Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Lent is the forty days (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter. The number forty is significant as it refers to Jesus’ forty days in the desert prior to beginning his ministry of teaching.
On Ash Wednesday, Catholics and some other Christian denominations receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their forehead. The ashes symbolize penance, which is appropriate as Lent is a season of penance, and remind us of our own mortality. During the Mass, as the priest or lay minister applies the ashes, he/she says either “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return,” or “Repent and follow the Gospel.” Anyone who attends a Mass on Ash Wednesday can receive ashes, not just practicing Catholics.
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