Could you do this?:
Ice cream, fast food, coffee and candy are popular examples of sacrifices that Roman Catholics take on during Lent. But seldom do Catholics think to take the challenge of abstaining from the one thing they feel they can’t live without these days – their cell phone. As part of a new campaign launched by the Archdiocese of Hartford, the next generation of Catholics is embracing the challenge of “fasting” from their phones on two important holy days: Ash Wednesday – March 1 – and on Good Friday, April 14. “Lent is about making time for God and making time for each other,” Clara Mund, a junior at East Catholic High School in Manchester, said Tuesday. “Disconnecting … is probably going to be hard for a lot of people, but I think it’s important because sometimes we’re too reliant on technology and we have to remember there’s other ways of communicating with people.”
All 648 students at East Catholic High School in Manchester will be encouraged to participate this year. Students will receive a purple sticker with the phrase, “I Phone Fast! Will u?” before the 9:30 a.m. Mass Wednesday, said interim principal and chief administrator Thomas E. Maynard, and again before Good Friday. Maynard added the campaign will be used as an educational opportunity. There will be a bulletin board depicting a “path to Easter,” where students will pin up examples of what other activities they could do if they are not on their phones. “We’re not trying to replace almsgiving and fasting and prayer, but just adding something that perhaps the children can relate to a little more,” he said.
Photo: Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant
And today we celebrate...
