That practice presents a problem when health experts fighting COVID-19 have advised people to avoid touching their faces or coming in close proximity to others. Clergy smear ashes, usually those left after burning palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations, onto congregants’ foreheads, often in the shape of a cross. Many churches mark the beginning of the penitential season of Lent with the imposition of ashes.
Ash Wednesday is one of the touchiest observances on the liturgical calendar - literally.
