Wet Ashes?

[Caesar]

As this is Ash Wednesday I am reminded of an old parish when I was a child where the priest would mix the Ashes with Holy Water and smear our foreheads with Blessed Mud. It is good that we were able to wear such a noticable sign of penance that day (indeed, it often dripped down people’s faces, so it was quite noticable from even a distance ), but out of curiosity, is this normal or even allowed?

 

[joeganshert]

As this is Ash Wednesday I am reminded of an old parish when I was a child where the priest would mix the Ashes with Holy Water and smear our foreheads with Blessed Mud. It is good that we were able to wear such a noticable sign of penance that day (indeed, it often dripped down people’s faces, so it was quite noticable from even a distance ), but out of curiosity, is this normal or even allowed?

I don’t know if it is allowed or not, but at my parish we have wet to moist ashes. I think that it is fairly normal.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

As this is Ash Wednesday I am reminded of an old parish when I was a child where the priest would mix the Ashes with Holy Water and smear our foreheads with Blessed Mud. It is good that we were able to wear such a noticable sign of penance that day (indeed, it often dripped down people’s faces, so it was quite noticable from even a distance ), but out of curiosity, is this normal or even allowed?

Yes, the ashes are only sprinkled with Holy Water. I however have seen the “mud version” before.