Many Christian students at the University are preparing to conclude the season of Lent after observing the 40-day period in a number of different ways. Students in Lent have been engaging by sacrificing daily temptations and refraining from eating meat on Fridays, as well as through additive means such as participating in charitable ministries or spending additional reflective time in prayer.
Lent, which began March 5, is a Christian season of repentance, anticipation, mourning and almsgiving that precedes the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ which happens Easter Sunday. The period ends April 17 at sundown this year, a day known as Holy Thursday, and is celebrated by members of the Christian faith across many denominations. Between Good Friday, April 18 this year, and Easter Sunday, April 20, participating followers have traditionally sacrificed their time and attention to wait in penitence for the joyful resurrection.
Across the University, student groups have been hosting programming to help students participate in the season. One such organization is Catholic Hoos, a student-run organization that serves as a community for Catholic students at the University and works in conjunction with St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish, located on Alderman Road.
In addition to weekly bible study groups, charitable ministries and Catholic Mass services, Catholic Hoos hosts a variety of events to celebrate the season of Lent, mainly geared at dietary traditions.
It hosts the free and meatless “Soup Supper” and “Stations of the Cross” in the church each Friday during Lent. According to Dalton Haydel, president of Catholic Hoos and second-year College student, these events serve as avenues for penance and acknowledgement of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Second-year College student Nate Bushey said he celebrates the season of Lent by spending more time in prayer, fasting in the mornings and abstaining from social media. Bushey is a member of Reformed University Fellowship, the official campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America.
As a transfer student, Bushey said that being a member and living in an RUF house allowed him to build valuable connections at the University when he arrived on Grounds.
“It's a very supportive community where we all can kind of bond over … the things we're giving up and just help each other stay focused on what we care about, which during [Lent] is focusing on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us as we lead up to Easter time,” Bushey said.
While some students have celebrated the season of Lent for their entire lives, others have drawn inspiration from their peers at the University and have begun to participate in the traditions of the season. Ashley Cryer, member of RUF and second-year College student said that she did not practice Lent growing up but has participated since joining RUF.
“I have been inspired by my friends here at U.Va. to add something to my day to engage with God rather than taking something away. For example, I have decided to add praying every night before bed to my routine, instead of giving up the usual sweet treat during the season [of Lent],” Cryer said in a statement to The Cavalier Daily.
Second-year Commerce student Ella Rackliffe is a member of Catholic Hoos, and said she has been celebrating the season of Lent by limiting her time spent on social media, refraining from eating meat on Fridays — a common practice for Catholics — and attending community events hosted by Catholic Hoos and the Parish.
“I wasn't expecting in college to really be going to church,” Rackliffe said. “But as I've become a part of this church, I've really felt like a part of the community there.”
Not only has Rackliffe found community within Catholic Hoos, but she said she has felt support from other University students as she participates in the season of Lent.
“My friends have been super supportive too which I also wasn't expecting because we all come from different backgrounds and different faiths,” Rackliffe said. “Even my friends who weren't raised Catholic have started to go to church with me … They say it means a lot to them, but to me, it means even more.”
While Rackliffe has focused on prayer, other students focus on increasing charitable efforts during the season of Lent. Haydel noted that Catholic Hoos assists with local food pantries that serve upwards of 50 families a week. Catholic Hoos also houses charitable ministries which send volunteers to assist at nursing homes and Catholic schools in the Charlottesville area.
Although these charitable efforts exist outside of the 40-day period of Lent, Haydel said that he sees the season of Lent as a time to uphold these commitments to service with greater intention.
“I would say [service matters] even more so during Lent … a lot of people think almsgiving is just the giving of money, but it's [the] giving of yourself and making a sacrifice of yourself for someone else's good,” Haydel said.
Autumn Zeoli, a member of Catholic Hoos and second-year College student, said that she enjoys spending time with Charlottesville families during Lent at the parish’s weekly soup suppers because it gives her an opportunity to interact with the greater Charlottesville community.
Zeoli reflected on her participation in the season of Lent, and said that to her, the season is more than just giving things up, such as screen time or an extra hour that could’ve been used to complete school work.
“A lot of people think that Lent is just unnecessary suffering … to rebut that idea … it's not just necessarily about mortifying yourself … but understanding the intentions behind it,” Zeoli said. “The root of all of it is love. … God doesn't want us to suffer without reason or without intention, [Lent] is about unifying ourselves to Christ.”
Another member of Catholic Hoos, fourth-year College student Stephen Wieck said that his experience with his faith has evolved during his four years at the University. Wieck said that being a part of a community like Catholic Hoos has empowered him to devote more time to the sacrifices included in the season of Lent as the semesters progressed.
“The ministry’s support and my friends sort of called me higher, [they] were very important in sort of helping me to live a better life, and a life that I am glad to have led, and I'm currently leading. It's been profoundly transformative,” Wieck said.
Ultimately, Haydel said that the season of Lent is a way to not only focus on one’s faith, but to take a step back and look at life more broadly.
“As U.Va. students, we’re often sucked into our academics to the point where we're stressed all the time, or keeping in mind the next internship or job or opportunity,” Haydel said. “I think Lent is a time just to maintain those responsibilities … but [also] to step back and evaluate where you're headed in life, remembering your own mortality, remembering the suffering in your life.”
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