Lenten season is here again.
Time for reflection again, for others time to splurge in the cool waters of the blue sea with some powdery sands at your feet and pina colada in your hand. Others who want the quiet life would simply browse and look for some budget hotels in the Philippines enabling them to retreat inwards and ponder the Lenten season. This is also the time where you can witness ironies everywhere.

Ironic things happen on daily basis but during Lenten season ironic things ironically abound. Lenten according to Webster means meager—lacking desirable qualities, deficient in quality or quantity. Sardonically speaking people around the world who practices Catholicism (not necessary Christians) doesn’t really know the real meaning of the word. Everybody I know is scampering their way out of the scourging summer heat into the refreshing waters of the beaches nearby or simply flying out of the country to seek temperature refuge and weather asylum to some chilly European country.

Another ironic thing I observe is the way people put dates and timestamp on everything. Why do we always have to schedule repenting? Why should we put a certain period of the week in order for us to downpour our repentance for the whole year of sins only to do it again after next week? Why not everyday? I remember when I was young that the mere sound of laughter or giggles during Good Friday among us kids would result a heavy admonishment from the old folks. “Don’t you know that God is dead at this very moment?” Laughter is prohibited, so as taking a bath and doing heavy chores during that day. I can’t seem to get the logic behind it--that we should all wear a long face during Good Friday and do our own share of contrition.

Indeed religions tattooed our brains with some inexplicable customs and traditions that the mere blind following would render the dogmatic spiritual robots among us. On the other hand apathy and indifference will be the result as people failed to see the importance of the Lenten season. Shrugging off their shoulders and walking away is always the easiest thing to do, anyway repentance is obsolete to those who enjoys treading their life in thick pockets.

In this time of the year on which side are you? The religious dogmatic? The “repenting” beach bum? Or the everyday-suffering-need-to-suffer-more Christian? Some ironic questions for an ironic world.

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