Ash Wednesday Mass, February 17, 2021

The holy season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer, Bishop of Harrisburg, will celebrate Mass and distribute ashes at noon at the Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick, 212 State Street, Harrisburg. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, clergy will not mark the sign of cross on people’s foreheads with the ashes this year, as is traditionally done. At the direction of the Holy See (i.e. The Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments), ashes will be distributed in the following manner: · Clergy will bless the ashes and sprinkle them with Holy Water, then say to all those present, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” · Those wishing to receive ashes will line up, following social distancing guidelines. · Instead of making the sign of the cross on foreheads, clergy will sprinkle the ashes on top of the head. The distribution of ashes is a reminder of our mortality and our need for repentance, as we are accustomed to in the United States. In the Old Testament, ashes were used as a sign of humility and mortality, and as a sign of sorrow and repentance for sin. The ashes are made by burning any remaining blessed palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. More details and resources on Lent are available on the Diocesan website at www.hbgdiocese.org/lent.