The season of Lent provides people of faith with spiritual preparation, repentance and growth as well as discipline and focus. Lent is a special time in the Christian calendar that lasts for 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday. Typically people fast, pray and show almsgiving.
At DePaul College Prep, Lent has different meaning and importance to both faculty and students.
To Director of Mission and Ministry, Florence Merkl-Deutsch, Lent has three major components of meaning.
Firstly, Lent allows her to commit time to her relationship with God.
She said, “Lent reminds me to make room for my relationship with God in such a way that I can go through some good self examination and process things in a better headspace.” Committing to a relationship with God and personal spirituality allows Chrisitians to let go of things that may be a burden. Whether it’s a relationship or a bad grade, letting go of things that affect our daily lives allows us to open up our hearts and minds to God.
Merkl-Deutsch also has a thirty year history in working in liturgy. She said, “At both DePaul and my parish I’m heavily involved with different liturgies which allows me to bring my experience and pass it on to others.” The season of Lent constantly allows Christians to learn new things about themselves and their faith. To Merkl-Deutsch, participating in these important liturgies allow her to spread the word of God as well as let the message resonate with the audience as the season progresses.
Lastly, at DePaul College Prep there are many opportunities for students to embrace the season at school. Merkl-Deutsch said, “I love that we offer Ash Wednesday and reconciliation to all and to get to see the high engagement with students.” These opportunities allow students to grow through guidance and alongside their peers.
While important to many faculty members, Lent also has a similar significance to students:
To junior Harper Jordan, Lent is a time of self reflection and improvement. “I know that God has a plan for me but I also know that I have to lean into that plan by making decisions that will make me more successful and help me live by his example,” she said.
Jordan was an Ash distributor and a reader at the Ash Wednesday liturgy, a new experience for her that helped her feel as though she is contributing to the school community through voluntarily expressing her faith.
A common tradition for some is to give up something for Lent. It could be food, social media or a bad habit, but the idea is to show commitment and fasting to something just as Jesus did. Jordan did not give anything up for Lent but she wants to focus on consistency.
She said,“I didn’t want to commit to something big but still wanted to set goals for myself. I’ve been praying more consistently, focusing on school while still finding balance, and trying harder to be patient with others while still remembering that God has my future laid out for me.”
Lent is the season of fasting and remembering Jesus’ suffering. But this doesn’t need to be shown in a big extravagant way. It’s the little everyday aspects of our lives that show the largest amounts of faith and commitment to Jesus.
Junior Belen Salamanca also views Lent as a mental reset and check in. Lent is a season that helps her question how to improve spiritually and mentally.
Salamanca was a reader at the Ash Wednesday Liturgy. To her having these resources to read and participate in a school community “allows you to be the best version of yourself and to grow in faith to use those resources to decide who you want to be.”
Additionally Salamanca gave up something for Lent. Instead of focusing on a thing or a bad habit, she decided to let go of a relationship that was weighing her down. She feels that giving up something for Lent should be a physical and mental challenge. While being a challenge, letting go of that relationship really opened doors for Salamanca to feel emotionally free from the effects it has had on her.
