I've been asked to keep my remarks brief, though there is an awful lot that I want to say. With my few minutes, I will pose a question to you all: what is Lent? Lent is more than a mere precursor to the Easter season. Lent is a time to come together around Christ and his struggle. When we were younger, we were told that Lent was a time to give up something we enjoyed; of course, we always ended up giving up going to school and taking showers. Well, we're about to break free from the chains of nonage, so it is time to begin celebrating Lent as Christians and not as children. It is time to address the core elements of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Prayer may seem somewhat inescapable here at Malden Catholic. We start each day with a prayer; I find myself praying before almost every class. Is it enough to pray only at school? Many Christians pray only when it is convenient. During Lent, each of us should take one mere minute out of our day to thank God for the blessings of our lives. Prayer should not be regarded as an aggravation or a chore. We should embrace prayer as individuals in the same way we embrace prayer as a community.

Fasting and almsgiving should also be part of our Lenten activities. We should give of ourselves generously, in both our time and our efforts. We should moderate our vices in life that hold us back from being true followers of Christ. Furthermore, in accordance with the Gospel, we should keep all of this between ourselves as individuals and God. We should not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing, as Matthew wrote.

Most of what I have said probably sounds rather frustrating. Lent is, at its root, a time of celebration. We should celebrate as a community and as Christians. We should reflect on our own lives and figure out what needs to change in order to become better people. We need to take dead aim on our problems, get them in the crosshairs, and take them down.

Many of you probably won't take much from this reflection, so I'll tell you what Lent means to me. Lent is a time of the year to regroup. Lent is a very positive thing. It reminds me of how Jesus suffered and died for us, for you, and for me. During Lent this year, I will try to be more giving of what I have to try to work towards social justice. A worthy goal for many of us is mending our relationship with God, who, despite his invisible nature, is with those who believe in Him every day.

Still, we must work towards the practical goals in life. We mustn't let Lent become a burden. We tend to act in our own self-interests. Lent is a great time to attempt to overcome those aspects of human nature that keep us from being more like Christ.

I'll wrap up with this: if the motion picture Rushmore taught me one thing, it is that the secret in life is "to find something you love to do and to do it for the rest of your life." For most of us, what we love and what we do for the rest of our life aren't the same. Lent should serve as a time to reflect on how we want to spend the rest of our lives. What we can do now, as teenagers who attend one of the best schools in the country – a school with a great sense of community – is to take advantage of this. Lent is our time to make things right with those around us, with God, and with ourselves. Lent is not a burden; it is a time to make things right before we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. "Your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you." Make the most of this time. Mend deteriorating relationships, and tell someone that they are beautiful. Improve your life by improving someone else's. If you do your part during Lent, I can assure you that God will do His.