The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 05, 2003, Page 7, Image 7
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The Rev. Tim Lljewski demonstrates how he wll rub ashes in the shape of a cross on the foreheads of people attending one of St. Thomas More’s three masses In honor of Ash Wednesday today.
Ash Wednesday marks beginning
of Lent, Catholic season offasting
<3Y HOLLY DUTTON
THE (IAMECOCK
Remember you are dust, and to
dust you shall return.
These words resonate today,
Ash Wednesday, in the minds of
people marked with a cross of ash
on their foreheads.
Spoken during the liturgy by a
priest, they are “meant to bring to
mind that our life is fragile,” said
the Rev. Tim Lijewski, university
chaplain and minister of St.
Thomas More, the Catholic stu
dent chapel and center for USC.
“We’ve been called to think
about how we’re living our faith
^nd what kind of disciple of Christ
^/e are being,” he said.
This day of solemnity and sim
plicity marks the beginning of the
Lent season, the season of repen
tance for Catholics.
Ash Wednesday is a mandato
ry day of fasting for Catholics, and
many choose to give up something
(or “fast” from something) during
Lent, the 40 days after Ash
Wednesday.
“Lent is a time to prepare to cel
ebrate Jesus’ resurrection and to
renew baptismal promises that
our parents make for us” as ba
bies, Lijewski said.
Lijewski has worked at the St.
Thomas Center for six years and
can often be seen around campus
walking his dog Molly — or driv
ing between USC and Columbia
College, where he also ministers.
Along with his full-time hours
during the week, he works 12 to 13
hours a day on some weekends.
He said he remembers going to
Qphrvnl oc o
on Ash
Wednesday in
Summerville.
“I would go to
school,” he said,
“and others would
ask or tell me that
I had something
on my head. I told
them it was Ash
Wednesday.”
T iiniirnlri int
ed out, however, that giving up
chocolate or alcohol is not as im
portant as the season of sacrifice
and reflection;
“A lot of Catholics will give up
something they really like,” he
“Lent is a time to
prepare to celebrate
Jesus’ resurrection and
to renew baptismal
promises that our
parents make for us.”
TIM LUEWSKI
THE REVEREND OF THE ST. THOMAS MORE
CENTER
said. They are imitating the sac
rifice that Jesus made. “What
we’re really supposed to be doing
is fast from things in our lives that
lead to sin,” he said.
Shroff,
Father
Lijewski’s
pastoral asso
ciate, agreed.
“It is a re
minder of yet
another
chance to fo
cus on the
most impor
— x a. -
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our life,” he said. “Our relation
ships with each other, especially
the poor, and our relationship
with God.”
But above all, Shroff said, it is
a reminder of God’s infinite pa
tience and love.
Although he was not born into
Catholicism, Shroff fell in love
with the Church in India. “Despite
all her warts, the good news of
God’s love for us through Jesus
Christ still shines strongly
through her,” he said.
Catholic Christians respond to
God’s love during the Lent season
through the three pillars: prayer,
fasting and almsgiving,
Lindsey Censcula, an officer in
the Catholic Newman Club said,
“I see Ash Wednesday as a
strengthening of community.”
Some Methodists and
Episcopalians celebrate the holi
day as well, though other denomi
nations do not. Lijewski com
mented on the divisiveness of the
denominations.
“I think it saddens Christ, but
it’s a part of the human condition;
we have the divisions even in our
families,” Lijewski said. “Our
church is a macrocosm of us.”
Shroff said he thinks it “has to
do with a general discomfort with
ritual, and especially visible public
ritual, in many Christian circles.”
As for ritual, the St. Thomas
Center will hold three.masses at 8
a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. today.
Anyone, regardless of denomina
tion, may accept the ash, though
it can be distributed only at a ser
vice at which the liturgy is read.
Lijewski had to explain this once
to a female student five years ago.
“She had been sunbathing and
came by right after the 12:15 mass
ended, with her bathing suit un
der her T-shirt and asked me to
‘ash her,’ ” he said.
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Purim celebrates charity
of God to Jewish people
BY HILARY SCHRAMM
THE l.'AMECOCK
To most, sunset means the end o
a day. But as the sun sets on Marc!
17, Jewish students across campu
will begin celebrating the Jewish hoi
|(>lay of Purim.
r j
TOP 10
These were the most requested
songs on USC’s student radio
station from Feb.24 to March 2.
