Most of us arrive on Ash Wednesday without any knowledge of where the ashes came from that the priests uses to mark our foreheads.
While its true that parishes can purchase ashes from a religious supply store, there is greater symbolism in the burning of old palm branches in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday.
This will often take place on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, or sometimes on the day before, known as Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday.
Some parishes will invite parishioners to participate in the burning of palm branches, while others will do the burning quietly and in the background.
Either way the symbolism remains and leads to the creation of ashes for Ash Wednesday.
Symbolism of burning palm branches
Palm branches are blessed on Palm Sunday and, in accord with Canon Law, must be disposed of properly, as with all blessed objects.
One way to properly dispose of blessed palms is to burn them, naturally creating ashes.
Using these ashes of palms for Ash Wednesday connects the beginning of Lent to the end of Lent, when we remember the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, the season begins with the crucifixion and ends with the crucifixion.
In some places there is a short ritual of burning the palms, during which the priest recites the following prayer, expanding on the symbolism:
God of tender mercy,
you fashioned us from the dust of the earth
and bid us follow your Gospel call
in the company of the Church.
Look on us with kindness
as we prepare the ashes
which will mark the beginning of our Lenten journey
grant that we who make the desert pilgrimage
might come to the font of rebirth
with a renewed passion for justice.
May our aims serve your people
and bring us peace,
may prayer sanctify all our needs,
and may we come at last to the table you set
in the place where you reign with Christ
and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
Whenever starting a pilgrimage, it is always important to know the end point, the final destination. Lent is a spiritual pilgrimage and so at the beginning of Lent, we look forward to the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.
That entrance signals the beginning of Jesus' passion, death and resurrection, thus reminding us that our spiritual journey will be difficult and involve much suffering.
The good news is that the ashes are not the end, and that we are "reborn" through Jesus' passion and share in the victory he won on the cross.
