A Consideration of the Imposition of Ashes

On the first day of Lent, commonly called Ash Wednesday, it is traditional for Christians to receive the imposition of ashes. The priest makes the sign of the cross in ash on the forehead and recites the words, “remember, O man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”  This tradition goes back to at least the tenth century, being mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon Homilist Aelfric as the practice of all the faithful.[1]

The practice of the imposition of ashes arises out of the biblical association between ashes and repentance. After God answers Job’s complaint from the great whirlwind, Job states, “Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6) The people of Nineveh, hearing the preaching of Jonah concerning the judgment which was to come upon them repented in sackcloth and ashes, “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.  The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” (Jonah 3:5-6)  The prophet Daniel prays in sackcloth and ashes for the deliverance of Israel from the punishment of exile, “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3) Throughout the prophetic books of the Old Testament repentant Israel is described as covering herself with ashes. Additionally, in the gospel of Matthew, our Lord condemns cities for refusing to repent from their sin in sackcloth and ashes, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21) Thus the connection between ashes and repentance is very clear in Scripture. The season of Lent, being a penitential season, is a particularly appropriate time to participate in this biblical practice. It is a time when the church collectively practices fasting and repentance and prayer. To inaugurate this season, the church has employed the symbol of ashes.

In the gospel of Matthew, our Lord exhorts those who fast to, “not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” This exhortation of Christ particularly targets the Pharisees who made a great show of their spiritual practice for the sake of their pride. Our Lord condemns any who would make a devotional practice, which is meant to turn one’s attention to God, into an opportunity of self-service and vain-glory.  Some have taken this exhortation to preclude the imposition of Ashes, as it is an external and visible sign that one intends to fast during lent. The concern being that one is bearing the ashes as an opportunity to demonstrate one’s spirituality for the sake of one’s pride.

However, the difference between the church’s practice with regard to the imposition of ashes and the Pharisees’ public displays of private devotion is that the observance of Lent has always been a corporate devotion. The Lenten fast is something in which the whole church participates. It is not a private devotion that is made public. It is, in itself, a public devotion – much like the fasting of the entire city of Nineveh. No one deserves special praise for doing that to which the whole church has committed. In fact, the one who refuses to take ashes on oneself on Ash Wednesday makes a public statement of a private spiritual conviction. By refusing ashes one separates themselves from the practice of the church asserting their own devotional practice above the corporate devotion of the body of Christ. Consequently, in attempting to follow Christ’s commandment not to make a private devotion an opportunity for public praise, the misguided Christian actually draws attention to themselves and their own spiritual practice.

Finally, it is rare that the church has opportunity to proclaim to the world the transient and fragile nature of the things of this earth in a corporate and unified manner. Ash Wednesday is one of the few times that the church unites in a visible practice of renunciation. It is a valuable witness for the church to assert that this world is not our home, that we are bound for a greater promised land, and that the pleasures and glories which the world offers are not our greatest ambition. This is what the symbol of ash represents, and as we engage the practice together, we strengthen and encourage one another. The imposition of ashes functions as a declaration to one another, as well as to the world, of our intention to keep the fast. We gain strength from the resolve of the whole church, not because we are laudable in ourselves, but because we are one body, enlivened by one Spirit, seeking union with the one God and Father of us all.

-Fr. Tait Deems

[1] Thurston, Herbert. "Ash Wednesday." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 23 Feb. 2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01775b.htm>.