Ash Wednesday evolved from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. Ashes have long been a visible symbol of humanity’s grief that our sin caused division from God. Writings from the second-century refer to the wearing of ashes on the head as a sign of penance. They were even applied after going to confession in the early Church. The ashes also symbolize the dust from which God made us. This is recalled when a priest applies the ashes to a person’s forehead and says, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Yet the ashes are also a symbol of our hope that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts.