Age limit to receive ashes?

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No.

Generally, it is for those who have been given the capacity to morally sin; that is, those people who should be attending confession, penance, and reconciliation on a regular basis (basically everybody)

When receiving ashes the intention is that the person will make an effort in attending the Sacrament of Confession before holy Thursday and stay in a state of grace to receive the Eucharist on Easter Sunday.

But, when given to the innocents such as children and other people who are particularly dear to God, it is a reminder of the fallen nature of Mankind.
 
I thought it was for people who were at least of the age of reason, but I was surprised to see the priests at the Mass I was at today putting ashes on babies and really young children. I was at at TLM done by the FSSP which was what made this so surprising.
 
There is an Ask An Apologist question on this here. To quote:
Some parishes are under the impression that blessed ashes should only be given to those capable of personal sin and so do not give them to children below the age of reason. This is a misunderstanding of the sacramental. The blessed ashes remind us of our mortality (e.g., the words of imposition are “Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return”) and of our common sinful condition, shared through original sin even by those incapable of personal sin (e.g., young children, the cognitively disabled).
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If this should happen again on future Ash Wednesdays, I recommend politely asking the distributor of the ashes that ashes be given to your son. One way to phrase the request might be, “Please give my son the blessed ashes, too.” If you get argument, you might simply state, “Today’s reading from Joel says that ‘children, even nursing infants’ [2:16] are to be included in the communal penance.”
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There were numerous families with small children and babies at Ash Wednesday Mass this evening; all of us received ashes (including my 10 month old grandson) after the homily.
 
Mattu1665 said:
Is there an age limit for one to receive ashes?
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I’m sorry, this question is so funny. Why would you possibly be worried about this? Seriously, this is a pious practice, not a sacrament, not anything necessary for salvation.

Lent is supposed to be about repentence. If someone is not even of the age of accountability, then they aren’t responsible for repenting.

My niece’s son (5) got ashes today. It made no distinct impression on him. I’m so told.
 
Not that i have noticed. I didn’t peek in at any babies but saw some very young kids with ashes today
 
Last year, I do not recall my daughter receiving ashes when we went up. I wondered why. This year, she was QUITE proud to receive them. She is five. It’s 4:36am in fact and she wouldn’t allow me to wash them off before bed! 😊
 
Crumpy said:
My niece’s son (5) got ashes today. It made no distinct impression on him. I’m so told.
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Perhaps not… at least not now. But it may have “planted a seed” (and you know what they say about God working in mysterious ways). 🙂
 
It seems reasonable to apply ashes to the very young.

Part of the process is that by wearing ashes not only have I been told “remember thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return” but as I journey through the day, when I see ashes on other (I cannot see my own) I am reminded once again of that admonition that I am not immortal. Although the young are not sinful, they too can die. They too can remind us of our mortal existance and the need for repentance.
 
Crumpy said:
I’m sorry, this question is so funny. Why would you possibly be worried about this? Seriously, this is a pious practice, not a sacrament, not anything necessary for salvation.

Lent is supposed to be about repentence. If someone is not even of the age of accountability, then they aren’t responsible for repenting.

My niece’s son (5) got ashes today. It made no distinct impression on him. I’m so told.
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I’m not sure what you read from my message that made you think I was “worried”. I simply had a question. Do you typically talk down to people when you respond to their inruiries?
 
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