Staying Sober! No Soro, No Dukhra Mass- Christians Giving Up Alcohol/Meat during Lent
Staying Sober! No Soro (No Alcohol), No Dukhra Mass (No Pork)- Christians Giving Up Alcohol and Meat during Lent
Mangaluru: If Muthappa Shetty and Dinesh “Dinnumam” Shenoy are just wondering how come their Catholic friends Antony D’souza and Samuel Jacobs have stopped drinking alcohol and consuming meat all of a sudden since yesterday? The answer is that they are strictly following the Lent which came into force on 14 February, also being an Ash Wednesday. Christians around the world marked the beginning of Lent with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. This ancient day and season has a surprising modern appeal. Perhaps most notable is the act of fasting. While Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during the Lenten season, many people—religious or not—take up this increasingly popular discipline during the year. Why give up meat or alcohol for Lent? During Lent Catholics give up meat in an act of self-discipline, while other Christians and Catholics may choose to give up alcohol during this special religious period, but what is the reason behind the abstention?
Lent, where Catholics practice various acts of penitence and spiritual self-discipline during the 46 days leading up to Easter, began yesterday (February 14). One of those disciplines is for Catholics under the age of 14 and until death to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent in honour of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. This law is more lenient compared to centuries ago when Catholics had to avoid consuming meat on all Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays during Lent. The rule was relaxed in 1966, with the blessing of Pope Paul VI, so meat would only be prohibited on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays of the Lenten season.
Catholics are obligated to observe this fast as a minimum, but they can make stricter rules for themselves if they wish. The reason for Catholics to abstain from eating meat on Fridays is to remind them that Jesus died on Friday and he gave up his body (his flesh) and for Catholics to attain greater communion with Christ, they refrain from consuming flesh. There are exceptions for people who are ill, pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. Meat has been singled out to abstain from because it is associated with celebrations and feasts, however, there are varying definitions over what is defined as abstinence from meat.
In some regions of the world, Catholics abstain from all meat and all animals products, whereas others make exceptions for fish. Many people choose to give something up during this special religious period, and giving up alcohol is a popular practice. Fasting means only having one full meal and two smaller meals, fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and for Catholics between the age of 18 and 59.
The fast is broken by eating meals and by drinks which could be considered food, such as milkshakes. Alcoholic beverages do not break the fast, however, they seem to be contrary to the spirit of doing penance. However, Christians and Catholics may choose to give up the vice of drinking alcohol as it does not adhere to the values of Lent of prayer, penance, repentance and self-denial.
But Pope Francis has asked Catholics to reconsider the heart of this activity this Lenten season. Lent is a good time for penance and self-denial. But once again, Pope Francis has reminded that these activities must truly enrich others: “I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.” So, if Catholics are going to fast from anything this Lent, Pope Francis suggests that even more than candy or alcohol, they fast from indifference towards others. In his annual Lenten message, the pope writes, “Indifference to our neighbour and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience.”
Describing this phenomenon he calls the globalization of indifference, Pope Francis writes that “whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
Inputs from: Catholic.org
Fasting during lent and giving Up Alcohol/Meat during Lent is good. But at the same time leading a true christian life throughout is more important and pleasing God than these small sacrifices. In our community we often see, during lent people fast, stopping gossiping and at the same time tell everyone around during lent we had only vegetables and fish. Rest of the year, try your best to ruin other peoples life, gossip about others, create problems between husband/ wife /in-laws. This is the typical Mangalorean story.