IT’S THE Lent season again – a time for reflecting and fasting. But despite the pandemic, I’m sure people are booking rooms in resorts to stay in for Holy Week.
When I was younger, I had family members spending the whole week in a beach resort. Occasionally, they would invite me over.
I observed how they would treat Holy Week like a vacation. We would relax and party on the beach.
Sure, we wouldn’t eat meat, but it would be “compensated” by an overflow of seafood. It was almost like we were eating at a Surf n’ Turf buffet.
It came to a point that my conservative and religious grandmother forbade me from joining them since the way they spent Holy Week wasn’t “sacred”.
I remember feeling like they were scandalous sinners. Then, little by little, I saw that more people were doing the same thing they did. Black Friday had the same feeling as noche buena, but for seafood.
The practices of Lent have become like a trend among people. You have celebrities being glorified over the ways they “observe” Holy Week. Their lavish seafood menu, trendy liquid diets or luxurious retreat houses.
The number of people who still keep Lent “sacred” is getting fewer. The Church views this as a huge problem.
To be honest though, what has strictly-observed Lent practices gotten us? You have people who fast, do the stations of the cross, and stay silent the whole week. However, once Lent is over they continue with their gossip, their corruption, and their oppressive attitude.
It makes you realize how pointless strictly observing the practices can be when you can´t maintain the values you’re supposed to learn. Lent has become a trend now, but it seems it has been a trend ever since, just to a different degree.
So, just like Valentine’s Day, overdoing it on Lent is impractical. It is better to be a little good every day than to act like a saint for a week but throw it away after Easter Sunday.
I am not very strict in observing Lent practices, so my claims are from what I see in society. Others may disagree with me, even call me a heretic, but you can’t deny that there have always been a lot of people who lead questionable lives. Most of these people strictly follow church rites and the sacraments. Don’t you think it´s ironic?
Anyways, I don’t expect the trend of how Lent is being celebrated to end soon. People are changing their mindset and their approach to church teachings. Contrary to popular belief, maybe that isn’t all that bad./PN
