If the basic connections to water and oil and the ashes are clear, the ashes simply make visible to all what probably could not be seen by most in baptism - that we live our lives under the sign of the cross, which means we live our lives openly as the bond-slaves of Jesus.

The imposition of ashes can and should also be related to baptism, just as in baptism all who are baptized receive the laying on of hands and (as our rubrics suggest) the sign of the cross upon their foreheads in with oil or water so here at Ash Wednesday, all receive the sign of the cross in exactly the same place. A terrific new resource that could help you think through language and imagery for baptism (to which the Ash Wednesday rite is directly related) is I Belong to God, a study guide for 'By Water and the Spirit' (our official teaching on baptism) for intergenerational study settings, including small children. Use language and imagery that children will understand, to be sure. Children get this!Īvoid any 'dumbing down' of the ritual, either in terms of ritual action (doing something different for children than for adults) or in terms of the explanations involved. The symbols involved are basic and very tangible.

Ash Wednesday can be among the most accessible of rituals in our liturgy for children and their families, IF it's not handled in a 'stuffy' or overly formalistic way.

Imposition of ashes meaning