Sundays during Lent

[LittleHannah]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

 

[FrDavid96]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

That’s entirely up to you.

The Church does not require us to “give up something” in particular for Lent. It’s a time of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Giving up something that we like (or something that’s not very good for us) is one way of observing Lent. Since it’s your own personal choice to give up sweets, you can make your own rules for how you do it.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

giving up something for Lent does not “count” for anything, because nobody is counting.
Your penance is voluntary other than the prescribed practices of the Church. If you think you are somehow racking up brownie points in some celestial calculator you need to re-think your spirituality of sacrifice, service and prayer. yes Sundays are part of Lent, no we do not fast and abstain on Sundays and solemnities.

 

[promethius]

[edited] there is CERTAINLY a point to penance and mortification on earth, in that while it may not forgive sins, it DOES serve to remit temporal punishment and serves as a form of purgation.

Furthermore, even if we had NO temporal punishment or need of purgation, acts of penance would then apply directly to the deposit of merit… which is most certainly a good thing.

 

[promethius]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

They are still part of the Lenten season… but they are not part of the 40 days of “fasting” that is lent… at least not in the sense of fasting. Sundays are feast days, and we are never required to fast on a feast day.

Now, does that mean you HAVE to indulge on Sundays? No… certainly you can choose not to eat sweets anyway. However, if you DO choose to indulge on a Sunday, that is fine.

 

[puzzleannie]

I disagree… there is CERTAINLY a point to penance and mortification on earth, in that while it may not forgive sins, it DOES serve to remit temporal punishment and serves as a form of purgation.

.

I did not say there was no point, I said there is not a “point system” where you get a certain number of “credits” for fasting right.

 

[martininthefiel]

No fasting is required on Sunday, because Sundays are ‘of’ Lent, but not ‘in’ Lent. Every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection, and, thus, a ‘mini-Easter’.

However, we do ‘tone-down’ the celebratory mood on the Sundays of Lent. Statuary is veiled, brass is often replaced with wood, and the A-word, ‘Alleluia’, is omitted from the Mass. (Except on the Feast of the Annunciation, 25 March.)

 

[liturgyluver]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

If you decide to fast or forgo something during Lent, the requirement is lifted for any Sunday’s that fall during the Lent season (and any solemnitys like The Annunciation which I think this year is transferred to March 26th)

 

[Castello]

Time once again for…

The Annual Lent Fight!!!

jimmyakin.com/2011/03/annual-lent-fight-2011-ed.html

jimmyakin.org/2004/03/sundays_in_lent_4.html

 

[promethius]

I did not say there was no point, I said there is not a “point system” where you get a certain number of “credits” for fasting right.

you’re right, ***I used that term ***because if fasting and penance didn’t count for anything, then, as I said, it would be pointless.

Further, you said that it’s not a point system where you get “credits” for penance… that is not true. While that IS a true statement as regards salvation and forgiveness of sins, when it comes to forgiving temporal punishment and avoiding purgatory, it is darn tootin right that what we have built up of merit applies to offset our need for purgation… and darn tootin right that the penances of the saintly are stored in the treasury of merit to be dispensed by the church… in other words it does count in a stored bank account.

 

[puzzleannie]

a most mature way to approach the topic of prayer, fasting and almsgiving

 

[promethius]

a most mature way to approach the topic of prayer, fasting and almsgiving

…A most comprehensive way to discuss the fact that you utterly dismissed the church doctrine on the treasury of merit…

I was simply keeping it light

 

[Laudate_Dominum]

The traditional practise of the Latin Church was that we fasted on all the days of Lent (and abstained from flesh-meat on prescribed days). However this never applied to Sundays, never has. They are days of celebration.

 

[ConstantineTG]

The traditional practise of the Latin Church was that we fasted on all the days of Lent (and abstained from flesh-meat on prescribed days). However this never applied to Sundays, never has. They are days of celebration.

Every Sunday is a little Easter

 

[jmcrae]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

As Father has already pointed out, it’s your penance - you make the rules.

 

[Castello]

The traditional practise of the Latin Church was that we fasted on all the days of Lent (and abstained from flesh-meat on prescribed days). However this never applied to Sundays, never has. They are days of celebration.

The Sundays ARE part of Lent (read our host’s articles that I linked above).

You may choose to eat pie and play video games on Sunday, but, that Sunday is still a Lenten day.

 

[letmebefree]

Hi everyone,

Lent is apporaching before we know it so I was wondering. Do sundays during Lent count as Lent. Like for instance If you gave up sweets for Lent could you eat sweets on sunday if it does’nt count as Lent. I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks for your help.

In JR high my religion teacher told us that Sunday is always Easter in the Church so during Lent on Sunday we can do whatever we want that we gave up for Lent but I never did that. Its all up to you.

 

[anp1215]

giving up something for Lent does not “count” for anything, because nobody is counting.
Your penance is voluntary other than the prescribed practices of the Church. If you think you are somehow racking up brownie points in some celestial calculator you need to re-think your spirituality of sacrifice, service and prayer. yes Sundays are part of Lent, no we do not fast and abstain on Sundays and solemnities.

I saw nothing in the OP that suggested that she thought she was “racking up brownie points in some celestial calculator.”

 

[Laudate_Dominum]

The Sundays ARE part of Lent (read our host’s articles that I linked above).

You may choose to eat pie and play video games on Sunday, but, that Sunday is still a Lenten day.

I didn’t say that Sundays weren’t a part of Lent. That would a little ridiculous considering we have such feasts as the Third Sunday in Lent… however, regulations for fasting and abstaining have never applied to Sundays. Ever.

 

[Castello]

I didn’t say that Sundays weren’t a part of Lent. That would a little ridiculous considering we have such feasts as the Third Sunday in Lent… however, regulations for fasting and abstaining have never applied to Sundays. Ever.

That is because the regulations for fasting are on Ash Wed and Good Friday - those will never come on a Sunday The regulations for abstaining are for Ash Wed and all the Fridays, again, not going to fall on a Sunday.

Other penances are voluntary, so, you can do them only on Monday between 2-6 AM or every single day of Lent or anything inbetween - including the Sundays.