The history of Ash Wednesday is tied to the development of the Lenten season during the 4th and 5th centuries. A number of scholars hold that, prior to the Council of Nicea in 325, Rome observed a three-week period of preparation before the celebration of Easter. A vestige of this earlier observance may be found in the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is known as Laetare, or “Rejoice!” Sunday; this Sunday would have originally served as a last day before the Lenten fast began in Rome, similar to today’s Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday” celebrations.
Due to the influence of the Jerusalem church, which observed a 40-day period of fasting prior to Easter, Rome began to mirror the length of its Lenten fast to match this eastern practice. Whereas the church in Jerusalem’s 40-day Lent lasted for eight weeks (during which time the fast was suspended on Saturdays and Sundays), Rome’s Lent ran for five full weeks (including Saturdays and Sundays) and extended into a sixth week, concluding with Holy Thursday. Sometime before the pontificate of Pope Saint Gregory the Great (590-604), Christians in Rome began to suspend their Lenten fasting on Sundays. As a result, the Lenten season no longer included a full 40 days of fasting.
The Christian community eventually addressed this lacuna by extending Lent on the front end, adding four days, while also including the days of the Sacred Triduum. The result of these changes was that Christians now fasted for 40 days during a 47-day period of pre-Easter preparation, one that did not include fasting on Sundays. The first day of this newly expanded season, a Wednesday, was listed in ancient Medieval sacramentaries as the caput ieunii or the “beginning of the fast.”
In the 6th century, the Church in Spain began to impose ashes on public penitents at the beginning of Lent, reflecting a practice associated with sorrow for sins described in both the Old and New Testaments (cf. Job 2:8; Mt 11:21). These same penitents would later be reconciled to God and the Church on Holy Thursday. The antiphon sung at the beginning of Lent (“Let us don sackcloth and ashes”) eventually led others to ask that ashes be imposed on them, and this became a common practice throughout Europe around the 10th century.
In our current liturgical books, Ash Wednesday continues this ancient custom of imposing ashes on the faithful. It is meant to serve as a reminder of one’s mortality and also a sign of the penance that each Christian is encouraged to undertake during the holy season of Lent. These meanings are reflected, respectively, in the two formulas which are used when imposing ashes: “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” and “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
The ashes used for this ritual are to be made from the olive or palm branches of trees that were blessed during the previous year on Palm Sunday, a rule which first appeared in the 12th century. Whereas prior to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, there were four prayers of blessing for the ashes, the current Roman Missal gives two prayers from which the celebrant may choose. One prayer blesses the people who will be receiving the ashes, while the other blesses the ashes themselves.
The current Roman Missal states that the blessing and distribution of ashes is observed in lieu of the Penitential Rite, but celebrants will want to take note that the former takes place, not at the beginning of Mass (like the Penitential Rite), but after the homily.
When distributing ashes outside of Mass, this should occur within the celebration of a Liturgy of the Word so that the penitential meaning of this annual practice is clearly understood by those who participate. Parishes with family members and friends who bring ashes to the homebound may wish to provide these ministers with copies of the full ritual for the blessing and distribution of ashes, which can be found in Chapter 52 of the Book of Blessings.
The Mass formulary for Ash Wednesday also includes a Prayer over the People at the conclusion of the liturgy. This type of prayer, which first appears in the 8th century Old Gelasian Sacramentary, has largely been restored within the third edition of the Roman Missal (2001). The structure of this blessing is slightly different from the usual conclusion of Mass, and it should be performed in the following manner:
- Greeting and Response – “The Lord be with you.” “And with your spirit.”
- Instruction – “Bow down for the blessing.”
- Prayer over the People – Taken from the Roman Missal, said with hands extended over the people.
- Special Formula of Blessing – “And may the blessing of Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit come down on you and remain with you forever. Amen.”
- Dismissal – Taken from the Roman Missal.
Although the liturgical practices associated with Lent and Ash Wednesday have taken many forms throughout the centuries, their intended meaning has nevertheless remained consistent in calling the People of God to embrace a spirit of penance and prayerful recollection each year in preparation for the celebration of the Paschal Mysteries at Easter.