Viet Nguyen
      On any regular day at the University of Illinois of Chicago, you will see this campus filled with the 20,000+ students during passing periods or when you eating at the various dinning locations on campus, but on February 17, 2010, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, the feeling is much different. I am usually at the John Paul II Newman Center every day, participating in bible study, daily mass, various weekly events, or just hanging out. On this day it was a sight to see, because you could see hundreds of individuals rushing to the Newman Center for one of the five Masses offered that day.. What makes this day one of my favorite days in the year is walking around campus and seeing people with ashes on their foreheads, people I never knew were Catholic. Also it is amazing that Ash Wednesday is one of the most attended Masses even though it isn’t a Holy Day of Obligation. This is one day that I am extremely proud to be a Catholic. On this day, we all receive ashes on our foreheads and walk out into this secular world. Without saying a word everyone knows who we are and what we believe. We are all spreading the word of Christ by just living out our daily lives, because every time someone sees ashes it reminds them of Christ. I think that this is just awesome and at the end of the day it makes me so excited for next year. We could be criticized for having such a distinct mark on our heads, but it warms my heart to see so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ join me on this day and on this day you will really see that this is one of the largest youth ministries in the Midwest.
      Also on this day we were blessed to have Cardinal Francis George lead the 5:15 mass here at the Newman Center. I was also given the privilege to be one of the five servers of the Cardinal at Mass. I was the croiser, the one who would holds the cardinal’s staff. It was a real experience serving the Cardinal especially as the crosier. Hearing the Cardinal preach was heartwarming, but watching him pray up there was an experience in itself. Sitting right next to the Cardinal and watching him pray in such a way that it seems as if it drains his energy to the point that the crosier is the only thing that is keeping him up. Not only did he say Mass, but he also stayed for pizza and a fireside chat. Being blessed with so much time with the Cardinal really showed that the Cardinal cares very much for the youth.
Viet Nguyen, Sophomore, Psychology