially mourning of one's own guilt, or one's own loss, since Old Testament times.

• "And the LORD said to him, 'Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.'" Ezekiel 9:4.
• "That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head." 1 Samuel 4:12.
• "On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor." 2 Samuel 1:2.
• "Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went." 2 Samuel 13:19.
• "When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head." 2 Samuel 15:32.

In the Roman Catholic church, ashes obtained from burned palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday (almost a year before) are blessed before mass on Ash Wednesday. The priest places the blessed ashes on the foreheads of the officiating priests, the clergy, and the congregation, while reciting over each one the following formula: "Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return."

The Message of Ash Wednesday
"Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13.

How does Ash Wednesday suggest that we prepare?

1. Repentance - forsake the sins of the world for a godly way of life.
2. Prayer - pray for forgiveness of Christ, for a broken and a contrite heart God will not despise.
3. Remember - Christ's death for your sins.
4. Anticipate - The victorious Resurrection of our Lord!

The Mood of Ash Wednesday

1. Expressed in color
   The mood of Ash Wednesday is expressed in the liturgical color, violet. It depicts a feeling of quiet dignity, royalty, and repentance. Violet was the traditional color of a king's robe; Christ is King of kings. He told Pilate that His Kingdom is not of this world. The soldiers were mocking Him when they put a purple robe on Him to denote His being King of the Jews, but He truly is a King. Lent is a time for solemn and sober thought about one's sins leading to repentance.
2. Solemnity and sobriety
   Lent is a time to become aware of one's sins. Traditionally Lent is a penitential season. This mood of sobriety is expressed not only in the liturgical color, violet, but in the music of Lenten hymns like "When o'er My Sins I Sorrow". During Lent, choirs may omit processionals or have "silent processionals". Weddings in this season are discouraged. The saying and singing of Alleluia is often abandoned until Easter.

The Observance of Ash Wednesday
Many churches observe Ash Wednesday with special mid-week services and some churches still use the ashes to mark a cross on the forehead.

There is a period of 46 days from Ash Wednesday until Easter (or the Feast of Christ's Resurrection). Those days consist of six Sundays and 40 days, which comprise the season of Lent. Lent is said to be 40 days long because the six Sundays that occur in this period are not considered to be part of Lent.

Ash Wednesday is calculated backward from the date for Easter (which moves each year), and may occur anywhere between February 4 and March 11. The commonly stated rule, that Easter Day is the first Sunday after the Full Moon that occurs next after the vernal equinox, is somewhat misleading because it is not a precise statement of the actual ecclesiastical rules. (See the calculation of Easter.

Return to Liturgical Calendar.