What is Ash Wednesday?

Not a day of obligation, nevertheless Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular services of the year, drawing in faithful Catholics to have the sign of the cross marked upon their foreheads in ash.     

Marking the first day of Lent, which is observed by the faithful as a time of preparing for the resurrection of Christ, its official title is the Day of Ashes.

Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter Sunday, which is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21 (unless the full moon also falls on a Sunday, in which case it’s re-designated for following Sunday), according to the Catholic Online. While Easter can land sometime between March 22 and April 25, Ash Wednesday might occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

How the ritual of the ashen cross began is unknown, remaining shrouded in mysterious history. However, references in both the Old and New Testaments connect the use of ash with fasting and the wearing of sackcloths, according to the St. Anthony Messenger a publication of American Catholic.Together, they are used as a way to please God, as signs of repentance or even as spiritual armor in the face of battle, such as when the Maccabees prepared to fight for Jewish independence in the Old Testament:

“That day they fasted and wore sackcloth, they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes,” (1 Mc 3:47).

The first evidence of Ash Wednesdays dates back to 960 A.D. when those who had committed serious sins confessed to receive a penance, which was also known as a second baptism. The beginnings of Lent can be traced back to community-wide fasting done in support of those awaiting both first and second baptisms.

Originally, only women wore the sign of the cross smudged in ashes above their brow, whereas ashes were sprinkled on the foreheads of men. Eventually, men also donned the cross.

By the 12th century, it was customary to set fire to branches from the previous Palm Sunday’s branches to create ashes. This ritual still exists and even today, palms are brought to parishes to be burned before Lent.

The practice remained baptismal in nature until the Dark Ages, when during the long darkness that engulfed Europe, the fires of Ash Wednesday illuminated an increased focus on the passion and death of Christ.

The notion of a renewed commitment to baptismal promises was replaced with acknowledgement of the sins that caused his sufferings, arousing an emphasis on guilt and repentance. During this time of prolific death due to battles and diseases such as the Black Plague, ashes may have become more a symbol of mortality and less of purification. 

Look below for a list of some Catholic churches, and parishes in and around Arcadia:

• Holy Angeles Perish, Arcadia
• Parish of Saint Benedict of Nursia, Arcadia
• Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Monrovia
• Church of Annunciation, Arcadia 
• Saint Luke the Evengalist Catholic Church, Temple City
• Saint Elizabeth Parish, Altadena 
• Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, Pasadena
• Saint Andrew Church, Pasadena
• Holy Family Catholic  Church, South Pasadena
• Saint Bede the Venerable, La Canada Flintridge
• Saint Philip the Apostle Catholic Parish and School, Pasadena
• Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Montrose