Ash Wednesday

[IfYouLeadMe]

No, because the priest in our parish doesn’t put ashes on our forehead. He does it like they do in Poland, which is to sprinkle ashes on top of your head (yes on your hair) and not traced with a cross on the forehead.

That’s interesting. The priest at my new parish is Polish (just came to the States a few months ago). I wonder if he’ll do the same thing…

Our parish is run by Polish priests and there is even mass in Polish on Sundays at midday for the Polish community. This morning we had one of the Polish priests and a younger South American priest that comes to the parish occasionally. The ashes were placed on our forehead.

 

[Catholic1954]

I am not familiar with the custom of greeting each other with, “Happy Ash Wednesday”. Do you live in the United States?

 

[bluecake]

I attended Mass tonight at our local parish, for the first time in many years, because I have been going to an EF Mass; when Ashes were distributed, I was surprised that the celebrant said “Repent and be Saved” - I’ve never, in all my nearly seven decades of Life, heard that before. Is this now the norm? - and if so, when was the Memento Mori prayer with the beautiful old words superseded?
I must accustom myself to these new rubrics, because I can no longer drive myself to the Latin Mass - have had to give up night driving due to trouble with cataracts.

 

[McCartney]

Giving up junk food (in fact I’m off to McDonald’s for a treat to celebrate fat tuesday, as I missed the opportunity today )

Hmmmmm! McDonalds? Is that a food??

 

[OraLabora]

I usually keep them on. However, we are still in the grips of a very cold winter, with the predicted high today -11C. So I will be wearing my fur-lined winter hat, which means the ashes will probably be rubbed off pretty quickly.

 

[paperwight66]

I attended Mass tonight at our local parish, for the first time in many years, because I have been going to an EF Mass; when Ashes were distributed, I was surprised that the celebrant said “Repent and be Saved” - I’ve never, in all my nearly seven decades of Life, heard that before. Is this now the norm? - and if so, when was the Memento Mori prayer with the beautiful old words superseded?
I must accustom myself to these new rubrics, because I can no longer drive myself to the Latin Mass - have had to give up night driving due to trouble with cataracts.

We had ‘Repent and believe the Gospel’.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

The Mass was cancelled this am due to ice covered roads, driveways, etc. Living in the Ozarks this winter has been very restrictive. It’s dangerous to venture out. I am offering this up for all the suffering people today as well as the souls in purgatory. Fasting, praying and beginning to read one of archbishop Fulton Sheens’ books since I cannot even get out to go to work.

 

[Seamus_L]

It gives me a good feeling when I go into a grocery store on Ash Wednesday and see employees with ashes on there foreheads.
What to give up for Lent ? I'm doing what I did last year and it was my best Lenten Fast ever. A priest friend of mine told me not to give up anything. Instead, he said to cut everything in half. 1 cup of coffee instead of 2, half a bowl of soup, half a sandwich, half a piece of cake, and when it get's easier there's the option to cut more.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I attended Mass tonight at our local parish, for the first time in many years, because I have been going to an EF Mass; when Ashes were distributed, I was surprised that the celebrant said “Repent and be Saved” - I’ve never, in all my nearly seven decades of Life, heard that before. Is this now the norm? - and if so, when was the Memento Mori prayer with the beautiful old words superseded?
I must accustom myself to these new rubrics, because I can no longer drive myself to the Latin Mass - have had to give up night driving due to trouble with cataracts.

Our Deacon told us that after Vatican II, with changes in the liturgy and rituals, some options were added to what was said when ashes were imposed. He said that there was more of an emphasis on repentance from sin. However, the older formula may certainly be used. He said that the younger priests have more of a tendency to use the older formula now.

 

[RuthTherese]

We had “Repent and believe in the Gospel” this morning, and that was a little out of the ordinary, since we usually have the one about to dust you shall return.

 

[F0rg1v3]

No, because the priest in our parish doesn’t put ashes on our forehead. He does it like they do in Poland, which is to sprinkle ashes on top of your head (yes on your hair) and not traced with a cross on the forehead.

My parish has an assistant priest from India, a convert from Hinduism. He put ashes on everyone in his line in the form of a dot in the middle of the forehead. Just a dot. On our Deacon he put a big dot.

Some, in his line jumped into other lines (The Deacon’s or Eucharistic Minister’s) so they could get the cross instead of the dot.

I like the cross shape. I look forward to it every year. This year I got a dot. Hmm, just didn’t seem as usual. Also, our churches PA system was fading off and on during entire liturgy (I never does that), and our always perfect Cantor kind of had a choking/coughing attack during the “Holy, holy, holy”.