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SOUND: church music.
NARR: It's one of the rare times of year when Christians wear their religion on their sleeve - or rather on their forehead. Hundreds of students from NYU and others line up inside the church. They're waiting for Father John Davis to mark their forehead with ashes in the shape of a cross and give them instruction for Lent.
SOUND: people shuffling in line to get marked with ashes. Priest says to them: "Brother, turn away from sin…"
SOUND: church music.
NARR: At the evening service, church-goers fill the pews and overflow into the balconies. It's a sign Ash Wednesday and Lent remain an important part of the Christian calendar. After the service, Mary Anne Kimberline steps out to light a cigarette. She says that the focus of Lent has changed.
TAPE: MARY ANNE KIMBERLINE (00:13): I hate to say self-improvement, but I think it seems to be a lot more about self-improvement than I think sometimes people lose sight of Christ rising on Easter, which we should probably think about.
SOUND UNDERNEATH NARRATION: harp music.
NARR: Father Davis says that some members confuse the meaning of 'self-improvement.' For some, fasting is more about trying to lose some extra pounds instead of having a religious experience. But the kind of self-improvement Father Davis talks about promotes the purpose of Lent.
TAPE: FATHER DAVIS (00:17): By self-improvement we mean spiritually, improving the quality of one's experience of being Christian, we don't mean it in a secular way, lose weight, lift weights, no, that is not the same thing.
SOUN: harp music.
NARR: Father Davis says that self-improvement is really about becoming a better, richer human being who can give more to others. is emphasis on getting people to think about how they want to lead their lives embraces a more flexible approach than the church has traditionally taken to Lent. For one, Catholics are no longer expected to fast every Friday during Lent: just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Mary Anne's noticed a shift in Lent too.
TAPE: MARY ANNE (00:17): It doesn't seem as harsh now, and there seems to be the option of doing good things as opposed to, there's less of a focus on vice now it seems to me. People talk more about making positive changes, there's a lot less guilt it seems.
SOUND: people shuffling, transition to organ and choir music.
NARR: Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral in mid-town, 10 separate lines of people move towards the front of the church. Priests and nuns dip their fingers in ash, drawing a cross on everyone's forehead. About 10 people are marked every few seconds during the lunch-hour rush. By the time the day is over, almost 50,000 visitors bear ashes from this church.
SOUND: priest giving service, fade to church music
NARR: Reverend Robert Ritchie has noticed that penance and fasting carry more importance to older Catholics than younger ones.
SOUND: church choir.
TAPE: FATHER RITCHIE (00:17): The older members would have the continued tradition of giving things up. Younger people are not in that same way of thinking, so they would be on the other two pillars of Lent, the almsgiving and the prayer side.
NARR: 23 year-old Liz Calabrese is one of those people.
TAPE: LIZ CALABRESE (00:12): I'm actually planning on donating a certain amount of money to a non-profit organization I've chosen through research, so instead of giving something up I'm kind of giving something back.
SOUND: church bells.
NARR: With marks on their forehead reminding them of their faith, today's Catholics continue the tradition of Ash Wednesday - and are making their own mark on Lent.
SOC: I'm Nadja Drost for Columbia Radio News.