By Very Rev. Justin Ward, Office of Sacred Liturgy
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Holy See has issued a special regulation this year for the Distribution of Blessed Ashes. This year Ash Wednesday is Feb. 17. Though vast numbers usually attend these liturgies in ordinary times, this is not and never has been a Holy Day of Obligation.
The practice of sprinkling the head with ashes existed before the emergence of Christianity. It was a symbol of mourning for the dead in Ancient Greece and Egypt and ashes served as a reminder of human immortality.
For early Christians, this liturgical expression was originally connected with the act of public confession. Until the 6th century, public confession would consist of Christians who had committed serious sins publicly confessing their sins in front of the entire congregation. Subsequently, the priest would sprinkle ashes on their heads before they laid down on the ground and invoked the prayers of the faithful. Perhaps mercifully, the first Christians adhered to the view that such public confessions could happen only once in a lifetime! In the 6th century, however, the practice of regular confessions alone with a priest began to emerge, which was the precursor to the development of our well-defined sacramental system of today.
In 1091, Pope Urban II sensibly instituted that priests sprinkle ashes (which traditionally come from burned palms of the previous year) on the heads of believers on the first day of Lent as an expression of public penance. We notice that even in our modern liturgies, the Distribution of Ashes replaces the usual Penitential Act at Mass.
This year, rather than what has come to be the traditional practice in the United States of having a cross traced on our foreheads; instead, we will have the ashes sprinkled on the crown of our heads. It is important to note that because a very clear regulation has been imposed on the whole of the Church from the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacrament, we are not free to interpret these changes as merely an option or suggestion.
Bishop Raica has indeed reiterated in a memo, which first shared this adaptation with the priests and deacons of the diocese, that “in the Diocese of Birmingham our practice will be to sprinkle dry ashes on the crown of the head, rather than the forehead. Persons should make a slight bow as they approach the minister to make the crown of their head more easily accessible.”
The receiving of Ashes is a ceremony, which is well known to Roman Catholics, yet admittedly, it might seem strange to others. On the first day of Lent, during Mass (or outside of Mass), a minister sprinkles heads with ashes saying words from the Sacred Scripture: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return" or "Repent and believe in the Gospel."
This liturgical adaptation which has been made in light of COVID-19, in fact, more closely aligns with the admonition of the Gospel for Ash Wednesday: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them ... When you fast, ... anoint your head and wash your face ...” (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18).
Thus, under the new guidelines, the minister will bless the ashes, and then say the formula (“Repent and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust...”) only once over all gathered, put on the face mask, and then sprinkle a small amount of ash on the crown of each person’s head. We note that the minister will, therefore, not be reciting the formula for each person as they approach. The minister makes no physical contact with the head, not even to make the sign of the cross.