Catholics all over the world today begin observing the 40-day season of Lent with Ash Wednesday.
Today ashes will be marked on the foreheads of the faithful who attend Mass in church.
Ashes remind people about their origin and destiny, said Msgr. Achilles Dakay, media liaison officer of the Archdiocese of Cebu.
“We are reminded that we are dust and unto dust we shall return,” Dakay said.
Ashes also symbolize penance or reuniting oneself to the Lord.
The priest or a lay minister will impose ashes in the form of a cross on the forehead of each church member, saying, “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” or, “Remember, man, that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
The ashes used today are made out of burnt palms blessed during last year’s Palm Sunday.
The ashes are sprinkled with holy water or oil and smoked with incense.
Also today, Catholics are obliged to abstain from eating meat and to fast. Fasting refers to eating only one complete meal and a smaller one.
“These two duties teach us to practice self-denial and say no to temptation,” Dakay said.
He said the faithful should not just avoid eating meat but also try to abstain from their passions and desires./Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol