No seafood splurge in Lent, says bishop

In this season of Lent, go easy on seafood, too.

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz gave this advice to Filipino Catholics, noting that while many of them do abstain from eating meat, some make up for it by splurging on crabs, lobsters, shrimps and other delectable marine products.

Another Church official, Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon, has another piece of advice: Why not also cut down on excessive texting?

Baylon said that in these modern times, easing up on the habit of sending text messages as well as Internet surfing— temporarily, at least—could count as a form of sacrifice in the observance of Lent.

In Europe—where meat is a major component of diet—abstinence during Lent was a big sacrifice, according to Cruz.

But the meaning has been blurred when the practice was brought to Asia, particularly the Philippines.

Now an 80-percent Roman Catholic country, the Philippines is also known as the texting capital of the world.

Fiesta time

“In the Philippines, if it’s abstinence, it’s a big feast,” Cruz said in an interview. “Fasting, abstinence is a big welcome because you can eat crabs, shrimps, etcetera.”

The retired archbishop said he was basing his advice on personal experience. When he was at the seminary and in charge of food marketing, he bought all kinds of seafood for Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.

“It was fiesta for us because then we served delicacies like crabs, shrimps. They are more delicious so it lost the sense of sacrifice of a law that was made in Europe,” Cruz said.

He suggested that the most “logical thing” to do for Lent to retain its real meaning was to eat less seafood, too.

Time for moderation

During Lent, a 40-day preparation for the death and eventual resurrection of Jesus Christ, the faithful are expected to exercise moderation.

Cruz said there were other ways to observe fasting and abstinence not only from food, particularly meat. One form of sacrifice this Lent is to refrain from doing what one enjoys the most, he said.

“For example, I am a coin collector so during Lent, I make sure not to touch my coins,” he said. “There are so many things that gives you pleasure right? Food from McDonald’s can give you pleasure.”

Cruz said the sick and the elderly were exempted from fasting and abstinence from food. But they should pray the rosary as a sacrifice, he said.

Sincere sacrifice

Baylon, the chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said sacrifice during Lent should not only mean avoiding meat on Fridays but also nonmeat that one loves to eat, like junk food, sweets and soft drinks.

To experience a meaningful Lent, the faithful should also abstain from vices and from indulging in luxury and leisure, Baylon said in the CBCPNews, the official news service of the CBCP.

“If health-conscious people undergo diet and refuse a lot of food to get slim and fit to maintain external beauty, why can’t we impose the same discipline to make ourselves beautiful inside, too?” Baylon said.

He added: “Cutting down one’s excessive texting, Internet surfing, smoking, drinking alcohol or even going on vacation this summer are other ways to make a sincere sacrifice this Lent.”

“The point of abstinence is depriving ourselves of the things that give us comfort and luxury. It is imposing discipline on our body so that we may free up our souls,” he said.

Baylon reminded the faithful, particularly the youth, that Lent was a more important season for the Church than Christmas.

“It is Lent that leads to Easter, when we are reminded that Jesus sacrificed his life for our sins,” he explained.

Improper perspective

Baylon said that owing to its joy and glitter—mostly due to its “commercialization”—more Catholics observe Christmas than Lent, which is associated with fasting, alms-giving and sacrifice.

He said it was necessary to correct the faithful’s “improper perspective about Lent vis-à-vis Christmas.”

“Lent is an opportunity to know Jesus who was sent by the Father to be our Savior. Fasting, alms-giving and abstaining this Lent remind us of the great sacrifice that Christ did for human salvation,” he said.