The meaning of the cross of ashes on Ash Wednesday

Have you ever wondered why Christians receive a little, dusty cross on their foreheads once a year? They are commemorating Ash Wednesday, which for many people also signals the beginning of Lent, a 40-day season of fasting and introspection preceding Easter. What you should know about a day associated with fasting and ash crosses.

On what day is Ash Wednesday?
Every year, six and a half weeks before Easter, which is celebrated by Christians all over the world as the day on which Jesus Christ rose from the dead, is when Ash Wednesday occurs. (Sundays are excluded from the 40-day Lenten season.) Ash Wednesday falls on February 22 in 2023.

RUSSIA, 22 FEB. (Reuters) – At a customary Ash Wednesday Mass, Pope Francis welcomed Roman Catholics into the Lenten season and urged the faithful to embrace the occasion to set aside consumerism and self-centeredness and assist others.

At the service in the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome’s Aventine Hill, attendees—including the pope—had ashes sprinkled on their heads as a customary reminder of mortality.

We learn from the ashes we received this evening that every

In his homily, Pope Francis stated that the idea of self-sufficiency is untrue and that idolatry of oneself is harmful, keeping us bound to loneliness and isolation.

What is Ash Wednesday?

The origins of Lent trace to 325 CE, when it was more commonly used as a preparation phase for baptisms. The holiday’s length is an homage to Jesus Christ’s 40-day fast as he travelled through the wilderness after being baptised and before he began his ministry. This period is considered by Christians to be God’s test of Jesus’s spirituality and ability to withstand temptation.

Today, Christians use the holiday both to repent and reflect. The ash cross marking observers’ foreheads is meant to represent mortality and penance for their sins. It is applied by a priest during a morning mass, often along with a small blessing: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Many choose to keep it on all day. 

The ash itself is made from the burned palm leaves used during the previous year’s Palm Sunday services, which commemorate Jesus’s arrival to Jerusalem a week before he was crucified and resurrected. It’s believed that residents welcomed him by waving palm fronds.

Fasting and Lenten resolutions

Ash Wednesday sets the tone for Lent, which is considered a time for self-improvement. Originally, Christians observing Lent were allowed only one meal a day and were forbidden from eating meat or fish during the entire period. This tradition was relaxed by Roman Catholics around World War II. 

While some still abide by a strict version of the fast on Fridays during Lent, many instead choose to give up indulgences like alcohol and social media. 

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