Why receive ashes only to wipe them off right after mass?

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Tony2255

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Yesterday I noticed people wiping ashes off after mass. Receiving ashes is an exterior form of penance and isn’t mandatory. If people prefer interior penance why receive the ashes in the first place?

I understand some wipe them off due to job requirements, but I’ve also noticed people mention on the forums that they wipe them off for personal reasons. Wouldn’t it just be better to attend mass and opt out of receiving the ashes?
 
I might not want to advertise the fact that I’ve been to Confession to the general public, but I will go if I need to anyway. I will just not tell anyone.

I receive the ashes as a reminder to myself to do penance, not to broadcast to the while world for the rest of the day that I am doing so. I prefer to heed the warning of Our Lord against making a display when we fast, so I wipe off the ashes.

Not that I have anything against people who choose to keep theirs visible as a Christian witness. The ashes are something personal to each individual, imbued with multiple meanings and so you can respond to them in differing ways with equal validity, and there is plenty of room for both views.
 
Yesterday our priest said in his Ash Wednesday sermon that we should wipe the ashes off after mass and that our lives should be what shows people that we are Catholics and Christians. The reading he linked it too was Mathew 6:16

“When you fast,* do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. "
 
I think that we should spend less time worrying about the ashes on others’ foreheads and more time noticing the logs in our own eyes.
 
Every once and awhile, the world needs to see people show devotion to God. Ash Wednesday is one of those times. Leave the ashes on. It is a good reminder to all that in the end we will all become dust. It serves to remind us that there is something more to this life. It might give someone pause.
 
Polycarp1 said:
Yesterday our priest said in his Ash Wednesday sermon that we should wipe the ashes off after mass and that our lives should be what shows people that we are Catholics and Christians. The reading he linked it too was Mathew 6:16

“When you fast,* do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. "
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👍

Yes, leaving the ashes on can be a form of spiritual pride for some.
 
Due to schedules, we didn’t get to Mass until 6pm and then went home for the evening so it didn’t really matter if we wiped them off or not. 😉

Our priest talked about repentance and confession in general and didn’t give us any instructions either way about what to do with our ashes.
 
The application of the blessed ashes by the priest is a sacramental of the Church that, properly received in a spirit of penance and faith, brings grace to the recipient. Once the ashes have been applied, the blessing and grace is received, so what happens after is not very important.

The ashes as “reminder” is a nice, but secondary value.

Letting others see them as a sign of witness (or perhaps reminder to other Catholics to get to mass that day, even though it’s not strictly obligatory), to show that people take the faith seriously, is also a nice side benefit.

The Extraordinary Form’s prayer of blessing of the ashes conveys their purpose nicely - here is just one part of the long prayer the priest uses in Latin to bless the ashes prior to distribution:

“Almighty and everlasting God, spare those who are penitent, be merciful to those who implore Thee; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to bless + and sancti+fy these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore Thy holy Name, and who accuse themselves, conscious of their sins, deploring their misdeeds before Thy divine mercy, or humbly and earnestly beseeching Thy sovereign goodness: and grant through the invocation of Thy most holy Name that whosoever shall be sprinkled with them for the remission of their sins may receive both health of body and safety of soul. Through Christ our Lord.”
 
What’s the point of receiving ashes if they are wiped off immediately? Because it’s not the wearing of them that’s the point, it’s the receiving of them with the right disposition in the first place. Ashes are a sacramental like the holy water at the door of the church. After we have blessed ourselves with the holy water, we don’t fret that it dries naturally and we are not going around all day with wet foreheads.
 
Marie5890 said:
👍

Yes, leaving the ashes on can be a form of spiritual pride for some.
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But not for everyone. Also ashes on your forehead do not signal to most that you are fasting…

I apply that passage to not let everyone necessarily know what I am giving up for Lent.

I had numerous people notice the ashes.,…and then innocently offer me popcorn…because they had no idea I was fasting. For most of the world, it’s a foreign concept. But I think the world sometimes needs a reminder every now and then.
 
The ash is sacramental not a Sacrament. It is in the receiving not in the keeping. In any case, it will wash off at some point in time.
 
Leon_Bloy said:
The application of the blessed ashes by the priest is a sacramental of the Church that, properly received in a spirit of penance and faith, brings grace to the recipient. Once the ashes have been applied, the blessing and grace is received, so what happens after is not very important.

The ashes as “reminder” is a nice, but secondary value.

Letting others see them as a sign of witness (or perhaps reminder to other Catholics to get to mass that day, even though it’s not strictly obligatory), to show that people take the faith seriously, is also a nice side benefit.

The Extraordinary Form’s prayer of blessing of the ashes conveys their purpose nicely - here is just one part of the long prayer the priest uses in Latin to bless the ashes prior to distribution:

“Almighty and everlasting God, spare those who are penitent, be merciful to those who implore Thee; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to bless + and sancti+fy these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore Thy holy Name, and who accuse themselves, conscious of their sins, deploring their misdeeds before Thy divine mercy, or humbly and earnestly beseeching Thy sovereign goodness: and grant through the invocation of Thy most holy Name that whosoever shall be sprinkled with them for the remission of their sins may receive both health of body and safety of soul. Through Christ our Lord.”
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Very important distinction. Thanks for the reminder.
 
paperwight66 said:
What’s the point of receiving ashes if they are wiped off immediately? Because it’s not the wearing of them that’s the point, it’s the receiving of them with the right disposition in the first place. Ashes are a sacramental like the holy water at the door of the church. After we have blessed ourselves with the holy water, we don’t fret that it dries naturally and we are not going around all day with wet foreheads.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the reminder. 🙂
 
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