'From dust to dust' and other Ash Wednesday symbols

MANILA, Philippines - Foreheads bearing crosses drawn with ashes are once again spotted as Filipino Catholics observe Ash Wednesday.

Known as the first day of the Lenten season, Ash Wednesday ushers in 40 days culminating in the Holy Week preceding Easter tide in the Western Christian calendar.

Ash Wednesday and Lent symbols, as characteristic of gestures in Catholic rites, are rife with meaning though often misunderstood. Here are a few known symbols and the facts behind them.

Ashes

Contrary to popular misconception that the ashes mark a person's lifetime, imposing ashes on one's forehead signifies the desire to repent from sins. The ashes are made from burnt palm branches typically used from the previous year's Palm Sunday services.

Priests, however, may also opt to sprinkle the ashes on the top of their heads or tonsure spots to avoid particles from falling onto the Sacred Host during the rest of the ceremony.

Usually, ashes are imposed during Mass, but may also be officiated by priests outside of it.

Holy Mass

Although many Catholics flock to churches on Ash Wednesday to hear Mass, non-attendance does not make one commit a sin unlike when a Catholic misses or skips Sunday Mass or any of the Holy Days of Obligation which includes the Christmas (December 25), the feast of the Virgin Mary's Queenship (January 1) and Immaculate Conception (December 8).

Hearing Mass on Ash Wednesday, however, is encouraged to set the pace for the following days of Lent traditionally practiced with fasting, reflection and almsgiving.

Forty days

The 40 days of Lent follows the number of days Jesus Christ spent praying, fasting and warding off temptations in the desert. It is also in commemoration of the forty days Israelites were in exile after their exodus from Egypt led by the prophet Moses.

Fasting

Catholics over the age of eighteen and under 60 years old are required to fast on at least two days of the year: on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The physical discipline of fasting is believed to be a particular form of renunciation to recognize one's dependence on God as well as a concrete activity to express grief for personal sins. Fasting for Catholics is traditionally done by eating only one full meal a day and avoiding snacks in between meals.

Abstinence

Abstinence is practice of refusing to eat meat on at least one day each week, especially on a Friday, throughout the season of Lent. For many, abstinence means eating only fish and vegetables on Fridays while others also avoid taking snacks. The practice traces back to Jewish tradition where abstinence is practiced to compensate for sins.

'From dust to dust'

The phrase is a popular rendering of one of the two lines priests and ministers recite while places ashes on each worshiper on Ash Wednesday. The saying is a truncation of "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" from the book of Genesis. The alternative phrase "Repent, and believe in the Gospel," may also be recited during the imposition rite.

The color purple

Church adornments and priest's vestments are in purple on the penitential seasons of Lent and Advent, both following more the joyful occasions of Easter and Christmas respectively. The color, especially its darker shades, is seen to symbolize penance and mourning for the sacrifice of Christ but also to signify the season's solemnity and the Jesus' royalty.