Nine-year-old Joseph Keating won't be playing his Xbox game system for the next few weeks.

Although it sounds like punishment to most children, the St. Anthony Tri-Parish School student decided to make the personal sacrifice during Lent.

Christians all over the world marked the start of the 40-day Lenten season on Ash Wednesday by attending worship services and being blessed on the forehead with ashes. The holy season ends with Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Casper, students at St. Anthony's attended an Ash Wednesday Mass where they celebrated the start of the holy season by reflecting on their own lives, fasting and making personal sacrifices.

Students like Keating said they want to make a sacrifice because that's what Jesus did.

"It's a time to pray and it means to me that you give up something important," Keating said after Mass.

Keating said he chose his Xbox because he plays it a lot and it will be challenging to give up. In the past, the third-grader successfully has given up ice cream and candy.

Emily Cetak, 13, and Pete Arndt, 12, both seventh-graders, said Lent is a special time of the year because of what Jesus did.

"We're giving up something for Jesus like he gave up for us," Cetak said.

Arndt said Lent helps prepare people for the celebration of Easter.

"It helps us see what Jesus went through," Arndt said.

Cetak said she's giving up fighting with her sister. She doesn't feel it will be a problem because the two are getting older and can relate better to each other. In the past, she's successfully given up candy and other treats. Arndt also is giving up candy this year like he's done previously.

The Rev. Mike Carr, pastor of St. Anthony's, said during his homily that all are welcome to the church during the Lenten season.

"Lent is a time to think and reflect," he said, adding that it's also about being a better Christian and a better person.

For Christians, the 40 days of Lent is symbolic of the time Jesus spent in the desert fasting.

"It's a call to all to renew their Christian lives," Carr said.

During the holy season, Catholics also have to refrain from eating meat on Fridays leading up to Easter, including Good Friday. They also couldn't eat meat on Ash Wednesday. Carr said the practice of giving something up is designed to get people thinking about what they have.

"It's to remind them of the goodness of God and that we should all be grateful with the blessings we have," Carr said.

Reporter Aimee Tabor can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or aimee.tabor@casperstartribune.net.