Quite simply, sackcloth and ashes were used as an outward sign of one’s inward condition, making one’s change of heart visible for all, and demonstrating their sincerity of one’s grief for their sins. Sackcloth, a coarse, burlap-like material, usually made of black goat’s hair, made wearing it extremely uncomfortable, while ashes signified desolation and sadness. If someone wanted to show their repentant heart, they would wear sackcloth, sit in ashes and put ashes on the top of their head. In the Old Testament, ashes were paired with sackcloth as a symbol of repentance.
These familiar words are spoken every year on Ash Wednesday just before we are marked with ashes as a sign of our mortality and sincere desire to do penance.Īshes have a long and rich history in biblical tradition.
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