MADISON — As Lent begins, we again focus on the three pillars of the Lenten journey: fasting, praying, and almsgiving.
Even before I cared or knew much about fasting and prayer, I understood the necessity of assisting those in need, including material donations or acts of service. I felt compelled to serve others and that eventually taught me how to serve God and discover His will and plan for my life.
Called to serve the needy
Throughout Scripture we are called to serve the needy in charity. In the book of James we are told, “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I was involved in and benefited from service work and a variety of other programs at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center. It is because of these experiences that I am now an intern at St. Paul’s.
I work to coordinate service events for students, so that they too can learn to give of themselves through service and experience the realities of both spiritual and physical poverty.
