Where do the ashes for Ash Wednesday come from? They come from you. You received them on previous Palm Sundays. You made them into crosses and crowns of thorns. You tucked them behind the corners of religious artwork. They yellowed and dried. Now, it is time to bring them home to Church!
As with any blessed object, the palms of yesteryear should never be thrown away. They should be disposed of properly. We are here to help with that and put them to a final good use! It has been a longstanding custom of the Church to burn the palms from prior Palm Sundays to produce the ashes for Ash Wednesday. Therefore, we need your palms!
Please bring your palms to church, and place them in the container in the front of the church. Once gathered, the process of making ashes takes about an hour, ably executed by the parish’s altar servers. They burn, cool, and then patiently sift the remains into fine ash.
The ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us that each of us will face death one day. In Jewish tradition, ashes have long been a sign of repentance and mourning. Coverings one’s face, hair, or clothes with ashes, along with tearing off garments, was a way of humbling oneself before God.
Since the early centuries of Christianity, ashes have been used in the same way, as a reminder of death and a reminder to turn away from sin and to the Gospel. (Mk 1:15) By the sixth century, marking the heads of the faithful at the beginning of Lent became a constant practice. By the 11th century, its practice expanded throughout the universal Church.
We appreciate your assistance in helping us to prepare for Ash Wednesday on March 5th. Meanwhile, all God’s blessings upon you during these remaining weeks of Ordinary Time.