The sanctuary of St. John Student Parish was filled on Ash Wednesday as students and residents lined up to have their foreheads symbolically marked with ashes by a priest.
The Catholic tradition, known formally as the Day of Ashes, is a solemn beginning to the season of Lent, said Father Mark Inglot of the parish, which is located at 327 M.A.C. Ave.
Lent is a Catholic season for prayer and cleansing that lasts for 40 days and ends on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter.
Observers have their foreheads marked with ashes in the sign of the cross because ashes are an ancient symbol of sorrow for committing sins, said Kathy Guilfoyle, secretary of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in East Lansing.
"Ashes also remind us of our mortality: ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Guilfoyle said.
During the Mass, the ashes are blessed by the priest, and the congregation lines up to receive them and be reminded to reject sin.
"When people are receiving ashes, they should probably be thinking that our actions are being checked by our beliefs, and we're being marked as a follower of Jesus Christ," Inglot said.
At Wednesday's 5 p.m. Mass, people lined up outside of the sanctuary, down the church steps.
"Even though it's a somber holiday and a day of penance, we know we need this day, this spring cleaning," Inglot said. "It's a monumental day for a lot of people because, sometimes, we just need to open up our closets and clean them out."
Most importantly, Inglot said, the day marks the beginning of Lent.
"I came today because it's tradition," said biosystems engineering junior Sean Dougherty. "It's something my family has always done, and it's the beginning of Lent."
The word "Lent" comes from the Old English word "lengten," which is where we get the word "lengthen," Inglot said. It means the lengthening of days.
The tradition is to give up something, or fast, during the 40 days of Lent, Inglot said.
"I'm 49 years old, and I still give up Snickers bars," he said. "The idea is to mimic the desert experience Moses and Jesus had as it is in the Bible."
Inglot said Lent is a time for cleansing the spirit.
"What happens to our insides will hopefully be the same as what happens outside," Inglot said. "Spring will come; daylight will overcome the darkness."
