Easter Season Question

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James_Paul

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I was asked a question by a fellow Catholic at what point in the Triduum does Lent end and Easter begin? A local bishop here in Detroit told me that Lent ends during the Easter Vigil Mass just after the baptism of the new members/candidates has been completed.

Looking for confirmation or another answer if this isn’t correct.

Thanks,
James Paul
 
Yes, the Bishop is correct. In general, following the theme of the Jewish “Day”, Easter begins at sundown on Saturday. The Easter Vigil service is at night for this reason. Of course, you can’t just go around setting the time of the liturgy based on your church’s local time of sunset, but you get the picture.
As far as the Baptism of Catecumens being the “line”, it makes sense, but so does the first Alleluia in 6 weeks (before the gospel), so does the Pascal candle entering the church, bringing Christ’s light to the world. I would say (with much less authority than your Bishop) that the whole of the Easter Vigil Liturgy is the end of Lent and the start of Easter.
 
While Easter starts then, Lent ends on Holy Thursday.
According to the General Norms, “Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, exclusive” (General Norms 28). This means Lent ends at the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.
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taken from catholic.com/thisrock/2001/0104fea1.asp
 
Verbum Caro:
While Easter starts then, Lent ends on Holy Thursday.

taken from catholic.com/thisrock/2001/0104fea1.asp
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This is interesting. Anybody got a link to the General Norms?
I really like Jimmy Akin, but I’ve always heard 40 days = 6 weeks x 6 weekdays each plus AW, T, F, S… and that Sundays are of necessity excluded because it is always a celebration of the resurection… etc.
 
Honestly, I am AMAZED that anyone would need to get confirmation from any stranger off the internet whose qualifications are unknown, over a BISHOP !!!

Are we not to even trust our bishops to know an answer to a simple liturgical question ???

RANT…Why is it that on this board everyone seems to know more than the deacon, the priest, and the bishop ??? Let’s see now, a priest has had 8 years of schooling…that’s how many more years of schooling than the “knowlegable” people on this board? Oh, yeah, that’s right, the seminaries are incompetent, churning out priests who somehow know less than the parishoners who became experts by reading the GIRM. These would be the same parishoners who reject anything after Vatican II, which is obviously inferior to what came before. (sarcasm)
END RANT
 
jpjd,

you are right. I certainly did not intend to discredit the Bishop. In fact, I glossed over the fact that this was from a Bishop and should have read the post more carefully. I was simply contributing what I had been taught (by a Bishop – it was how my diocese ran things) I had also recalled this same point from the General Norms and saw no harm in linking to them.

I am sorry if I gave offense. I also wish to recant any perceived criticism of the Bishop.

I have no credentials.

A loyal Catholic,
verbum caro
 
40.png
jpjd:
Honestly, I am AMAZED that anyone would need to get confirmation from any stranger off the internet whose qualifications are unknown, over a BISHOP !!!

Are we not to even trust our bishops to know an answer to a simple liturgical question ???
Click to expand...
I can agree that perhaps some of the people on this board are not so educated as they think, (myself included.) HOWEVER… the 8 plus years of schooling that priests go through is not exclusively on finer points of the liturgical calendar. And the fact that there is so much discussion on this board over the ‘liturgical abuses’ in various parishes and dioceses promulgated by the local priests and bishops suggests that perhaps a bishop is NOT always the final authority on the exact ending of Lent. I don’t know why questioning a bishop would be considered a sign of disrespect if he seems to be saying something different from what one has been taught, supposedly under the authority of some other bishop.

In fact the link to “General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar” does give the current standard for the ending of Lent. It is the Liturgical document which defines the liturgical seasons. It specifies the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper as the end of Lent. (Why else would we sing the Gloria?)

Keep in mind that the beginning and ending of Lent are neither biblical directives nor Catholic dogma. They can theoretically be changed at anytime. I can’t speak for the particular event that designated the ending of Lent prior to Vatican II. Pehaps it was once considered to end during the Easter Vigil. Or perhaps the particular bishop in question was speaking in a philosphical sense rather than a strict liturgical sense.
 
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