It signifies the human condition of the sinner, who seeks to express his guilt before the Lord in an exterior manner, and by so doing express his interior conversion, led on by the confident hope that the Lord will be merciful.

This sign of penance, a traditionally biblical one, has been preserved among the Church's customs until the present day. 'On the Wednesday before the first Sunday of Lent, the faithful receive the ashes, thus entering into the time established for the purification of their souls. The Congregation for Divine Worship published a circular letter regarding these celebrations in 1988. The rubrics of the missal simple say that 'the Priest places ashes on the head of all those present who come to him ….' Is this correct? - S.M., Indianapolis, IndianaĪ: The rules regarding imposition of ashes are scant, to say the least, and do not seem to put any particular limitations as to who may receive them. Q2: A question arose on Ash Wednesday: Are there any limits as to distribution i.e., who may properly receive ashes? Can non-Catholics and baptized infants receive? Are there any norms for distributing blessed ashes and where are they? The assumption was that anyone could receive regardless of age or religious affiliation. Is this appropriate, given that the children might have no understanding of what is involved? - E.K., Toronto

Parents often bring up small children, from babes in arms, to toddlers, to 4-5-year olds, and want them to receive the ashes. We normally consider this to be at the age of reason, that is, 7 years of age. Q1: On Ash Wednesday is it appropriate for young children to receive the ashes? The formula 'Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel,' implies the recipient is capable of committing sin. Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Why imposition of ashes