This is the week of Ash Wednesday, a solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Lent, the most penitential season of the church calendar for Catholics and many other Christians. On Ash Wednesday, many Christians go to church for a service that emphasizes the start of a season of reflection, self-denial and repentance from sin. Worshippers receive ashes, commonly imposed in the shape of a cross on the forehead. The officiant typically says, “Remember that you are dust, and to