As the Christian holiday of Easter approaches on April 20, Catholic students on WKU’s campus have been participating in the 40-day period before Easter called Lent. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and continues until Easter Sunday.
Catholic Priest Rev. Jason McClure, the chaplain at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Newman Campus Center, said that Lent is the liturgical season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. He said the period of Lent reflects the 40 days Jesus Christ spent in the desert before entering public ministry.
“During those 40 days, we prepare our hearts and our souls for celebrating the greatest of celebrations of our Christian faith— the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” McClure said.
McClure said Catholics are called to practice prayer, fasting and almsgiving during the Lenten season.
Prayer is the communication between a person and God. It is used to strengthen the relationship between them, according to The Mission Post. Lenten Prayer, specifically, is “a time for self-reflection and renewal.”
“Lent is a period of really trying to grow in our relationship with God with prayer,” McClure said. “I often tell people that no relationship can exist in the absence of communication.”
McClure said that one form of prayer that’s important for Catholics during Lent is Eucharistic Adoration. He said that during Eucharistic Adoration, a consecrated host is placed in a monstrance for Catholics to adore and pray to. He said this is because the Catholic Church has a belief in the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
“It’s a way of employing our human senses as we enter into prayer and adoration,” McClure said. “We can actually see the Blessed Sacrament with our belief in what the Eucharist is.”
Freshman Fatima Gutierrez from Franklin, Tennessee, said that she’s been trying to go to Adoration as much as she can.
“It’s just spending time with Jesus and being in the presence of his body,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a good time to reflect and sit in silence.”
Catholics are called to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday during Lent and are encouraged to do personal fasts. Some personal fasts can include giving up screen time or sugar, according to The Mission Post. Fasting is a way for Catholics to “join Christ’s suffering,” and gives Catholics an opportunity to offer a sacrifice to God for prayer intentions and reparation.
McClure said that the Catholic Church calls Catholics to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Fridays during Lent and Good Friday because those days emphasize the death of Jesus Christ. He also said that fasting is a way for Catholics to detach themselves from things that might be standing in the way of a strong relationship with Christ.
“It’s all about detaching ourselves from the world in an effort to attach ourselves to Jesus Christ,” McClure said. “It’s a way of trying to gain some control over our attempt to find fulfillment in the world.”
Gutierrez said that there are not a lot of meatless options on WKU’s campus. He said this makes it hard to find suitable food on Fridays during Lent.
“You can go to Subway and get nothing on it but veggies, which isn’t terrible,” Gutierrez said. “It kind of speaks to the idea that we should have more options.”
Junior Jason Hatfield from Louisville said that he gave up sugary drinks and social media for Lent. He said that he also incorporated other sacrifices, such as unnecessary purchases. He also added more prayer and reading time into his day in place of screentime.
“I think it’s easy for us to not fully take in how monumental Christ’s suffering and passion on the cross was,” Hatfield said. “By giving up small things that I don’t want to give up, like social media, it really puts into context how much it sucks and how much he did for us.”
Gutierrez said that in the past, she’s given up caffeine for Lent. She said that this year, she wanted to give up bad character traits.
“I’ve been trying to be a better person,” Gutierrez said. “I’ve been trying not to judge others or being hypocritical or stuff like that.”
Gutierrez also said that she wanted to challenge herself to attend daily mass as another way to practice fasting.
“I feel like I’ve been giving up my time because sometimes I feel very overwhelmed with work and stuff,” Gutierrez said. “I knew if I forced myself to go to mass every day that it would be a challenge.”
Hatfield said that it can be difficult to keep up with the sacrifices he’s chosen to do for Lent, like extra prayer throughout his day.
“I try to make a goal to pray throughout the day,” Hatfield said. “As classes get more intense, it’s been harder.”
Hatfield also said that the culture of the Catholic Church helps to establish self-discipline.
“It feels like everybody’s on a football team, and everyone’s pushing one another to succeed,” Hatfield said. “People are there keeping you in check with the disciplines you chose.”
Gutierrez said that the idea of Lent itself is what keeps her motivated to continue through Lent without breaking any goals she has set for herself.
“It’s like, I’ll feel really bad about messing up because it’s a sacrifice that you’re making for God,” Gutierrez said. “If you can’t do a sacrifice for 40 days when he made the ultimate sacrifice, it’s like, dang I couldn’t lock in for 40 days.”
Almsgiving is an important practice during Lent. The Catholic Church identifies it as “a work of justice pleasing to God,” according to The Mission Post. When Catholics give alms, or certain items to those in need of them, they are “making a concrete donation of ourselves (money, time, talent or service) to others.”
“Almsgiving is all about recognizing the blessings we have received, and in a spirit of gratitude, sharing our blessings with others,” McClure said. “It’s all in an attempt to imitate and reflect the self-giving sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.”
Hatfield said that he tries to donate to fundraisers or to someone in need whenever he can to practice almsgiving. He also said that he’s been trying to be more conscious of how he treats others.
“You can’t hate someone that you pray for,” Hatfield said.
Gutierrez said that the most rewarding aspect of Lent has been seeing the change in herself. She also said that picking up on little blessings has also been a rewarding aspect.
“When you slow down and start spending more time with God, the little things mean a lot more,” Gutierrez said.
Hatfield also said that spending more time with God was a rewarding aspect of Lent.
“The happiness that comes with being as close as you can with Christ is the most rewarding part,” Hatfield said.
McClure said that during Lent, the Catholic mass changes as well. He said that during mass, they refrain from singing joyful songs. The priest performing the mass wears purple because the color follows the theme of penitence. He also said that they embrace certain spiritual prayer exercises like the Stations of the Cross.
“I love the Lenten season,” McClure said. “I think it’s really a tremendous opportunity for us in a unified way as a church to reflect on the great mercy of God.”
Hatfield said that his biggest piece of advice to anyone considering Lent practices is to make prayer their main focus. He also said that a person could pick smaller sacrifices to give up for Lent.
“If you pick too many hard ones, you’re gonna end up giving up on all of them,” Hatfield said.
McClure said his advice to anyone considering or already practicing Lent is to look at it from a liberating perspective. He also said that in that context, Lent is seen as something rewarding.
“Resist the temptation to see the Lenten practices as something punitive, but to the contrary, something that is very positive,” McClure said.