Lent at SXU

By Mark Piper

As we continue our march towards the middle of the semester – the time of the year when we’re too far from the beginning to look back and yet too far from the end to see light, the spring semester offers a few milestones. The first, Spring Break, is now only a week and a half away. The second, midterms, which for me are happening this and next week. The third milestone, as our sunless days seem to be getting slightly longer every day, is the season of Lent.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Church’s liturgical season of Lent; a time of prayer, penance and fasting. Ashes are available at 8 a.m., noon and 4:30 p.m.in the Mercy Ministry Center. While I recognize that not all SXU students are Catholics (which seems appropriate given our core value of Diversity), this day and this season brings a manifestation of the Mission Statement for all SXU Students.

The Mission Statement reads “Saint Xavier University, a Catholic Institution, Inspired by the Heritage of the Sisters of Mercy, educates men and women to, search for truth, to think critically, to communicate effectively and to serve wisely and compassionately in support of human dignity and the common good.”

While we embrace diversity, we also concurrently uphold the “search for truth” for all students, no matter who they are. It is my understanding that the search for truth may be centered in academics and curriculum in the classroom, but it is also ubiquitous. I think the point of our education here is to always search for truths in our world.
Lent reminds me of some certain truths for college students:

1. I wish I would have taken the concept of fasting a little more seriously to help many of my friends and myself better avoid the freshman fifteen (or sophomore 20).
2. Perhaps it is appropriate to pray, not just in a feverish and begging-for-mercy fashion five minutes before an exam, but more often and more contemplatively to help slow down the ever-so-fast speed of college life.
3. Penance is an aspect of college life that I think can be practiced diversely and that would make college a lot easier for us all. We’re here to learn and strive for excellence, but we 18-22 year olds are prone to make mistakes, errors and bad decisions. I think that to help move on from these inevitable situations, and make them far more valuable and learning experiences we ought to practice a little more penance.
   

Whatever your background, or the rhyme or reason for this spring season, it seems a good time to evaluate where we are, who we are and where we’re going. So in this lens perhaps, Lent comes around at just the right time for us students.

Mark Piper is a senior political science major with a minor in pastoral ministry. He is from Stoughton, WI and is president of the Student Government Association. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.