Giving up a beloved thing for 40 days may be impossible for some, but, starting Wednesday, Christians around the world are taking that challenge as part of Lent, a time when Christians fast, pray and give alms.
Hundreds of students and faculty were marked with a cross of ash on their foreheads to represent the beginning of Lent during Ash Wednesday ceremonies on campus. Mass was held at noon in the EMU’s Ben Linder Room, where participants took communion, prayed and sang to celebrate the holy day.
Lent holds the tradition of sacrificing a bad habit. For freshman Emily Casey — a member of the Newman Center, the University’s Catholic Church — the goal is to eat more healthfully .
“I will be giving up candy,” she said. She added that Lent is about more than giving up sweets.
“It is about becoming closer with God through sacrificing something that you enjoy,” she said.
Lent ends at Easter when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is April 11 this year.
Graduate student applicant Elisha Monger has been attending the Newman Center for six years and said he learns from the ritual.
“It is about self-sacrifice,” he said. “It is a time to reflect and connect with God.”
Having an ash cross applied to the forehead is a visible statement to show an outward declaration of faith and an inner promise of penance. For some Christians, the mark is a symbol of belonging and feeling connected to a group that shares their views.
“It is wonderful to be in a community where I feel connected with other believers,” Casey said. “It can be difficult when people don’t understand my beliefs and just think I have dirt on my forehead.”
Father David Orique of the Newman Center stressed the importance of Lent.
“It is a time to ask ourselves ‘Are we living up to our Christian values?’” he said. “Every member of the church is called to examine and renew your life through prayer, fasting and alms giving.”
“There is so much negative attention given to Catholicism these days that it feels good to be a positive representation of the faith,” Casey said.
Casey said she enjoys the community service aspect of the religion, particularly gathering friends to donate blood at the campus blood drive.
The Newman Center is located at 1850 Emerald St. and boasts 1,000 members, 45 percent of whom are students.
“Student Mass is wonderful because it is directed at people my age and the challenges we face; things like finals and issues of morality” Casey said.
Other religions have rituals that focus on sacrifice and physical separation. Members of the Islamic faith observe Ramadan, which requires fasting from sunrise to sunset for one month. Buddhists fast as a way to cleanse and reflect, and members of the Hindu religion wear a bindi to represent the third eye.