With nearly 700 students present, Bishop Earl Fernandes celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass at Ohio State University.
The Mass was held Feb. 22 in the Ohio Union as part of Buckeye Catholic outreach.
“The (Columbus St. Thomas More) Newman Center has been holding Mass at the Ohio Union for a few years now, but it is an effort to bring Mass to campus and encourage students to attend and learn more about Buckeye Catholic, as this is the most attended Mass of the year,” said Sarah Lightle, communications associate at the Newman Center.
Buckeye Catholic, headquartered at the Newman Center near Ohio State, is a diocesan-led mission for the evangelization of young adults.
Students said they enjoyed having Buckeye Catholic on campus to celebrate Mass.
“I think having Mass on campus is so cool – like Jesus is actually on campus,” said Megan Gifford, a sophomore at Ohio State. “That is amazing.”
During the Mass, Bishop Fernandes spoke of Lent as the beginning of a campaign of Christian service.
“We are beginning a 40-day campaign – a pilgrimage, a journey,” he said.
The bishop connected the Christian campaign to Luke Chapter 15, in which Jesus tells the story of the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to find the lost one, and the prodigal son who returns to his father.
“Our 40 days of Lent can be spent on pilgrimage to our Father’s house,” he said.
The bishop said that the pilgrimage requires leaving a land of sin and desolation and journeying toward the Father’s house, where there is a sense of belonging.
“We are armed with the weapons of self-restraint in the spiritual battle,” Bishop Fernandes said.
The bishop spoke of prayer, fasting and almsgiving as the weapons of spiritual warfare.
Fasting, he said, is more than abstaining from food. It is a self-restraint of speech and can include being more patient with others’ faults.
“We can satiate the belly but still be hungry. We need a different type of nourishment,” Bishop Fernandes said.
The bishop said that almsgiving involves acting on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy and being mercy-minded. Prayer, he said, is speaking to God as a friend and being alone with the Father.
“God speaks to us in a whisper,” Bishop Fernandes said, emphasizing the importance of spending time in silence to hear the Father’s voice.
Some students said that they plan to put Bishop Fernandes’ call to prayer into action.
“I’m really focusing on praying every day – personal prayer,” Gifford said. “A relationship is something where you have to stay in communication with each other. To have a relationship with God, you have to stay in communication with Him and talk to Him and listen to what He has to say. Prayer is the way to do that.”
The bishop encouraged students to use the weapons of self-restraint – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – in the spiritual battle against evil.
“This is the acceptable time; this is the day of salvation,” he said, recalling the words of St. Paul in the Mass’ second reading from 2 Corinthians. “Jesus embraces us with mercy if we would but believe in Him.”
Students present at the Mass said they enjoyed having the bishop on campus.
“It’s the love that not only he has as a man, but also him being an in-person representation of God,” said Gabbie Phillips, a Columbus State Community College student who came to the Ohio Union for the Mass. “It’s God’s love funneling through him. You can’t listen to his homilies and not feel so much love.”
She said that she is open to letting God lead her during Lent.
“I really feel on my heart that I want to let Him lead me wherever He wants to lead me,” Phillips said. “I am going to be giving more time to Him. I am going to be fasting a lot. I just want Him to take over.
“That’s my goal for this Lenten season.”
