Fr. Ricky Montanez Leads Burning of Palms and Blessing of Palm Ashes

Fr. Ricky Montañez officiated last February 13, Tuesday, over the burning of Palms and Blessing of Palm Ashes in time for Ash Wednesday, February 14. The ceremony of the Burning of Palms and the Blessing of Ashes was conducted before the 6:00 pm mass outside Divine Mercy Chapel, with nearly all the regular mass goers helping to observe the event.

After Fr. Ricky started the fire with an initial set of dried palms, he blessed the palms, then invited the attendees to get additional dried palms from the collection box and mix it with the rest.

The ashes used last Ash Wednesday, February 14, were from dried palms blessed in the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration, when Christians carry palms to recognize the Gospels’ reference to Jesus’s path being covered in palm fronds on the day he entered Jerusalem. The ashes are usually mixed with Holy Water or oil, and carry the scent of incense.