"Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." We get ashes on our foreheads, in our eyes, and on our clothes! Furthermore, we don't wash it off all day! Sounds kind of creepy! So why do we do it? Ashes are an ancient symbol of mourning and repentance. In the Bible, we hear it used, along with sackcloth, which is like burlap, as a means of appealing to God for forgiveness.
In the Book of Jonah, Jonah reluctantly preaches to the Ninevites, his hated enemy: "'Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown,' the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes" (Jon. 3:4-6).
Thus, it became the custom to use sackcloth and ashes as an outward sign of inward repentance. For us today it is a sacramental, which calls us to remember our sins that we may repent and be reconciled to God. We are also called to remember that we are mortal, that this world is not the end-all and be-all of our existence. Our lives on earth are meant to cultivate friendship with God that we may return to him at our deaths.
The gospel on Ash Wednesday calls us to a deeper relationship by pointing out that we need to go beyond the wearing of ashes: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father" (Mt. 6:1). This means we need to wear ashes ON OUR HEARTS as well! Thus, another formula for receiving ashes is, "Repent and believe in the gospel."
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