On March 5, the Center for Faith, Action and Ministry (CFAM) at Saint Mary’s College hosted Ash Wednesday services to mark the beginning of Lent. Multiple Masses and a prayer service were offered in observance of the day.
The Ash Wednesday liturgies began at 8 a.m. with Mass at Holy Spirit Chapel in Le Mans Hall. The second Mass took place at 11 a.m. at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto. Though it is not a holy day of obligation, attendance was still encouraged as a way to mark the beginning of Lent.
Sarah Neitz, assistant director for justice and solidarity, explained the significance of Lent.
“It’s a 40-day period of prayer, almsgiving and fasting in the Catholic Church and in other Christian churches as well. It is a time of preparation for Easter, which is the celebration of Jesus Christ rising from the dead that happens every year,” Neitz said.
Neitz discussed how Ash Wednesday is a reminder of a person’s mortality and the importance of using one’s time to assist humanity for the common good.
“Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. At Ash Wednesday services, people get blessed ashes and a cross on their forehead. At the time, someone says, ‘Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return,’” Neitz said.
A student-led prayer service with distribution of ashes was held in Stapleton Lounge at Le Mans Hall, with the distribution of ashes and reflection led by senior Brigid Hull, intern for liturgy and music at CFAM.
“That was another cool opportunity to write my own reflection on the gospels for that day. Part of my goal was to make it really appropriate to my audience … it was mostly college age students … and I know what we’re all going through for the most part. I kind of told the story from my own life, about how I had this encounter with God through nature, and it helped remind me of my own smallness,” Hull said.
Hull described the opportunity of serving as a layperson and how students were able to observe what positions they can take on in the liturgical or worship settings.
“I’m a layperson because I am not ordained in any religious position, but laypeople can actually get involved in a really important and special way in liturgical celebrations, specifically for days like Ash Wednesday. It kind of took a similar format that Catholic Mass takes, except I was presiding over it, so it wasn’t a priest. I think what’s really cool about that is that us students and us women in the church can kind of see a person take a role in liturgy that we don’t always see,” Hull said.
Students are also able to take part in “Litanies for Lent” weekly on Tuesdays at 12:20 p.m. in Holy Spirit Chapel. According to an email from Neitz, students are encouraged to attend these litanies “if you’re finding yourself without words as you face the news, or have repeated the same prayer over and over as you contemplate the world in need.”
Additionally, there are opportunities for students to join retreats that offer prayer and reflection spaces for students. This includes a three-day spring retreat this Friday through Sunday at Michiana Christian Camp and the Lenten day of reflection on Saturday, April 5. The Lenten Day of Reflection will be led by Sister Jacinta Kioko, assistant director for ministry and spiritual formation.
“We have the spring retreat, which is a weekend away … and that is going to be taking place off campus in a retreat center … there will be talks, good food, there will be adoration, Masses and opportunities for confession. We’re also going to have a Lenten day of reflection, which will take place on campus for people who aren’t able to commit to a full weekend,” Neitz said.
Kioko emphasized the importance of people observing Lent in a way that is personal and reflective of them. She encourages students to take advantage of what Saint Mary’s offers for Lent to grow their spirituality.
“There’s no one common way of doing things, but there is the traditional way of praying, fasting and almsgiving. When we talk about prayer, we pray more during Lent and then we also pray not just for ourselves, but also for the needs of the world … There are personal and collective ways of fasting and observing the season of Lent,” Kioko said.
