By Zoebelle Bean, Catholic editor
Exodus90 (left) and Genesis90 (right) posters in the AB building – Photo by Zoebelle Bean
Exodus90 and Genesis90, 73-day programs of prayer, community and sacrifice, have begun on Aquinas’ campus led by Brother Andrés alongside the St. Benedict Institute at Hope College. These programs are being conducted by Campus Ministry due to the need seen among young adults for a more intensive way of preparing one’s heart for the Lord and seeing His works come to fruition.
On Feb. 12, nine women and eight men signed up and began this program together. They formed communities of four or five people to engage with on a weekly basis and assigned individual accountability partners within those groups to have daily check-ins. Through this program, these men and women hope to accomplish the goal of coming closer to both Jesus Christ and each other to be more generous, wholesome Christians.
Though they are similar in many aspects (such as not eating any sweet treats, working out three times a week, and praying every day) they are different in other key aspects because men and women are inherently different and they each have different vices they struggle with. Exodus90 is a program for men and includes different sacrifices such as taking cold showers, fasting twice a week, and giving up unnecessary, large purchases. Genesis90 is for women and includes not spending money on beauty products, not gossiping or complaining, and fasting on Fridays.
“Through times of fasting, we are not shown our holiness, but rather our shortcomings of sainthood,” sophomore Noah Morris said. “We are also reminded that there is only one Who is eternal perfection…to be a saint is to seek forgiveness and to try again; such is the nature of Lent.”
After the first week of the program, some people have found some difficulty with these sacrifices so far, but great reward because of it. “It has been difficult giving up conveniences and entertainment that I use on a daily basis,” freshman Trista Cridler said. “But in giving these things up, my prayer life has greatly improved. I’ve also spent a lot more time on hobbies that I love…which I haven’t spent as much time on in the last few years because of the distraction of social media.”
The Genesis90 guidebook – Photo by Zoebelle Bean
Both of these programs aim to achieve this goal by a series of requirements and sacrifices, to both give up bad habits for the Lord and also take on some good habits in their place. The most important of these good habits is prayer, of which both programs require a minimum of 20 minutes everyday in a very intentional way. “The sacrificial dimension focuses on addressing the common distractions of people in our time,” Brother Andrés said, “and so participants are required to…abstain from using any form of media that would be easy to binge on such as [social media,] TV, YouTube, Netflix, etc.”The participants must also exercise three times per week, not snack between meals and get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. This helps the participants to develop habits to make them healthy men and women.
The accountability aspect in the small groups also helps the participants build authentic connections. “[This] is often sorely lacking in our current time where virtual and relatively impersonal interactions…have taken the place of face-to-face, person-to-person interactions,” Brother Andrés said.
At the end of the Easter Octave, when the programs end, the goal is to have men and women who are more aware of themselves and more of who God wants them to be. Being proactive about a prayerful life, through moderation and temperance, will help the participants come to understand asceticism in the Church more fully and reject the devil more often, while growing in relationship and human connection.
The Saint 