Preparation for something can be difficult, especially if someone has to give something up to deepen their connection with their religious beliefs. This is the sacrifice people make during Lent.
Lent is a 40-day season, not including Sundays, leading into Easter that is practiced by different Christian denominations. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and ends on Holy Thursday.
Father Robert Gonnella, a pastor at Newman Catholic Student Center and teacher university parish, explained the importance of giving up distractions during Lent.
“Lent should be difficult to some extent,” Gonnella said. “It is a time of growth and separation from things that distract us (Christians) from God.”
Lent is a time of preparation as people observe Jesus’ last days before he died on the cross and came back to life three days later on Easter.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent as Christians are given ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads. It is meant to echo the quote, “Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” as said in Genesis 3:19.
Practices during the season include prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Fasting happens on Ash Wednesday, Fridays and Good Friday as people avoid eating meat and have only one full meal. Almsgiving is the act of donating goods to charity and helping those who are less fortunate. People give up something they enjoy or work something they have trouble controlling, like social media, anger or gossip to honor what Jesus sacrificed to save humanity.
Jesus is a figure in Christian religion who is the Son of God and came down from Heaven to spread the teachings of his Father and perform miracles. Lent symbolizes his time in the desert fasting for 40 days and 40 nights with the devil tempting him. The final three days of Lent, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday recount Jesus’s Last Supper with the 12 Disciples, his death on the cross and his time in the tomb.
Julianna Dale, a senior majoring in human development and human science, described what Lent is according to her Catholic friend.
“The more consistent you are during that time, the easier it gets,” Dale said. “I support my friend’s journey to restrict herself from her habits.”
Umida Juraeva, an undergraduate student studying elementary education, correlated the similarities of Lent to Ramadan, an Islamic event that ended on Sunday.
“Our Eid is like your Easter,” Juraeva said. “We fast, we pray and take a month where charity is encouraged.”
Lent can be seen as taxing, but that is the point. As Jesus died on the cross to save humanity from sin, Christians honor his sacrifice and practice his teachings, whether by going to Church or helping others.
