Lent Is Not Catholic Ramadan

While the Vatican News portal has published an article entitled “Ramadan, a time of prayer and reconciliation for the good of creation,” and seeks all possible connections between Lent and Ramadan, even involving a Muslim for this purpose, it is good to remember the profound differences that separate them. 

Contrary to what some insinuate, there are many differences between the Muslim fast and Catholic penance.

Given the growing visibility and indiscreet media publicity of Ramadan in French society, more and more Catholics – especially among those who have recently (re)turned to the Faith – tend to understand Lent as "Catholic Ramadan." 

The communication of the Holy See and the bishops, who send a message of fraternity to Muslims each year on the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan, also contributes to maintaining this confusion. They draw a parallel sometimes between Lent and Ramadan. Ramadan is always presented as a holy and blessed time.

However, if Ramadan presents some superficial resemblances with Lent, which historically pre-dates it by more than two centuries, it would nevertheless be only a caricature.

Unlike Ramadan, which is a simple ritual obligation prescribed in the Koran, Lent finds its rich meaning in the sacred history in which it is inscribed. Just as the Hebrew people, leaving Egypt, spent 40 years in the desert – the time it took to renew the generation that refused to abandon Egyptian paganism – before reaching the Promised Land, the Christian people are called each year, during the 40 days of Lent, to renew themselves internally by abandoning their bad habits of sin in order to live in a manner more holy and pleasing to God.

In the spirit of the Church, Lent is the preparation for the great feast of Easter. It is a time of mortification – putting to death the old man – that prepares the human heart to be spiritually reborn with Christ, the conqueror of the devil and sin, at Easter. From this arise the many differences between the Muslim fast and Catholic penance.

Ramadan is first and foremost a community event, a marker of social and religious belonging, while Lent is above all a time of personal conversion, even if Catholics are called to live it together in the rhythm of the liturgy.

The Muslim who observes Ramadan must therefore be able to be publicly recognized as such and know, in the event of an infraction of the rule and depending on the circumstances, that he will receive social pressure or even a sanction.

On the contrary, our Lent begins with these words of Our Lord who condemns any ostentatious attitude: "When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting may not be seen by men, but only by your Father who is present in secret" (Mt. 6:17-18).

As a social marker, Ramadan consequently focuses on certain external acts (eating, drinking, smoking, etc.). But Lent, in line with the teaching of Jesus Christ, seeks above all, through the external observances of fasting and abstinence, the healing of the soul.

This is why Lent is not limited to fasting, but more broadly, it seeks to destroy sin and all disordered affections in us. Fasting is only part of the traditional Lenten triptych: prayer-fasting-almsgiving.

The fast of Ramadan is brutal and excessive (no food or drink, not even water, during the whole day; but during the night, everything is permitted) and consequently sometimes imprudent. It may give rise to aggressive and violent behavior, which is a proven social fact.

The penance of Lent, for its part, is moderate: abstinence from meat on Fridays and fasting (i.e., only one meal per day) on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The rest is left to the freedom of each individual. It therefore gently encourages the transformation of hearts and morals.

Ramadan is not a time of penance, but of obedience to the law of the Koran: breaking the fast every evening leads to festive and convivial customs, hence the expression "faire du ramdam," or make a lot of noise.

Lent, however, after a long period of 40 days, is crowned by the joys of Easter. It is a time of penance and expiation for the sins we have committed. It is a time of spiritual combat to remove from the heart the evil tendencies that reign there; it is a time of struggle and tears.

These numerous and profound differences noted are enough to protect us from any harmful confusion between Lent and Ramadan, as well as from any attempt to imprint a Ramadan spirit on our Lent. On the contrary, we must exercise discretion, in both senses of the term, during the holy quarantine.

This means, firstly, that we must be careful not to bother others, not to impose ourselves, or not to show off to those around us. This means, then, that we must – in addition to what the law of the Church now imposes sparingly – freely and intelligently choose the penances adapted to our possibilities and our needs, taking care through our resolutions, with particular focus, to mortify the disordered movements of the heart.

The correct understanding of what Lent is, compared to Ramadan, should also prevent us from falling into the naive or simpleminded complacency of those people of the Church who do not hesitate to wish a blessed or holy Ramadan.

That many Muslims practice Ramadan with sincerity, and even with the desire to improve and purify themselves, is quite possible. But for bishops, priests, or simply baptized people to call "holy" that which is done as a rejection of Christ, Son of God, the only Savior and the only Holy One, is contrary to the love of Jesus Christ and of Muslims.