Food for thought at Lent

GIVING up social media site Facebook for Lent was top of the list for two James Sheahan Catholic High School students said yesterday.

The students were among 1000 people at the school hall yesterday who marked Ash Wednesday, the start of 40 days of Lent.

School captain Marcus Burrell and student Tim Collis said they would refrain from using Facebook until Lent finishes on Easter Sunday.

Father Paul Devitt held the school’s mass and said Lent is as important now as it ever was.

He said while the Catholic religion marks Lent in a bigger way than other religions, it is an occasion marked by all Christians.

“We do it bigger than others and we have the symbolism,” he said.

Father Devitt said Lent is about fasting, prayer and good work for others.

“It’s a time you take each year to examine your life and whether your life is with Christ,” he said.

Anglican Arch Deacon Frank Hetherington said Lent is just as important in the Anglican church as with any other Christian religions.

“It’s Anglican, Roman Catholic, Uniting, Lutheran and Orthodox,” he said.

He held four Lent masses across Orange and Cudal yesterday.

Arch Deacon Hetherington said while he believes Lent is as important as it ever was, it is not as observed in the secular society the world has become. 

He said Lent is a period of self-examination and prayer and marks Jesus’s journey leading up to his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

“For 40 days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and in the wilderness confronted with the forces of evil,” he said.

“In a consumer society  we’re being asked to think about what we consume,” Arch Deacon Hetherington said.

Father Devitt said Lent is not just about personal issues, it is also about family, the environmental and the government.

“It’s recognition that you’ve made a mistake, saying sorry ... then committing yourself to be the best you can,” he said.

nadine.morton@fairfaxmedia.com.au