ONE Donegal parish priest has come up with a new way of distributing ashes to parishioners this Ash Wednesday.
Clonmany Parish Priest Fr Brian Brady, thanks to the help of the local Centra store, will be able to provide ashes to around 200 homes.
Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions mean that ashes can’t be distributed in Church in the traditional manner.
However, Fr Brady has made sure that some of his parishioners will be able to received the blessed ashes.
Ashes, which will be blessed this evening at Mass by Fr Brady, will be placed in containers, provided by Centra, and left in the Churches for pick-up.
The Clonmany Parish includes St Mary’s Church, Clonmany, St Michael’s Urris and the Oratory of the Assumption, Ballyliffin.
Each container will also include a prayer service to be said by the family on Wednesday when the ashes can be given out to each person assembled in the home.
“The containers will be left during Sunday at each of the churches for pickup before Wednesday,” Fr Brady said.
“Unfortunately they will be available only on a first come first serve basis, one container to each family, and whenever they run out there will be no more.
“Receiving the ashes has been an important part of our way of being Catholic and this is an attempt to ensure that those who wish to continue this valuable tradition will have the opportunity to do so.”
Tags: