For our sweet boy so lowly, meek, and mild, our generous king who gives his life for his kind. Our great mediator of immoral men and our liberator from time and time again. For our creator that teaches us love, who shines his grace from up above. And the one who provides a beacon of hope from the teachings of equity that he spoke; thank you. May the Lord bless us and keep us, Happy Lent.
This Lenten season, several students at John Dewey of the Christian faith express their delight in participating in the Holy Lent. Throughout this period of reflection, we’ll make sacrifices through balancing our scholarly and personal lives.
In Christian tradition, the Great Lent refers to the 40 day period that prepares us for Easter or rather Pascha, the Great Feast. During this time, we remain steadfast in our prayer life, fast, give up something, and partake in almsgiving, being charitable to others.
Many Christian students remain extremely involved with their faith, seeing as though that’s how they were brought up and continue to explore it.
“I’m Catholic and I got my first baptism (christening) at a couple months old.” Elizabeth Dutan, a senior said, “I’ve been in church school on Saturdays from the ages of 5 to 13, I would go at 10 a.m. and leave after night mass at 10 p.m. I have completed the sacraments: baptism, communion, confirmation, and reconciliation and I’m still working on the other three sacraments.”
Moreover, others, at different stages in their personal journeys, tend to figure out their faith themselves.
“I’d say I’m most definitely comfortable with my faith, though I might not go to mass or pray from day to day, but I know I have a bigger hand to rely on when I question my faith or any situation that feels like I can’t get through.” Alexander Sanchez, a senior said.
Participating in Lent entails sacrifices, a part of the act of surrendering or giving up something to get closer to God.
“I’m Coptic Orthodox and I have participated in Lent before. I don’t eat any meat or animal products, essentially becoming a vegan, but I always try to give up other things that may distract me such as social media.” Miriam Sedrak, a junior said.
As we make sacrifices, it presents a challenge for some to adhere to the dietary restrictions due to health concerns.
“I do face some challenges because I am anemic and some meat I eat is high in iron, mainly beef and chicken. However I still feel proud and willing to participate in a big part of my religion.” Dutan said.
Although it’s imperative to highlight the downsides of making sacrifices, the positive aspects in voluntarily giving something up, teaches humility.
“My experience with past lents remains something that I enjoy looking back at because as a Hispanic Christian, we grow up learning that it doesn’t hurt to sacrifice something we live day to day with to grow a closer relationship with God.” Sanchez said.
This experience may indirectly teach us to get out of our comfort zones and get used to something different for a period of time.
“My overall experience of lent is nice. The only thing I find difficult is school food and finding new recipes because vegan food may sometimes get boring.” Sedrak said.
Lent, a beautiful annual experience that brings the Christian community together, promotes goodness throughout our faith which guides us to share that goodness with others. Throughout this Lenten season, I hope that we as believers will show kindness and compassion to those around us wherever we go.
