c. 2007 Religion News Service

CLEVELAND _ Philip Horvath says it is not easy to walk by Wendy’s on his way home from school and not go in. That’s why the eighth-grader at St. Christine Catholic Church in Euclid, Ohio, gave up fast food for Lent.

“I think of God,” Philip said. “He gave up his life and body for us to live.”

If you think separating a teenager from fast food is a challenge, consider the temptations that Kathy Sekerak, who gave up baked goods for Lent, faces in her job at St. Edward High School in Lakewood.

“I’m the cookie maker, the cake baker, the pie maker, and I love to lick the bowls when I’m done,” she said.

How does the Clevelander handle being so close to so much forbidden pastry?

Every morning, she said, “I send up a little prayer: `Help me get through this day.”’

Each generation embraces different sacrifices for Lent. Comic books, radio programs and the long-departed 5-cent Hershey’s chocolate bar are being replaced by video games, digital cable and surfing the Internet.

But the practice of sacrificing something for Lent is one discipline many Christians are not giving up.

Some church leaders are even discovering a slight increase in the practice among young adults, who find secular and spiritual benefits in trying to simplify their lives.

The Rev. Andrew Harmon of St. Matthew the Evangelist Orthodox Church in North Royalton said an increase in religious education and a desire to grow in spiritual and personal self-discipline is leading more people to follow the strict Orthodox Lenten practice of giving up meat, dairy and eggs.

“The younger the person, the more likely they are following it all the way through,” Harmon said, “or following it nearly all the way through.”

There is a strong biblical base for fasting, particularly during the 40 days of Lent leading to the celebration of Easter. Both Orthodox and Western Christian churches will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 8.

Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights, according to the Gospels. In the Book of Acts, disciples made decisions after fasting and praying. By the fourth century, Christians were fasting weekly, some scholars say.

The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches continue to have fasting rules during Lent.

But as a result of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the Catholic Church has shifted its approach toward more personal responses to penitential practices.

Catholics were encouraged to substitute a meaningful act of penance as an alternative to not eating meat on Fridays year-round. The church still asks Catholics not to eat meat on Fridays during Lent and to fast _ eating only one full meal _ on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. But that is meant only as a minimum response to the call for additional prayer, fasting and acts of charity during the period before Easter.

Instead of giving up food or television, some people spend more time in spiritual or charitable activities.

One woman said on a recent Friday at St. Christine _ young Philip’s parish in Euclid _ that she has made more of an effort to go to church daily during Lent. Josephine Strauss joked that her options for giving up something are limited. “I don’t drink or smoke or any of that good stuff,” she said.

Others take a similar approach. Helen Miscovitz of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland said her goal this Lent “is to be more loving and accepting and not sit in judgment.”

But the penitential discipline of self-sacrifice is still valued and is even experiencing a revival in other Christian denominations.

While Protestants once looked down on fasting as a Catholic practice, more Christian groups are adopting the discipline as they rediscover its biblical roots.

In interviews, many faithful said acts of self-denial help them draw closer to God and make them more aware of the needs of others.

Dana Heil, director of parish life at St. Christine, has given up eating between meals and is doing more spiritual reading and attending mission events.

Acts of self-denial not only help her think more about Jesus when she is tempted to snack, but also are important counter-cultural statements of faith in what can be “a pretty selfish society,” she said.

Jose Rivera, a senior at Padua Franciscan High School in Parma, Ohio, leads a prayer service every Friday during Lent in which students are encouraged to give their lunch money to charity.

“It’s a way of reflecting your unity with a population that is less fortunate than you are,” he said.

Sekerak understands.

The baker who enjoys sampling her creations said sacrificing something meaningful during Lent allows her to be more sensitive to the suffering of others. “It helps me to be able to be a better person,” she said.

Just don’t stand between Sekerak and the sink when the cake goes in the oven, and there is leftover batter staring up at her.

“I like to get the bowl in the water as soon as possible,” she said.

(David Briggs writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.)

KRE/LF END BRIGGS

Editors: To obtain photos and an illustration to accompany this story, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

Also see related sidebar, RNS-LENT-SIDEBAR, transmitted March 26, 2007.