Lent, 40-day period observed by Catholics in preparation for Easter, is a period of prayer, fasting, and alms giving which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends Good Thursday. During Lent Catholics fast, give something up, and abstain from eating meat on Fridays, as they also focus on growing spiritually. Many Catholics give to charity and increase their prayer on a deeper level. Lent is used to commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert.
Similarly to Lent, Ramadan is a sacred month of fasting observed by Muslims, which this year happens to coincide with Lent having begun February 28 and ending March 30. Fasting from food and drinks happens from dawn to sunset. It serves to commemorate the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammed. It is also a time of increased prayer, self discipline, and a period to be charitable.
“When I learned about Ramadan, I thought about how it is similar to Lent. This year for Lent I will be giving up soda and fast food,” shared sophomore Vittorio Buttice.
During Lent, people choose to give up habits as a self discipline. Common things to give up are sweets, caffeine, soda, and screen time. It is important to acknowledge the other things members of the ILS community can sacrifice such as negative thinking and gossiping toward gaining self improvement. Though whatever anyone chooses to abstain from, the goal is to come closer to God as well as to become a better person.
“This year I wasn’t sure what to give up, but in the end I settled on sweets and caffeine since it won’t be something very hard to give up. I will also be working on lowering my screen time during Lent,” said sophomore Sabriella Alfaro.
