To Fast or Not To Fast

This year's big dilemma, Ash Wednesday or Chinese New Year. That has been the topic over the weekend. The decision seemed to be fixed and accepted, but I guess it was rocked when the bishop made some additions to the instructions.

Firstly at the sat evening mass at CTK, Fr Steven Yim started his sermon talking abt Ash Wed & CNY. How maybe we could have celebrated Ash Wed on Wed and the CNY mass on Thur. And the question of Religion vs Culture. Are we Catholics first or Chinese first? and his next sentence was that the bishop has made a choice. (go figure)

And then there was Jude's protestant uncle whose church was still going ahead with the ash wed service. Which brings up the previous question of which takes priority. Apparently the protestant's or at least those more traditional ones are willing to stand up for their faith. And ironically, or maybe divinely, the Gospel of the weekend was about being the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World. To be a witness of Christian living in the world.

So Fr Yim suggested that we might still want to fast and abstain, to be that witness to others. But as we discussed the issue, there were the practical points and being considerate to those of mixed marriages, or whose grandparents are non-christian. So headache... Are we Catholics slack? practical? comfortable? ecumenical? How can we stop a Catholic who goes to the grandparents place, and they have to eat the longevity noodles, the tang yuan, and other symbolic acts. But yet, there are the others who will just ignore the fact that lent has begun, and rejoice that this year there are less days to sacrifice.

Personally, not having any cultural obligations, I chose to fast on both wed together with the universal church and fri with the singapore church. But wah fasting on CNY first day is like the toughest thing. I woke up late, so didn't have a chance to take a light breakfast, went for mass, came back and realised that if I ate anything, then there won't be hunger to make it a fast. But just going for the lunch at my aunt's place, seeing the salmon yu sheng, bak kua, brownies, nuts....wah...torturous.

But I guess, on reflection, both CNY and Lent have something in common. As Fr Aloysius Leong preached in his CNY sermon, its a time for spring cleaning, of renewing relationships. As I've recently come to realise, Lent isn't just about repentance and sacrifice, but those two come as part of a bigger package, of taking this 40 days to reflect on and renew our baptismal promises. To spring clean our lives, to take stock of how we have grown in faith over the last year. Such that when on Easter Vigil, we can join in the newly baptised and renew our relationship with God.