The USC Caruso Catholic Center gave out ashes and held mass on March 5 for Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the Christian period of Lent.
On Ash Wednesday, observants' foreheads are marked with a cross made of ashes, to represent scripture that says, “from dust you came, to dust you will return.”
“We have a saying called ‘Memento Mori,’ and it’s a reminder that we always die,” said USC grad student Gabriella Bernal. “But because of Christ, we know that death is no longer victorious, that He conquered death, so we do have eternal life with Him”
Many people also sacrifice something that brings them pleasure. David Esquivel, a student working at the Caruso Center, focuses on improvement.
“I think really teaches you the important things in front of you, right?” said Esquivel. “I think through some sort of, maybe I don’t want to say necessarily, pain or suffering, but whenever you make some sort of sacrifice, it really teaches you what you value.”
Others have more personal reasons for celebrating, particularly on USC’s campus, such as Sahara Melinauskas.
“Lent is just a time for me to just like really reflect and grow closer to God. And kind of being at college, I wanted to, like, continue that growth and not just stop, because my family is not there to do it with me,” she said. “And honestly, I feel like doing it on my own and not led by my mom, has kind of allowed me to grow deeper with my faith.”
The holiday comes at a particularly tumultuous time in the Catholic faith, with Pope Francis being in the hospital for over a month for double-pneumonia. He was unable to attend the Vatican’s Ash Wednesday ceremony this morning.
“Of course, anyone being in the hospital is really sad, but when it’s the Pope, it’s kind of a bigger deal because he kind of leads the church,” said USC student Katherine Torres. “So it’s really just a reminder to take nothing for granted... So I’m just really grateful to be here, and I’m praying for the Pope to get better.”
Others echo these sentiments, feeling the Pope’s absence on this year’s event.
“If I’m with my grandma, because she’s down in the SoCal area as well, if I’m visiting her on Sundays, we’ll typically watch like, she’ll like, pre record the Vatican Mass,” said Melinauskas. “We’ll watch it together... I also watched it kind of as a kid sometimes. So it does feel like something’s kind of missing in a way.”
But their faith hasn’t stopped, with members of the community choosing to give up something pleasurable for Lent. Ironically, Kayla Edwards, a Dulce employee, will be giving up the very things she serves.
“I’m giving up sugar, coffee and processed sugar, and that sucks,” said Edwards. “I work at a coffee shop, so I’ve taken and I’ve drinking way too much coffee last year and this year combined”
Others like Bernal have a set schedule for Lent.
“So this year, I’m actually doing Fiat 40,” she said. “It’s focused on prayer, like having morning prayer, night prayer, a daily rosary, things like no gossiping, no TV... So that’s something I’m doing, along with giving up makeup. I’m giving up makeup. It does take time in the morning and such, but I think it really brings out that natural beauty that God has given me and has given all of us.”
Meanwhile, Esquivel plans to watch his language in this period of fasting.
“Yeah, I’m giving up a couple of things,” he said. “My first one is gonna be curse words. I think I curse a lot, so I think curse words is a good one. You know, I think I put a lot of negative energy out into the world with some of my language. So I think that’s one of them. I’m also be gonna be giving up Instagram and also all forms of social media. I think I have a slight dopamine addiction, so just giving that up would be nice.”
The Caruso Catholic Center hosted Mass at 12:10 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. with one more planned at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.