Masses
8:30a, NOON,
& 7:00p
The
Blessing and Disposition of the Ashes
The ashes are made by the burning
of palms from last year's Palm Sunday. The blessing of the ashes
begins with an antiphon and a verse of a psalm begging God's grace
and mercy. Then come four prayers which express what the ashes symbolize:
- To be a spiritual help for all
who confess their sins.
- To secure pardon of sins for
those who receive the ashes.
- To give us the spirit of contrition.
- To give us the grace and strength
to do penance.
After the priest sprinkles the ashes with
holy water and incenses them, he puts some on his own head, and
then on the heads of those present, the head being the seat of pride.
He puts them on our foreheads in the shape of a Cross to remind
us of our hope, and as he does so, he says the words of Genesis
3: "Meménto, homo, quia pulvis es, et in púlverem
revertéris" (Remember, man, that thou art dust, and
unto dust thou shalt return).We make no response to these words;
we simply return to our pews.
Following the disposition of the ashes come
two Antiphons and a Response. Then the priest says another prayer
for protection in the coming combat.
After we leave the church, we leave
the ashes on our foreheads until they wear off naturally from the
course of the day's activities. They are a public witness to those
things our society does not wish to embrace: the reality of death,
and the hope of resurrection in Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Note: another (informal) use of ashes in
the Church is the saving of ashes from the fire built on the Eve
of the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist (23 June) to mix
with water to bless the sick.
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