Caleb Patterson (The Beacon)
By Caleb Patterson, Guest Commentary
If you have ever been to Mass, on campus or off, and weren't Catholic, you have probably experienced the part when they get to distributing Communion (walking down the aisle to drink from a cup and eat some thin wafers) and have been one of the only ones left out. As someone who is not Catholic, it's one of the only times that I stick out in Mass. Although I am not Catholic, I look forward to Easter and Lent. I want to encourage others to participate in Lent as Easter draws near.
What is Lent? The traditional purpose of Lent is a 40-day period of preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, repentance, penance, financial giving and self-denial.
Lent is not just a custom; it's a good idea. Lent is about bettering your life. You don't even have to believe in God to appreciate the benefits. If you don't recognize Jesus as Savior of the world, then realize he was a good person. This year it so happens that if you can make it from St. Valentine's Day to Easter Break, then you will have survived Lent.
Webster defines repentance as a deep sorrow for a past wrongdoing, or the like. I don't know about you, but I have to admit I'm not perfect. Repentance offers a great avenue to review past wrongs and be sorry about them. It's good for all of us, regardless of religious standing.
Penance is best described as a sort of punishment undergone for wrongdoing with the intention of changing. Usually penance is advised by someone else but can be self-inflicted. The key to penance is that it is a form of physically carrying out repentance.
Financial giving is pretty obvious. If you're the typical broke college student, the idea is that you put your money where your mouth is, literally.
Self-denial, the giving-something-up part of Lent. Specifically, it's giving up something that is not necessary to your life or even potentially harmful. Examples of things like smoking, chewing gum, drinking soda, or eating at the Commons come to mind. Self-denial could be as simple as giving up just one thing that seems to be ruling your life, like coffee, or as complex as many things, say for example, only eating vegetables and drinking water while giving up everything else. The self-denial doesn't even need to be something physical; in my own case, I plan to give up something more intellectual. Examples would be foul language or Facebook, but seriously we're still friends, so please keep in touch.
What are the benefits of participating in Lent?
A healthier life - You need calories and water to survive, but what form they take should be healthy for you. Say if you give up something physical like soda or eating at the Commons.
Hopefully, a better way of life - Just think, if you can live without something for a few weeks, you quickly begin to realize just how nonessential something truly is.
A more full life - Imagine if you give up TV and instead concentrated on other things like homework, friends or intramural sports. There is so much that you can discover.
Please consider participating in Lent, not because it's a Catholic thing, but because it's a good idea. Lent is a tool to self-improvement.
Caleb Patterson is a senior civil engineering major. He can be reached at patterca10@up.edu.
