Manila: Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula reminded the faithful that Lent is essentially rooted in hope rather than despair or condemnation. In his homily during the Ash Wednesday Mass at the Arzobispado de Manila chapel in Intramuros, he said ashes on the forehead during the occasion marking the start of the Lenten season are "not a mark of despair but of hope."

According to Philippines News Agency, the head of the Archdiocese of Manila added that God can bring new life even from the ruins of sin. He noted that the ashes imposed on the faithful symbolize humility and truth rather than shame or outward religious performance. "God does not ask us to wear ashes to shame us, but to heal us," Advincula said.

He also described ashes as reminders of human frailty, saying these expose illusions about self-sufficiency, permanence, and moral innocence. "Ashes tell the truth about us. They strip away the illusions and hallucinations that we often have about ourselves," Advincula said. He also warned against reducing prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to public displays disconnected from interior conversion. "When we stop pretending, grace can finally enter," he said.

During Ash Wednesday, priests mark the foreheads of churchgoers with a cross of ash. During Lent, the faithful also observe fasting and abstinence, and are encouraged to go to confession.