1. “GIVE UP”
__Postal Service
2. “DANCE”
____Keller Williams
3. “A LOTTO FORGET”
_Subsonics
4. “NOCTURAMA”
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
5. “A PROMISE”
__Xiu Xiu
6. “UNDER THE TRAY”
Reggie and the Full Effect
^“SUNSHINE HIT ME”
A Band of Bees
8. “MORE PARTS PER MILLION”
Thermals
9. “IFI HAD MY WAY”
, Rev. Gaty Davis
10. “EQUILIBRIUM"
Matthew Shipp
Lasting until sundown on
March 18, the holiday includes a
service in the synagogue, special
f food, costumes and parties,
i The history of Purim is the sto
» ry of Esther, a Jewish heroine,
- and her cousin Mordecai, who
raised her. Long ago, the adviser
to the Persian king had a person
al vendetta against the Jews liv
ing and prospering in his land.
This adviser, Haman, issued a de
cree that all the Jews in the land
would be killed in one day.
His plan was stopped when a
beautiful Jewish girl named
Esther caught the king’s atten
tion. Esther became queen and
used her royal power to save all
the Jews in the kingdom.
Because Purim is a celebra
tion about this rescue from near
ruin, some Jews observe the Fast
of Esther the day before Purim
begins. This serves as a remem
brance of the danger their an
cestors faced and the deliverance
their God offered.
After the fast, Purim begins
with a service in the synagogue
commemorating its history.
Esther’s story is chanted from a
scroll called the megillah. At each
mention of Haman, the congre
gation spins noisemakers called
groggers to show its disapproval.
“We read the scroll of Esther
to remember the salvation and
miracle of the reversal of the de
cree,” said Keith Brill, president
of the USC Jewish organization
Hillel. “We also dress up in cos
tumes. This is symbolic because
the miracle was disguised, and
the reason it happened wasn’t
readily apparent.”
Many festivities follow the
service. Celebrators bake cook
ies called hamantashen, or hats
of Haman, and give them to
friends and family. Jews ex
change gifts called shalach-man
ot with neighbors and family.
These gifts are an important
symbol of friendship and unity,
the focus of Purim.
Because of the charity of God,
Esther and the king, charity is
an important part of Purim.
Jews are encouraged to give at
least two gifts to the needy.
Many students across campus
will be celebrating Purim with
Hillel. Some students will begin
the holiday with a reading of
Esther’s story, while others will
join them later for an addition
al, more secular celebration.
“Often, what we find is that
it’s difficult for Jewish students
to come together with other
Jews,” Brill said. “Our goal is to
accommodate both secular and
religious Jews, making everyone
feel included.”
Hillel’s primary focus is to pro
vide Jewish students with a
framework for Jewish life on cam
pus. It provides students with op
portunities to socialize, serve in
the community, listen to speakers
and take part in religious events.
Many students consider Hillel an
important part of their faith jour
ney while at the university.
So many students come to
USC with a strong faith and
background in Judaism and
have lost it by the time they
leave,” said Rachel Rosansky,
vice president of Hillel. “Hillel
helps students keep that Jewish
identity.” A
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Muslims make journey
to streets of Mecca
BY COREY GARRIOTT
THE GAMECOCK
Two million people travel to
Saudi Arabia every year to sweat
in the streets of Mecca. En masse,
they circle a monument while ex
horting to God, trek across the
desert, pray in a camp, then re
turn to hurl stones at a symbolic
pillar and circle the monument
once again.
This Hajj, the Islamic pilgrim
age, comes but once a year.
“Islam connects the Hajj with
the prophet Abraham,” said
Sheima Salam, a Muslim repre
sentative on the USC Interfaith
Council. As in Christianity, God
commanded Abraham to sacri
fice his only son, Ishmael (Isaac
in the Bible). Abraham chose to
do his duty and prepared to de
stroy his greatest worldly love,
only to be stopped at the last mo
ment by God.
Muslims must make the trip
at least once in their lifetime,
barring physical or financial
mishap. Muslims who did not go
this year participated in Eid al
Adha, a celebration that culmi
nates the Hajj on Feb. 23.
“I went to prayer in the morn
ing at 8,” said Ali Syed, president
of the USC Muslim Student
Association. “Usually, it’s a day
full of meeting with other
Muslims in the community, go
ing to their houses and having
lunch and dinner together.”
Muslims who did brave the in
ternational flights and intense
Saudi border controls (Hajj visi
— i ”
tors even had to leave their pass
ports at the airport this year)
probably arrived at or around
Feb. 13. On that day begins the
lunar month of Zhul-Hijjah, and
a 12-day countdown.
“The Hajj is traveling to
Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, and vis
iting a holy shrine called the
Ka’bah,” Salam said.
Muslims believe it was built
by the prophet Adam, from the
Garden of Eden, and later rebuilt
by the prophet Abraham.
“It reminds me that I have to
put God first in my life, just as
Abraham did,” she said.
On the eighth day, the pil
grims begin an ancient routine.
After walking around the
♦ MUSLIM, SEE PAGE 8
.
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Around the world, Muslims gather at local mosques to celebrate Eld, commemorating the
prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to prove his devotion to God.