Ash Wednesday: what it means and what to expect

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that prepares for Easter. At Mass or a short service, a priest or minister marks your forehead with ashes, usually in the sign of the cross, and says "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" or "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." It isn't a holy day of obligation, but it is a day of fasting and abstinence. In 2027, Ash Wednesday falls on February 10.

What is Ash Wednesday?

It's the day Lent begins. The date moves every year because it depends on Easter: Ash Wednesday comes 46 days before Easter Sunday, which makes forty days of Lent once you leave out the Sundays. Lent itself runs until the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday.

Ashes are an old biblical sign of sorrow and repentance. When Jonah preached in Nineveh, the king took off his robe and sat in ashes (Jonah 3:6). Job, at the end of his trials, repents "in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). In the early Middle Ages, people doing public penance for serious sins received ashes at the start of Lent. Over the centuries the whole Church came to ask for the same sign, as if everyone in the parish were saying: I'm a sinner too, and I need God's mercy.

Where do the ashes come from?

From the palms of the previous year's Palm Sunday. The parish burns them, and the priest blesses the ashes on Ash Wednesday, usually during Mass right after the homily. The palms people waved to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem a year ago become the sign that opens this year's Lent.

Ashes are a sacramental, not a sacrament. Sacramentals are sacred signs the Church gives us that resemble the sacraments (CCC 1667). They don't forgive sins the way Confession does. Through the Church's prayer, they prepare you to receive grace and help you cooperate with it (CCC 1670).

What does the priest say when he gives ashes?

The Roman Missal gives two options. Your parish will use one of them:

• "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." These echo God's words to Adam after the fall (Genesis 3:19). They're a reminder that life is short and comes from God.
• "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." These are among the first words of Jesus' preaching (Mark 1:15). They point forward to what Lent is for: turning back to God.

You can answer "Amen," or simply receive the ashes in silence and step aside. Either is fine.

Is Ash Wednesday a holy day of obligation?

No. You aren't required to go to Mass on Ash Wednesday, and missing it isn't a sin. Even so, it's one of the most crowded days of the year in many parishes, and going is a good way to begin Lent.

You can receive ashes at Mass or at a short service of prayer and Scripture without Communion. Many parishes hold several of each through the day, and some bring ashes to hospitals, nursing homes and people who can't leave home. Lay ministers often help distribute them.

Do you have to fast on Ash Wednesday?

Yes, if you're old enough. In the United States, Ash Wednesday is a day of both fasting and abstinence:

• Fasting binds Catholics from age 18 until their 59th birthday: one full meal, two smaller meals that together don't equal a full one, and nothing in between.
• Abstinence from meat binds Catholics from age 14, with no upper age limit.

The sick, pregnant and nursing women, and others for whom fasting would be a real hardship are excused. We go through the details, the exceptions and the other days of Lent in Lent fasting rules. If you plan to receive Communion, the one-hour fast before Communion still applies too.

Who can receive ashes?

Anyone who comes forward. You don't have to be Catholic, and you don't have to be in a state of grace. Children receive ashes. So do people preparing to enter the Church through OCIA, and Christians of other traditions who want to mark the start of Lent.

Ashes aren't Communion. They're a sign that says "I'm a sinner and I want to turn back," which is exactly the right sign for someone carrying a serious sin. If that's you, receive the ashes gladly and then make a plan to go to Confession during Lent. See what the state of grace means if you're unsure where you stand.

How long should you keep the ashes on?

There's no rule. Many people leave them on for the rest of the day as a quiet sign of faith. If you need to wash them off for work, a sports practice or anything else, you can.

The Gospel read on Ash Wednesday is from Matthew 6, where Jesus tells his followers to pray, fast and give alms in secret, not to be seen by others. The ashes aren't about being seen. If people ask about them, a simple answer is enough: "It's Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent."

What does Ash Wednesday mean?

"Remember that you are dust" can sound grim, but it isn't meant to frighten you. It's the truth about every human life: you didn't make yourself, and you won't be here forever. Hearing it once a year, with a cross traced on your forehead, puts things back in proportion. The deadline at work, the argument, the thing you've been chasing: none of it is the whole story.

And the dust is loved. The God who formed Adam from the dust of the ground is the same God who calls you back on this day. The first reading at Ash Wednesday Mass, from the prophet Joel, is an invitation to return to God with your whole heart, because he is gracious and merciful. The ashes are the start of that return, not a sentence passed on you.

How to begin Lent well

1. Choose your Lenten practice before the day. One clear thing you'll give up or add. If you need ideas, see what to give up for Lent.
2. Plan your meals. Decide the night before what your one full meal and two small ones will be.
3. Get your ashes. Check your parish schedule for Mass and service times.
4. Put Confession on the calendar. Pick a date in Lent now, or look for one of the penance services in Lent.
5. End the day quietly. Before bed, look back at the day, thank God for it, and ask for help with the forty days ahead.

Don't worry about keeping Lent perfectly. You'll probably slip on your Lenten resolution at some point. When you do, start again the next morning. That's what the ashes were for.