Season of Lent Discrepancy

[rondirect]

My understanding is that the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends when we begin the Mass of the Lord’s Supper Holy Thursday Evening. At least that is what the ORDO states year after year and so says the letters from our Bishop. However, if you go to the USCCB site, it clearly states that Lent continues through Easter Day. Why?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

It depends on whether you count the Tridiuum as a completely separate liturgical season.

 

[BartholomewB]

Different sources give different explanations for the discrepancy between the forty days and the exact duration of Lent. One explanation is that Quadragesima Sunday was originally the first day of Lent, so that Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) was the fortieth and last day. In several languages the word for Lent is a form of the Latin word Quadragesima, for instance, Quaresima in Italian, Cuaresma in Spanish, Carême in French. Centuries later the Church added four more days at the beginning of Lent, from Ash Wednesday through Saturday.

 

[rondirect]

Thanks for the answers. My understanding is that the Easter Triduum (talking from the USA) is considered a separate liturgical season, from HT night through ES night. My confusion is why one document, the ORDO for example and our Bishop which state that Lent ends at the beginning of HT night Mass, contradicts the USCCB, which states it ends Easter Sunday. How can they consider the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday still part of Lent? It makes no sense.
Can any priests out there weight in on this please?
What does your diocese say?

 

[rondirect]

We should not have the option to count a season a separate season or not. It should, IMHO, be one way or the other. The USCCB lists the Triduum as a separate season, yet considers Lent part of it. I like things to be black or white, not grey!

 

[BartholomewB]

My understanding is that the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends when we begin the Mass of the Lord’s Supper Holy Thursday Evening. At least that is what the ORDO states year after year and so says the letters from our Bishop.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is in full agreement with you. Its website (link below) spells out the calendar details very clearly:

Lent
From Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. There are 6 Sundays of Lent. …

Easter Triduum
Begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil and concludes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday. …

http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/Info/background1.shtml#Triduum

 

[ratio1]

I could be wrong but I thought Sundays do not count in terms of forty days of Lent?

 

[rondirect]

Thanks for all your answers. I think we all agree that Lent begins on AW and ends with the beginning of the Mass of Lord’s Supper on HT. But, the question really is about discrepancy. Why is it that the USCCB site states that Lent starts February 14 and ends April 1, Easter Sunday, even though on the side it states the seasons and the Triduum is one of them. Can anyone shed light on that. I note that one person said perhaps they counted the Triduum as being part of Lent. Can this really be? Do other countries consider that?

 

[pnewton]

Might I inquire as to what difference it makes? Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence either way.

 

[ratio1]

Lent - Wikipedia

This is what Wikipedia says. Once we’ve resolved this, perhaps someone could edit it if it’s incorrect?

 

[rondirect]

pnewton: It makes a a big difference, especially to those who are new to the church or want to inquire about the season. The church states that Lent ends HT evening per the ORDO and if one where to look it up under the USCCB site, they will get a different answer. I know that GF is a day of fast and abstinence; I did not inquire about that.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

Perhaps the USCCB was simply making a statement for convenience rather than being precise. It might be akin to me saying I live 20 miles from the church when in fact it’s 17.8. I agree with @pnewton - it’s not an important difference.

 

[rondirect]

With due respect, “a statement for convenience rather than being precise” makes no sense. What convenience? What did the USCCB gain or how could it be more convenient to them to extend the dates of Lent to Easter Sunday instead of Holy Thursday Evening? Each liturgical season has its precise beginning and ending; period. Out of convenience, lets extend the Paschal Triduum to Easter Monday; after all, it’s only one more day, akin to 20 miles vs. 17.8. Perhaps not an earth shattering difference, but rather confusing when two highly regarded resources in the Catholic Church are not in sync.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

Each liturgical season has its precise beginning and ending; period.

Actually, no, they don’t. That’s a very American logic to apply to the European and Jewish heritage of our Church which has significant overlap and “bleed” of one thing into another. Precision isn’t there like you’d prefer.

 

[BartholomewB]

That’s a very American logic to apply to the European and Jewish heritage of our Church which has significant overlap and “bleed” of one thing into another.

The rules and regulations governing synagogue worship are much tighter than ours, I believe. Even the exact hours are laid down, so that in a given time zone every synagogue is holding its services at the same time, from what I’ve been told by Jewish friends. No overlap, no “bleeding”!

 

[Titivillus]

With due respect, “a statement for convenience rather than being precise” makes no sense. What convenience? What did the USCCB gain or how could it be more convenient to them to extend the dates of Lent to Easter Sunday instead of Holy Thursday Evening? Each liturgical season has its precise beginning and ending; period. Out of convenience, lets extend the Paschal Triduum to Easter Monday; after all, it’s only one more day, akin to 20 miles vs. 17.8.

Please, no – The Triduum is already a weird beast, considering that Easter Sunday up until the conclusion of Evening Prayer is part of the Triduum and not part of the Easter Season???
(Or is it both?)

 

[pnewton]

With due respect, “a statement for convenience rather than being precise” makes no sense. What convenience?

The Catholic bishops teach doctrine, not precision. Take the Forty Days of Lent. They are a symbolic 40 days, not a precise amount. Likewise the 3 days in the tomb is not 72 hours, and the days are not figured the same. You are looking at this from a modern Western view point, not the traditional, ancient tradition from which it evolves. It is like trying to find sense in English spelling. Since it is a result of evolution over time, it is not precise. It need not be precise.

 

[rondirect]

Yes, a weird beast indeed. It is considered that the Easter Season begins on Easter Sunday after evening prayer. Some don’t understand the Triduum because it is 3 days long and counting HT through ES is actually 4 days. However, Holy Thursday (day) is considered the last day of holy week up to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at night, at which point we enter into the Paschal Triduum on the same day! From that point onward, starting with HT evening, you count each 24 hours as one day, so evening to evening for 3 24 hour periods you arrive at Sunday evening. Therefore, Easter Sunday is part of the Triduum.

 

[rondirect]

Oh, I agree. Every year there is some overlap in liturgical seasons. To clarify, each year we know precisely how that year will treat each liturgical season as far as days or weeks are concerned. My concern is still that we all know when the Easter Triduum begins, but the USCCB says otherwise. To say that they did that out of convenience still doesn’t make sense…again, no offense.

 

[Vico]

My understanding is that the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends when we begin the Mass of the Lord’s Supper Holy Thursday Evening. At least that is what the ORDO states year after year and so says the letters from our Bishop. However, if you go to the USCCB site, it clearly states that Lent continues through Easter Day. Why?

Well, if one is Byzantine Catholic, then Lent begins and ends at entirely different times. Per Byzantine practice, the Great Fast begins seven weeks before Easter and ends on the Friday before the Saturday of Lazarus (the day before Palm Sunday).

Vespers of Lazarus:

“We have concluded the beneficial Forty Days (Lent) and we implore You, 0 Lover of Mankind, make us see the Holy Week of Your Passion and praise Your work (of redemption) .”

So the Great Fast begins on Clean Monday (Feb 12, 2018) and ends on the Friday (Mar 23, 2018) before the Saturday of Lazarus so it is exactly forty days long.