Is Lent over today?

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SheaWilson

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Lent is a season of observance of the 40 days that Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and was tempted by the devil. Today marks the 40th day since Ash Wednesday, so is Lent over now? I just want to know so I don’t go against my Lenten promise to God and myself.
 
No, Lent is not over today. Holy Thursday marks the end of Lent, but we are called to “fast” our Lenten penance through Holy Saturday if at all possible.
 
The 40 Days of Lent do not include Sundays, which are not considered part of Lent (and you can break from your penance on Sundays in Lent…remember for next year :):))

So subtracting five Sundays, we have until the end of Holy Thursday.

Good Friday, although a day of fasting and abstinence, is not Lent, but Triduum.

ICXC NIKA
 
SheaWilson said:
Lent is a season of observance of the 40 days that Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and was tempted by the devil. Today marks the 40th day since Ash Wednesday, so is Lent over now? I just want to know so I don’t go against my Lenten promise to God and myself.
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When I first converted, I decided to give up something intense (all forms of caffeine) - and that hurt. I was counting the days - because I was just barely hanging on.

When I figured out that Lent was longer than 40 days, I was not a happy camper. That business of not counting Sundays was not pleasing to me. At. All.

My understanding, however, is that it’s totally legit to not perform your penitence on Sundays during Lent. The reality is that it keeps the penitence more in the forefront of your mind when you are reminded of it (when doing something like giving up some kind of food).

I’d stick to your promise for now because it should amp up the experience for Easter.

My math goes like this: Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. That 1st week is 4 days. Then, there are another 6 weeks with 6 days (Monday through Saturday). Thus, Lent ends after Holy Saturday. If you want to go for the Jewish definition of a day, then it’s sundown on Saturday (but that should also apply to the Ash Wednesday - meaning you started at the end of the day on Tuesday).
 
The church has defined the season of Lent as from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday inclusive. Whether or not you continue your personal penances on Sundays or not has nothing to do with when the season starts and ends.
 
Mrs_Sally said:
The church has defined the season of Lent as from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday inclusive. Whether or not you continue your personal penances on Sundays or not has nothing to do with when the season starts and ends.
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This!
There is also no mandate for 40 days, but it fits with the whole desert theme…
 
Mrs_Sally said:
The church has defined the season of Lent as from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday inclusive. Whether or not you continue your personal penances on Sundays or not has nothing to do with when the season starts and ends.
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Hey! It looks like I am wrong. I was told the 40-day math thing when I was in RCIA, and since the math worked out, I figured it was legit.

I’d like to get a “vatican.va” reference - and I have not been able to locate it on that site. Can someone point me to a page on that site that lays it out?

Thanks!
 
I was listening to a CA live podcast just today and they were trying to decide when lent ended. Turns out it ends at the Start of the Holy Thursday Mass which actually splits the day in half (not quite half) It is one of the only days in our liturgical year that is split. So, whatever the “total days of lent” are cannot end on a whole number.😃
 
in_servitude said:
I’d like to get a “vatican.va” reference - and I have not been able to locate it on that site. Can someone point me to a page on that site that lays it out?
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I am not aware of any page at that site, but if you Google: General Norms for the Liturgical year and Calendar (February 14, 1969), you will find plenty of references. Check out #28:
  1. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive.
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NB: [user]Mrs Sally[/user] was slightly inaccurate; The earlier part of Holy Thursday is in Lent but the latter part of it is not.

tee
 
in_servitude said:
My understanding, however, is that it’s totally legit to not perform your penitence on Sundays during Lent.
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It would also be legit to end your personal penances during Holy Week, though probably advisable to keep at them till sundown on Holy Thursday. Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday is the Triduum, which is a separate liturgical season from Lent.

As I understand it, personal penances during Lent are not a Church-mandated practice; nevertheless, they are still a holy and traditional example of popular piety. IIRC St Benedict started the practice of giving up something during Lent in the “Rule of St Benedict” for monastics.

One also shouldn’t keep penances on feast days during Lent, such as St Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation (March 25, moved to March 26 in 2012). One doesn’t fast on feast days.
 
tee_eff_em said:
I am not aware of any page at that site, but if you Google: General Norms for the Liturgical year and Calendar (February 14, 1969), you will find plenty of references. Check out #28:
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Yeah, I was able to find many references like this - so I was convinced that I was in error. But, I prefer to go from something totally official. I figure that I made the mistake of just taking someone’s work for it in the first instance. I’m hoping to avoid that mistake the second time.

How/Where does the Church publish its General Norms for the Liturgical Year?
 
To my mind, the point of the personal penitential practice is preparation for Easter, so splitting hairs over where the Lent/Triduum line is shouldn’t matter for our personal practice–Good Friday and Holy Saturday are the most intense days to prepare ourselves spiritually for Easter.

The Triduum is technically a separate liturgical season because the liturgy is different for these days than for weekdays of Lent–it’s a matter for the books and vestments. But for fasting and penitence, they should stay the same or even be kicked up a notch, in my opinion.

The real question to ask for “when can I eat chocolate/drink coffee/etc. again?” is technically not “when does Lent end?” but “when does Easter begin”? I would submit that the answer is the first liturgical act of Easter, the Easter vigil. I’ll be ending my Lenten penance after this service.
 
TuAutem said:
To my mind, the point of the personal penitential practice is preparation for Easter, so splitting hairs over where the Lent/Triduum line is shouldn’t matter for our personal practice–Good Friday and Holy Saturday are the most intense days to prepare ourselves spiritually for Easter.

The Triduum is technically a separate liturgical season because the liturgy is different for these days than for weekdays of Lent–it’s a matter for the books and vestments. But for fasting and penitence, they should stay the same or even be kicked up a notch, in my opinion.

The real question to ask for “when can I eat chocolate/drink coffee/etc. again?” is technically not “when does Lent end?” but “when does Easter begin”? I would submit that the answer is the first liturgical act of Easter, the Easter vigil. I’ll be ending my Lenten penance after this service.
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👍👍
 
tee_eff_em said:
NB: [user]Mrs Sally[/user] was slightly inaccurate; The earlier part of Holy Thursday is in Lent but the latter part of it is not.

tee
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Horrors! I’m glad you specified that I was only *slightly *inaccurate! 😃
 
If you choose for Lent to do … For the kingdom, why end?
 
JerrySeibert said:
If you choose for Lent to do … For the kingdom, why end?
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For me, I will attempt to do something that is very difficult and is a stretch to continue for the duration of Lent. If it was an on-going thing, it wouldn’t be so possible to stretch so far. What keeps me going is knowing that Lent is coming to an end someday soon.

As the years go by, these stretches expand my overall reach so that in time, I’m able to do regularly what I couldn’t have possibly done for 1 week.

We have limitations.
 
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