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| Coronavirus: Priest providing 'takeaway ashes' for Ash Wednesday | Coronavirus: Priest providing 'takeaway ashes' for Ash Wednesday |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Demand for the ashes is outstripping supply | Demand for the ashes is outstripping supply |
| A priest in the Republic of Ireland has made "takeaway ashes" available for parishioners to administer at home on Ash Wednesday. | A priest in the Republic of Ireland has made "takeaway ashes" available for parishioners to administer at home on Ash Wednesday. |
| Fr Brian Brady teamed up with a shop in Clonmany, County Donegal, to provide holy ashes in sauce containers. | Fr Brian Brady teamed up with a shop in Clonmany, County Donegal, to provide holy ashes in sauce containers. |
| Covid-19 restrictions in the country mean all church services must be conducted online. | |
| He told BBC News NI that he has been overwhelmed by the response. All 600 portions of ashes have been taken away. | |
| "It's a new experience formed to have people wanting to talk to me," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme. | |
| "There's been a lot of attention and people want more ashes but can't get them." | |
| The priest said it was "a nice feeling" that this initiative had meant something to people. | |
| "A lot of our parishioners would come every year for their ashes and it's so important that we honour those traditions - even at these most difficult times," he said. | "A lot of our parishioners would come every year for their ashes and it's so important that we honour those traditions - even at these most difficult times," he said. |
| "We really did have to stretch the old imagination on this one though." | "We really did have to stretch the old imagination on this one though." |
| 'Huge community spirit' | 'Huge community spirit' |
| More than 600 containers have already been distributed for the holy day. | |
| The containers are limited to one per household and they also include a prayer service for use in the home prepared by Fr Brady. | |
| Instructions about how to apply ashes are on the sheet. | |
| "The advice is to moisten them, but to be careful not to moisten too much as they'll run down your forehead and nose as has happened to many a poor soul in the past," Fr Brady said. | |
| Staff at the local Centra have being helping make up the containers, which are usually for sauces. | Staff at the local Centra have being helping make up the containers, which are usually for sauces. |
| They have been using burnt palms from Palm Sunday which have been blessed and left out for collection at the three churches in the parish. | |
| What is Ash Wednesday? | What is Ash Wednesday? |
| Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a season of reflection and preparation before Easter. | Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a season of reflection and preparation before Easter. |
| Catholics traditionally attend a Mass at which their foreheads are marked with ash in the shape of a cross. | Catholics traditionally attend a Mass at which their foreheads are marked with ash in the shape of a cross. |
| By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. | By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. |
| The period of reflection is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities. | The period of reflection is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities. |
| Shop owner Joe Joyce said he could not believe how popular the takeaway ashes have been, and he's also blown away by the amount of media attention they were getting. | Shop owner Joe Joyce said he could not believe how popular the takeaway ashes have been, and he's also blown away by the amount of media attention they were getting. |
| Staff have been working on more containers to help meet the demand, he told BBC News NI. | |
| The staff at the Centra in Clonmany, County Donegal, are being kept busy | The staff at the Centra in Clonmany, County Donegal, are being kept busy |
| "There is a huge community spirit here in Clonmany, and this is just another thing the village has got behind during these tough times," he said. | "There is a huge community spirit here in Clonmany, and this is just another thing the village has got behind during these tough times," he said. |
| "Through our local community group, Clonmany Together, people have helped deliver groceries, they've delivered medicines, they've done online bingo and now this. | "Through our local community group, Clonmany Together, people have helped deliver groceries, they've delivered medicines, they've done online bingo and now this. |
| "It's just another simple gesture that people here wanted to do for others." | "It's just another simple gesture that people here wanted to do for others." |
| Meanwhile Fr Brady confesses that he got "a bit of ribbing from some of his priest friends about takeaway ashes". | |
| "But I would hope if priests thought it was worthwhile, they would go with it," he said. | |
| The bishop too is on side. | |
| "He seems to be pleased that an effort has been made to enable this important tradition to continue," said Fr Brady. | |
| The Clonmany parish includes St Mary's in Clonmany, St Michael's in Urris and the Oratory of the Assumption, Ballyliffin. | The Clonmany parish includes St Mary's in Clonmany, St Michael's in Urris and the Oratory of the Assumption, Ballyliffin. |