The prayer to bless the ashes asks God to bless those marked with these ashes. A number of times in the Old Testament, we see the use of ashes as a sign of repentance, for example by Job (42:6), the king of Nineveh in Jonah 3:6, and by many Jewish people in Esther 4:1, 3. (see also Judith 9:1; 1 Macc 3:47; 4:39). The ashes are a sign of our repentance during Lent, a sign that we intend to take Lent seriously and that we intend to prepare seriously for the celebration of Easter. This is part of the prayer to bless the ashes:
O God . . . lend your
merciful ear to our prayers
and in your kindness pour out the
grace of your ✠ blessing
on your servants who are marked with
these ashes,
that, as they follow the Lenten observances,
they
may be worthy to come with minds made pure
to celebrate the
Paschal Mystery of your Son.
Notice that the prayer asks God to bless those marked with these ashes that they may have pure minds to celebrate Easter. The blessed ashes are not a good luck charm and are not blessed to protect us.
On the other hand, Holy Water is blessed to protect us from evil:
be pleased, we pray,
to ✠ bless this water,
by which we seek protection on this your
day, O Lord.
Renew the living spring of your grace within us
and grant that by this water we may be defended
from all ills of
spirit and body.
So, for the protection of yourself, your property, and your animals, holy water has a much stronger blessing since it asks for protection. The blessing of ashes asks a blessing on those who are marked with the ashes that with pure minds they may be worthy of celebrating Easter. Finally, the blessing of a priest is the blessing of Jesus because when the priest blesses, he blesses in the place of Jesus.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2025
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday Giving up sin during Lent 2007
Related homilies: Refocusing on Jesus during Lent 2024
Overcoming sin and temptation during Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving