Meraj
Brother
:salam2:
To motivate young people to observe fasting and prayer during the 40-day Lent, Catholics are promoting the religious occasion this year as a "Christian Ramadan", the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday, February 12.
"The image of the Catholic Lent must be polished," said Martin Van der Kuil, Director of the Dutch Christian charity Vastenaktie.
Vastenaktie, which is born out of a coalition of Catholic organizations in the Netherlands, is trying to promote the 40-day fasting period, which began on Wednesday, February 6.
Lent precedes the central Christian feast of Easter and commemorates the days Christians say that Jesus Christ has spent in the desert.
Der Kuil said the idea of "Christian Ramadan" was spurred by concerns that the Lent has become less important for Dutch over the last generation, especially since the Vatican loosened fasting strictures in 1967.
He notes that of the four million Dutch who describe themselves as Catholics and the 400,000 who attend Mass every week only a few tens of thousands still fast Lent.
Catholic Ramadan in Senegal
Most Catholics now focus on charitable work during the 40-day feast.
Through the "Christian Ramadan" campaign, the organizers hope to bring back spirituality and sobriety to the Catholic tradition.
The trend is not inclusive to the Netherlands.
Catholics in the predominantly-Muslim West African nation of Senegal are increasingly embracing a Ramadan-style fasting during the Christian lent period.
Some Christians observe Lent by abstaining from meat on Fridays. Others only limit the total amount of food they eat in a day.
But for Catholic Senegalese, Lent took a different form as they abstain from all food and liquid during the day and eat only one meal after sunset.
Similarities
Der Kuil said they wanted to benefit from the increasing familiarity and popularity of the word Ramadan.
"The fact that we use a Muslim term is related to the fact that Ramadan is a better-known concept among young people than Lent."
The Netherlands is home to nearly one million Muslims, making up around 6 percent of the total population.
Adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex during daylight hours of Ramadan.
They dedicate their time to feel closer to God through prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, self-restraint and charity.
Der Kuil recognized that through the campaign they came to realize the amount of similarities between Muslims and Christians.
"The agreements are more striking than the differences," der Kuil maintained.
"Both for Muslims and Catholic faithful the values of frugality and spirituality play a central role in this tradition."
To motivate young people to observe fasting and prayer during the 40-day Lent, Catholics are promoting the religious occasion this year as a "Christian Ramadan", the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday, February 12.
"The image of the Catholic Lent must be polished," said Martin Van der Kuil, Director of the Dutch Christian charity Vastenaktie.
Vastenaktie, which is born out of a coalition of Catholic organizations in the Netherlands, is trying to promote the 40-day fasting period, which began on Wednesday, February 6.
Lent precedes the central Christian feast of Easter and commemorates the days Christians say that Jesus Christ has spent in the desert.
Der Kuil said the idea of "Christian Ramadan" was spurred by concerns that the Lent has become less important for Dutch over the last generation, especially since the Vatican loosened fasting strictures in 1967.
He notes that of the four million Dutch who describe themselves as Catholics and the 400,000 who attend Mass every week only a few tens of thousands still fast Lent.
Catholic Ramadan in Senegal
Most Catholics now focus on charitable work during the 40-day feast.
Through the "Christian Ramadan" campaign, the organizers hope to bring back spirituality and sobriety to the Catholic tradition.
The trend is not inclusive to the Netherlands.
Catholics in the predominantly-Muslim West African nation of Senegal are increasingly embracing a Ramadan-style fasting during the Christian lent period.
Some Christians observe Lent by abstaining from meat on Fridays. Others only limit the total amount of food they eat in a day.
But for Catholic Senegalese, Lent took a different form as they abstain from all food and liquid during the day and eat only one meal after sunset.
Similarities
Der Kuil said they wanted to benefit from the increasing familiarity and popularity of the word Ramadan.
"The fact that we use a Muslim term is related to the fact that Ramadan is a better-known concept among young people than Lent."
The Netherlands is home to nearly one million Muslims, making up around 6 percent of the total population.
Adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex during daylight hours of Ramadan.
They dedicate their time to feel closer to God through prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, self-restraint and charity.
Der Kuil recognized that through the campaign they came to realize the amount of similarities between Muslims and Christians.
"The agreements are more striking than the differences," der Kuil maintained.
"Both for Muslims and Catholic faithful the values of frugality and spirituality play a central role in this tradition."