No smearing of ashes on foreheads
Credit to Author: William B. Depasupil| Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 16:13:22 +0000
THE new coronavirus has not only disrupted business and canceled dozens of events, it has also changed age-old traditions of the Catholic Church.
As Christians prepare for the start of the Lenten Season next week, the Catholic Church on
Thursday said priests would no longer smear the forehead of the faithful with ash on Ash Wednesday.
They will instead sprinkle ash on the head to avoid physical contact.
Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), on Thursday issued the directive as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
He said the ashes to be showered on the crown of the head “signify our repentance from sin, which has marred the grace of Baptism.”
On Good Friday, during the celebration of the Passion of the Lord, the CBCP “strongly” recommended that churchgoers “refrain” from kissing or touching the cross for veneration.
“Instead, the faithful are requested to genuflect or make a profound bow as they venerate the cross,” Valles said.
The new guideline is the second one released by the CBCP amid the Covid-19 threat.
Last month, the CBCP suggested that communion be taken by the hand and discouraged the faithful from holding hands when they pray “Our Father” during the Mass.
The bishops also issued an oratio imperata (obligatory prayer) against the spread of Covid-19 which has infected more than 75,000 people and killed more than 2,000.