The Carnival season in New Orleans has come to a crashing conclusion, with Ash Wednesday signaling the beginning of the Christian Lenten season.
 
New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond says the past few weeks have, in general, been a time of good family fun, and, for many, a time to deny their identity behind masks and costumes.
 
"Now, we peel all of that off and we go before the Lord and thank him for the fun and the world of make believe. But now, we want to come face to face with our God," says Aymond.

Listen to Aymond talk about the Lenten season:


He says we should do that, "with the goodness that exists in our hearts, as well as the sinfulness, the infidelity, the ways in which we are not the people that we could be and the people that we are sometimes called to be."
 
Aymond says, for Catholics and other Christians, it should now be a time for total honesty.
 
"It's a time for us to be totally honest with ourselves and to be able to single out the goodness in our hearts as well as the darkness in our hearts and to ask God to come into the darkness and bring forgiveness and new life," Aymond says.
 
Archbishop Aymond is asking area Christians, and others who are willing, to join him in an effort to bring respect for life and human dignity to the community.
 
"To fast one day a week during the Lenten season, the day of their choice, for the new Battle of New Orleans against violence, murder and racism. And that we can triumph in bringing about a sense of peace and reconciliation to our city."
 
He's also composed a prayer for the purpose.
 
Click here for a copy of Archbishop Aymond's prayer...
 
While not a Holy Day of Obligation, all Roman Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday in order to mark the beginning of the Lenten season.
 
During Mass, the ashes which give Ash Wednesday its name are distributed. They are made by burning the blessed palms that were distributed the previous year on Palm Sunday.
 
The ashes are christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense.
 
The priest dips his right thumb in the ashes and, making the Sign of the Cross on each person's forehead, says, "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return."
 
The distribution of ashes is meant to remind us of our own mortality and calls us to repentance.
 
As Lent begins, Archbishop Aymond says all Christians should set out specific spiritual goals they would like to reach before Easter and decide how they will pursue them.