Depending on the Mass, ministers will either sprinkle ashes over worshippers' heads or use a blend of ash and holy water to rub the sign of the cross into their foreheads. The ashes themselves come from the palm leaves that were blessed during Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter) of the previous year. Usually, the minister will recite the following words while administering the ashes: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."