Sundays of Lent

[Mark1970]

Are the Sundays of Lent part of Lent liturgically? A friend has said that Sundays “aren’t part of Lent”. My response is that the discipline of Lent doesn’t apply to the Sundays as every Sunday commemorates the Resurrection, but they are part of the season liturgically. Is this correct?

 

[Augustinian]

Of course the sundays in Lent are a part of Lent liturgically. The priests were the official purple vestments on Sundays of Lent, which they wouldn’t do if it wasn’t Lent liturgically.

 

[Titivillus]

Are the Sundays of Lent part of Lent liturgically? A friend has said that Sundays “aren’t part of Lent”. My response is that the discipline of Lent doesn’t apply to the Sundays as every Sunday commemorates the Resurrection, but they are part of the season liturgically. Is this correct?

Short Answer
You are correct. While it is not appropriate to fast on Sundays (in or out of Lent), they are still part of the season.
Longer Answer
[Calendar Nerd Powers ACTIVATE]

Lent is 40~ish days, no matter how you count them. “40 days of Lent” is merely a useful shorthand.

“Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive.” according to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar 28. This is 42 days and change if you count Sundays, or 36 and change if you don’t.

Additionally (or Subtractionally), if you argue against Sundays because they aren’t fast days, shouldn’t you also have to exclude the Solemnity of St Joseph (always during Lent unless translated outside it by the episcopal conference) and sometimes the Solemnity of the Annunciation (frequently during Lent)? Hmm?

 

[Mattapoisett64]

But of course counting Sundays makes Lent longer than “40 Days.”

 

[BartholomewB]

There are two almost identical threads running now, started within an hour or so of each other. This is the other one:

Season of Lent Discrepancy Liturgy and Sacraments

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 Le…

 

[Hereiam]

Yes. You are correct.