With heavy workloads and spring sports right around the corner, many students probably wish that they could give up pre-season and homework for Lent. However, that may be asking a little too much.
Among the Staples community, for there are those who give up something for Lent, those who do not give up something for lent and those who do not even know what Lent is.
Lent takes place during the forty days prior to Easter and is considered a time of “soul-searching.” Lent is meant to honor the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness. Beginning on with Ash Wednesday, Lent ends at sundown on Holy Thursday.
Some Christians try to follow the example of Jesus Christ by giving up some sort of every-day luxury in order to experience spiritual discipline. By giving up something for Lent, one is ultimately offering that sacrifice to God. The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Through these three observances, Christians are able to turn their hearts back towards God after having been “turned away” from him.
“I give up sweets every year,” Anna Fiolek ’13 said. “I’m literally addicted to chocolate and candy and basically anything that has sugar in it. It has definitely been hard for me to keep Lent, but at least I am allowed to indulge on Sundays because it is the day of rest.”
Similarly to Fiolek, North Woods ’15 also gave up a food for Lent this year. “I decided to give up french fries. The ones at school are way too good and I eat them all of the time,” Woods said. “I remember giving up Yugioh cards in the past and that was incredibly unsuccessful, so I’ll just have to wait and see if I am able to keep Lent this year.”
However, while some Staples students are trying to keep their hands off of sweets and fries, other Staples students do not even know about the Lent holiday.
When asked if she was giving up anything for Lent, Turner Block ’13 responded by saying, “I couldn’t even tell you what Lent is.”
Claire Quigley ’14 said that she “didn’t even know it was Lent.”
One student, Ryan Greenberg ’13 jokingly said that he is giving up Lent for Lent. However, according to Christianity Today, this year, from Feb. 19-25, 4,171 people tweeted that they were also going to be giving up Lent. However, in first place, a whopping 13, 937 people tweeted that they would be giving up Twitter for Lent.
Ryan Kirshner ’13 said that for Lent she is trying to give up going on the computer after midnight. However, with after-school activities, finishing her homework at a reasonable hour is a struggle and every once in a while, she deems a Twitter or Facebook check necessary.
Even if one isn’t Christian but feels like procrastination, or swearing, or an addiction to coffee or an obsession over reality television is becoming excessive, why not give it up for forty days and create an altered version of Lent? There’s no harm in trying. The experience could be life changing.
