For Catholics, Lent is a time of abstinence and personal reflection in preparation for Easter. The 40 day period of Lent (which does not include Sundays) is symbolic of the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent praying and fasting in the desert before starting his ministry. This year, in the Ukrainian Catholic faith, Lent begins on February 15 and ends on April 3, which is the day before Easter.

At IHMS, the 2010 theme for Lent is:

Every year, the students of IHMS observe the season of Lent with a different Christian service project. For this year’s project, the school will be collecting money for the Redemptorist Fathers in Haiti. St. Gerard Church, a Redemptorist church located on a steep hill in Port au Prince, is now a pile of bricks and metal after collapsing during the January 12th earthquake. The parish’s school crumpled as well, entombing the bodies of several hundred students and teachers within the rubble. In order to help the Redemptorists rebuild their school, each IHMS student is asked to contribute $2 towards this cause.

Students are asked to donate $2 to Haiti

In addition, the students of IHMS had a prayer service on Wednesday, February 17 in the school gym. It included a passage from the Gospel of Matthew (which the grade 2 students read and the grade 4 students recited from memory) and a “Stations of the Cross” prayer service (which the grade 1 students introduced and the grade 3 students read).

Students gathered in the gym for the February 17th Lenten service

The liturgical season of Lent is an important part of school life at IHMS. Focusing on people less fortunate than ourselves helps us to prepare for Easter. It gives us the opportunity to improve ourselves and become more aware of our relationship with God. This is what Lent is all about - it helps us to become better people.