Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, Wednesday, February 17! Lent, our penitential season of preparation for Easter, is upon us again. Mass times at St. Aloysius Church are 9:00 AM, 12:15 PM, and 7:00 PM. This year, however, two things (in addition to our now-familiar COVID-19 guidelines) will be slightly different at Ash Wednesday Mass.
Both the Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself note that ashes are a sign of repentance from sin. On Ash Wednesday, we in the United States are therefore accustomed to having ashes traced on our heads in the form of a Cross while hearing the words, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” As an added precaution to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments has offered the following recommendations for this year:
The Priest says the prayer for blessing the ashes. He sprinkles the ashes with holy water, without saying anything. Then he addresses all those present and only once says the formula as it appears in the Roman Missal, applying it to all in general: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”, or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The Priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and distributes the ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are standing in their places. The Priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one without saying anything.
Notice the two changes to the distribution of ashes: 1) The ashes are sprinkled on the head, rather than traced on the forehead, and 2) The priest speaks the Ash Wednesday formula only once to the whole congregation, rather than to each individual receiving ashes.
The idea of having ashes sprinkled on our heads rather than traced on our foreheads may sound like a significant break from tradition to us in the United States, but sprinkling ashes is probably the more ancient custom and remains the norm in much of the world, including the Vatican itself. Pillar Catholic has an interesting article suggesting that the custom of tracing ashes on the forehead was an innovation of Irish missionaries.
The second small change involves the opening prayer of the Mass called the “Collect.” Here is the Collect for Ash Wednesday, as currently printed in the Roman Missal:
Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, priests have been directed to leave out the word “one” from the conclusion of the Collect of every Mass, so that it concludes, “God, for ever and ever.” It's a subtle change that most wouldn't notice, but it's notable. Our faith in one God, of course, has not changed, but the word “one” is not included in the original Latin text, the Missale Romanum on which our English-translation Roman Missal is based. In May of last year, Cardinal Sarah of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments pointed out the error to English-speaking bishops and asked them to correct it, and the correction will officially take effect beginning on Ash Wednesday. Dropping the word “one” more clearly indicates in each Collect that “our Lord Jesus Christ” is himself “God, for ever and ever.” You can find further details about this change at Pillar Catholic.
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