FAMILY CELEBRATION

OF THE BURNING OF PALMS/LEAVES

TO ASHES AND CELEBRATION OF
ASH WEDNESDAY AT HOME

For those who will not be able to go to church for the celebration of Ash Wednesday,
we are providing these liturgical celebrations for the burning of palms or any dried
leaves to ashes and the liturgy of Ash Wednesday for families at home.
 FAMILY CELEBRATION
OF BURNING OF PALMS/LEAVES TO ASHES

GREETING AND SIGN OF THE CROSS

In preparation for the celebration of Ash Wednesday, the members of the family may gather
in prayer to prepare the ashes. Traditionally, old blessed palms are burned to becomes ashes.
During this time of pandemic, if there are no old palms available, any dried leaves may be burned
to ashes for this purpose.

The head of the family leads the family in prayer:

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The members of the family make the sign of the cross and reply:

Amen.

OPENING PRAYER

Head of the family:

God of tender mercy,

You fashioned us from the dust of the earth
and bid us follow Your Gospel call
in the company of the Church.
Look on us with kindness
as we prepare the ashes
which will mark the beginning of our Lenten journey
grant that we who make the desert pilgrimage
might come to the font of rebirth
with a renewed passion for justice.

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 May our aims serve Your people
and bring us peace,
may prayer sanctify all our needs,
and may we come at last to the table You set
in the place where You reign with Christ
and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

The members of the family reply:

Amen.

PSALM AND BURNING OF PALMS/LEAVES TO ASHES

A member of the family leads the family in Psalm 51 as the palms are burned.

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, God in Your kindness.

In Your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them;

my sin is always before me.
Against You, You alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in Your sight I have done.

That You may be justified when You give sentence

and be without reproach when You judge.
O see, in guilt I was born,
a sinner was I conceived.

Indeed You love truth in the heart;

then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

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Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones You have crushed may revive.
From my sins turn away Your face
and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
nor deprive me of Your Holy Spirit.

Give me again the joy of Your help;

with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors Your ways
and sinners may return to You.

O rescue me, God my helper,

and my tongue shall ring our Your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare Your praise.

For in sacrifice You take no delight,

burnt offering from me You would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart You will not spurn.

In Your goodness, show favor to Zion:

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
holocausts offered on Your altar.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning is now and will be for ever. Amen.

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 FAMILY CELEBRATION
OF ASH WEDNESDAY AT HOME

“On the Wednesday before the first Sunday of Lent, the faithful receive the ashes, thus entering
into the time established for the purification of their souls. This sign of penance, a traditionally
biblical one, has been preserved among the Church’s customs until the present day. It signifies
the human condition of the sinner, who seeks to express his guilt before the Lord in an exterior
manner, and by so doing express his interior conversion, led on by the confident hope that the
Lord will be merciful. This same sign marks the beginning of the way of conversion, which is
developed through the celebration of the sacrament of Penance during the days before Easter.”

The blessing and imposition of ashes should take place either in the Mass or outside of the Mass.
In the latter case it is to be part of a Liturgy of the Word and conclude with the prayer of the
faithful.

Ash Wednesday is to be observed as a day of penance in the whole Church, one of both abstinence
and fasting.

GREETING AND SIGN OF THE CROSS

The head of the family leads the family in prayer:

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The members of the family make the sign of the cross and reply:

Amen.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE CELEBRATION

The head of the family gives a brief introduction, inviting them to take full part in the celebration.

Ash Wednesday opens the season of Lent,

which in turn prepares us
for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery
—the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The beginning of Lent is marked by the marking with ashes
to signify our mourning or contrition for our sins.
This sign of penance, however,
should be accompanied by inner conversion,
by metanoia or change of heart.
We rend our hearts, not our garments, and return to the Lord.
Thus our Lenten practices—prayer, fasting, almsgiving—
are rightly done before God’s eyes.

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 LITURGY OF THE WORD

PSALM Psalm 51:3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14. 17

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,

and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

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VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL See Psalm 95:8

R. Glory and praise to you, Lord jesus Christ.

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Glory and praise to you, Lord jesus Christ.

GOSPEL Matthew 6:1-6. 16-18

Brothers and sisters let us now listen to the reading

from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward. But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray,

do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

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 “When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
At the end of the Gospel, the head of the family acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

The members of the family reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

SILENT REFLECTION

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BLESSING AND DISTRIBUTION OF ASHES

The head of the family says:

Dear brethren (brothers and sisters),

let us humbly ask God our Father
that he be pleased to bless with the abundance of his grace
these ashes, which we will put on our heads in penitence.

After a brief prayer in silence, the head of the family continues:

O God, who desire not the death of sinners,

but their conversion,
mercifully hear our prayers
and in your kindness be pleased to bless these ashes,
which we intend to receive upon our heads,
that we, who acknowledge we are but ashes
and shall return to dust,
may, through a steadfast observance of Lent,
gain pardon for sins and newness of life
after the likeness of your Risen Son.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

The members of the family reply:

Amen.

Then the head of the family places ashes on the crown of each of the family members, and says:

Repent, and believe in the Gospel.

Or:

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

An appropriate chant may also be sung.

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GENERAL INTERCESSIONS

Head of the family::

Having begun our Lenten journey,
let us pray to our heavenly Father
that he may help us to become more faithful to the Gospel
and give us strength to tread the path of true repentance.
We pray:

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

A member of the family:

That the Pope, bishops, priests, and deacons

may welcome Lent as an acceptable time of renewal
through their sincere works of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
We pray.

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

That government officials

may be led to inner conversion and reject all kinds of abuses
which degrade the dignity of the human person.
We pray.

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

That the mark of ashes on our forehead

may remind us of our human frailty
and help us have a change of heart
so that we can live in humility and loving service
to our brothers and sisters.
We pray.

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

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 That those who consecrate their lives to God
may continue to respond in the joyful living
of perfect chastity, poverty, and obedience
as testimony to the power of God’s love
manifested in the weakness of the human condition.
We pray.

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

That there will be a swift end

to the coronavirus pandemic that afflicts our world,
that our God and Father will heal the sick,
strengthen those who care for them,
and help us all to persevere in faith.
We pray.

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

That the Lord Jesus may take into paradise

our departed brothers and sisters,
and at the end of our own journey
welcome us to that same place he has prepared for us
in the Father’s kingdom.
We pray.

R. Hear us, O Lord, and show us your mercy.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

The head of the family introduces the Lord’s Prayer:

Let us ask our Father

to forgive our sins
and to bring us to forgive
those who sin against us.

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 Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

PRAYER

Head of the family:

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting

this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The members of the family reply:

Amen.

DISMISSAL

Head of the Family:

May the Lord bless us,

protect us from all evil,
and bring us to everlasting life.

The members of the family reply:

Amen.

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Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission
Manila