This penitential practice of covering oneself with ashes was even recognized by Jesus in his reproaches to the unrepentant towns. “I turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” – Daniel 9:3 “Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.” – Job 42:6 Daniel and Job both repented by covering themselves in ashes and wearing sackcloth. The earliest liturgical usage of ashes is seen in the Old Testament representing mortality, mourning, and penance. On the first day of the Lenten season we are marked with ashes as the priest utters words in shades of what God said after the Fall of Man: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The imposition of ashes in unlike any other liturgical ritual – what is the origin of this distinctive solemn ceremony?
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