After receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday, the usual and most widely accepted response is to say nothing and simply return to your seat in silence.

Quick Scoop: What do you say after receiving ashes?

In many Catholic and some Anglican/Episcopal parishes, the person imposing ashes says one of two formulas: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” or “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” The common practice is that there is no spoken response from the person receiving ashes—no “Amen,” no “thank you,” just a reverent pause and then you move aside for the next person.

Why silence is usually expected

  • Ash Wednesday is a very penitential, reflective moment in the liturgical year.
  • The phrase spoken over you is more like a proclamation or reminder than a dialogue that needs a verbal answer.
  • In some traditions (for example, as people discuss in Episcopal and Catholic forums), church worship books explicitly assume silence after ashes, while they do expect “Amen” after Communion.

A helpful way to think of it: when you receive ashes, you are receiving a sign and a call to conversion, and your “answer” is interior—through prayer, repentance, and the way you live that day.

Is it wrong to say “Amen” or “thank you”?

  • Many priests or ministers will not correct you if you instinctively say “Amen” or “thank you,” and there is no sin in doing so. People in online Catholic discussions admit they sometimes do it out of habit.
  • However, if you want to follow the most typical liturgical custom, you simply bow your head slightly or step away quietly without saying anything.

So, if you’re unsure what to do this year, the safest and most traditional answer to “what do you say after receiving ashes?” is: nothing—just receive them prayerfully and remain silent.

“Let your response be more in your heart than on your lips on Ash Wednesday.”