About the year 1000, an Anglo-Saxon priest named Aelfric preached, “We read in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth.
The ritual for the “Day of Ashes” is found in the earliest editions of the Gregorian Sacramentary which dates at least to the 8th century. The priest would bless the dying person with holy water, saying, “Remember that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.” After the sprinkling, the priest asked, “Art thou content with sackcloth and ashes in testimony of thy penance before the Lord in the day of judgment?” To which the dying person replied, “I am content.” In all of these examples, the symbolism of mourning, mortality, and penance is clear.Įventually, the use of ashes was adapted to mark the beginning of Lent, the 40-day preparation period (not including Sundays) for Easter. In the Middle Ages (at least by the time of the eighth century), those who were about to die were laid on the ground on top of sackcloth sprinkled with ashes. Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris (Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return) is obviously the most tradition liturgical formula used in the Roman Rite.Īshes were first introduce into the Roman Rite in 8th century but outside the Mass.
Ashes were used prior to the Mozarabic Rite, but this was done outside of liturgical events, e.g., marking people for penance. The Mozarabic Rite was the first to use ashes within the liturgical celebrations of the Church. Paul VI was part of before being elected Supreme Pontiff) still to this day has no Ash Wednesday it is therefore Quinquagesima that forms the prelude to Lent.
The Ambrosian Rite (the liturgical rite from which Pope St. The priest blesses the ashes and imposes them on the foreheads of the faithful, making the sign of the cross and saying, “Remember, man you are dust and to dust you shall return,” or “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” In our present liturgy for Ash Wednesday, we use ashes made from the burned palm branches distributed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year.
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