Next week we will mark Ash Wednesday, the beginning of this year’s Lenten journey. The Project Compassion theme of Be More is drawn from a quote from St Oscar Romero: Aspire not to have more, but to be more.

It is a theme that, in many ways, reflects what we do in Catholic education every day – aspiring as teachers and leaders to be more and to show the young people in our care how to find their own ways to be more in the world.

The Congregation for Divine Worship has provided guidance on the appropriate distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday. While not specifically directed at schools, it recommends that during the pandemic ashes are sprinkled over the heads of the congregation members rather than applied to the forehead.  

The advice from the Congregation is available here.