On Ash Wednesday, laypeople Joe Miller, in foreground, and Dottie Carpenter, in blue shirt, distribute ashes to people who came to the 11 a.m. service at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1101 Lafayette St. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent for Christians, a time of fasting and prayer. It is the holiest of seasons, culminating in Easter, when tradition says Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The ashes, created from the burning of last year's palms from Palm Sunday, are put onto Christians' foreheads in the sign of the cross, a reminder of Christ's suffering on the cross for mankind's sins.
