Lent in El Salvador

How different could it be? After all, we’re all Catholic. We all get ashen crosses on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday. We practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (or oración, ayuno, y caridad). No one says the “A-word” - you know the one I’m talking about, the one we usually say before the Gospel.

However, I’m finding that some of the traditions I’ve held as inviolable don’t hold the same weight here as they have for me in the past. Take for example, not eating meat on Friday. For all of my 29 years, this has 100% been part of my established routine. (And despite what the drastic change I made two months ago might indicate, I don’t really like change in my established routine.) It’s disconcerting. It makes me re-examine my beliefs and take a closer look at how I’ve been living my Catholic faith.

What I’ve found, therefore, is that ayuno has become a less physical aspect of my Lenten journey this year. I only eat meat once or maybe twice a week to begin with (because that’s all we can afford). So what do you do when “meat-day” happens to fall on Friday? When meat is readily available, this small act of abstinence is certainly a reminder of how much Christ suffered for us. It is a reminder to be humble, as Christ was.
But right now, I feel like every day is a reminder to be humble as Christ was. Every time I wish for some bacon with my eggs, I remember that my year here is a year of sacrifice. Every time I wish for a steak burrito with my refried beans, I remember that there are many people in this country who have never had a steak burrito. This daily reminder (which started before Lent did and will continue until long after the Easter season ends) is more powerful to me than remembering to order a cheese pizza on Friday has ever been.
In re-examining my own Lenten traditions, in light of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, I'm coming to realize that change can be healthy. Removing the preoccupation with fasting means I've been focusing more on my prayer life this Lent. Each year, Lent is a time for us to grow in our relationship with Christ. Each year, the impetus behind that growth is different. I think it is truly worth a few minutes to reflect on your own Lenten practices and discover where it is you need to grow.