In the Gospel for Ash Wednesday, Jesus tells His disciples not to "change the appearance of their faces" when they fast, and to "wash your face." But don't we do just the opposite when we get ashes put on our forehead?
That's a very good question! The passage the reader is referring to is Matthew 6:16-18, and the fact that the Church has read this Gospel for centuries on Ash Wednesday is a good clue that there's more here than meets the eye.
What Christ is telling His disciples to avoid is hypocrisy. Those who "changed the appearance of their faces," He was saying, did not change their hearts. They wanted people to see outward signs of repentance and to assume that they had changed.
That's not the purpose of the Catholic Church's distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday. The Church doesn't tell us that we have to keep the ashes on our forehead all day long (although many people do, and there's nothing wrong with that). That's because the Church marks us with ashes not to make a statement to others, but to remind us of our own mortality and sinfulness (and, since the ashes are blessed, to strengthen us on our Lenten journey).
You can find out more about the reasons for the blessing and distribution of ashes in Ash Wednesday in the Catholic Church.
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Prayerfully Pray Prayerfully Durning this Prayfull Season OF LENT