When does Lent end?

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Crusading_Canuk

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So, does Lent end on Easter Sunday or only after attending Mass on Easter Sunday?
 
Lent ends with the start of Mass Holy Thursday evening. From that point on, the days are called the “Triduum”, Latin for three days: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Easter begins with the lighting of new fire at the Easter Vigil, Saturday night, and lasts to Pentecost Sunday.
 
JamestheOlder said:
Lent ends with the start of Mass Holy Thursday evening. From that point on, the days are called the “Triduum”, Latin for three days: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Easter begins with the lighting of new fire at the Easter Vigil, Saturday night, and lasts to Pentecost Sunday.
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If this is true, why do we still have to abide by the fasting and abstinence regulations of lent on Good Friday?
 
Lent ends on Holy Thursday at the start of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

The document General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar states the following:
  1. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive.
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CatholicZ09 said:
Lent ends on Holy Thursday at the start of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

The document General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar states the following:
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So I could have been sipping on coffee since yesterday? 😦
 
TrueLight said:
So I could have been sipping on coffee since yesterday? 😦
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Technically, yes. I kind of like to wait though until Easter is so close. I don’t know when I will indulge (and I mean INDULGE) in what I gave up.
 
thomasf said:
If this is true, why do we still have to abide by the fasting and abstinence regulations of lent on Good Friday?
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You don’t----you abide by the regulations appropriate for the Triduum, not those of Lent—these regulations include fasting and abstinence on Good Friday.

That being said, may I ask you to think on a higher level than simply thinking about what season the Tridiuum belongs to? Our Lord Jesus Christ died on Friday, unless you have a medical reason, is it too much to fast and abstain on the day the Church appoints for the commemoration of our Lord’s passion, that is, Good Friday? 😦
 
TrueLight said:
So I could have been sipping on coffee since yesterday? 😦
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You can find a lot of people who will tell you yes, based on the quote CatholicZ09 found:
CatholicZ09 said:
The document General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar states the following:
  1. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive.
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That leaves both both Ash Wednesday and Good Friday outside of Lent. Does it make sense to you that the only two days that the Roman Catholic Church asks you to fast to would *not *be considered days of self-denial?

With Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and Holy Saturday included you have a full 40 days to prepare your soul and offer reparation to the Lord. (You can count the days yourself on a calendar; skip over Sundays which are traditionally days of lighter Lenten observance).

Why offer the Lord less? You are of course free to end your voluntary abstinence any day you choose. Which way do you think will best honor Christ and aid towards your own sanctification?
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Crusading_Canuk said:
So, does Lent end on Easter Sunday or only after attending Mass on Easter Sunday?
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If you are asking for yourself, I say, please God first and then yourself: wait until Mass before ending your Lenten observance. IMHO. I don’t know what the traditional practice was.
 
angelic06 said:
You don’t----you abide by the regulations appropriate for the Triduum, not those of Lent—these regulations include fasting and abstinence on Good Friday.

That being said, may I ask you to think on a higher level than simply thinking about what season the Tridiuum belongs to? Our Lord Jesus Christ died on Friday, unless you have a medical reason, is it too much to fast and abstain on the day the Church appoints for the commemoration of our Lord’s passion, that is, Good Friday? 😦
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Where did I write that I was only concerned about what liturgical season Good Friday belongs to? I was reiterating a question asked by the OP. I have always been of the understanding that lent ends at the end of Holy Saturday. And that Good Friday was part of lent. I don’t know about you, but it’s important for me to understand why we do what we do in the church. That Good Friday is not part of Lent is news to me. Also, it is a natural question to wonder when the fasting and sacrifices that we have made for lent can be ended.

Also, I did not write that it was too much for me to abstain on Good Friday.

I think it is uncharitable to make assumptions about motivations for asking a question as you did.
 
thomasf said:
If this is true, why do we still have to abide by the fasting and abstinence regulations of lent on Good Friday?
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because they are the fast and abstinence rules for Good Friday

Yes Holy Thursday and Good Friday are still technically Lent, which ends at sundown Holy Saturday, but you will note the celebrations on those days have different liturgical colors, and the gloria is sung on the former. The celebration of the Triduum spread over 3 days is however liturgically one celebration culminating in the Easter Vigil.
 
thomasf said:
Where did I write that I was only concerned about what liturgical season Good Friday belongs to? I was reiterating a question asked by the OP. I have always been of the understanding that lent ends at the end of Holy Saturday. And that Good Friday was part of lent. I don’t know about you, but it’s important for me to understand why we do what we do in the church. That Good Friday is not part of Lent is news to me. Also, it is a natural question to wonder when the fasting and sacrifices that we have made for lent can be ended.

Also, I did not write that it was too much for me to abstain on Good Friday.

I think it is uncharitable to make assumptions about motivations for asking a question as you did.
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You are right about our often “short” answers, in which we assume everyone is as holy as we are.

And you make a fine point. Lent can be counted almost any way that you want, depending on source and custom.

When I grew up before Vatican II, Lent began with Ash Wednesday and ended at midnight Holy Saturday. That was our “custom”, and as children, we did not argue the point. Sundays were counted, so that gave “45 days” of Lent. After about Vatican II, someone suggested we should not count Sundays, because there was a renewed observance of each Sunday as the day of Resurrection. So we subtracted the six Sundays of Lent which then resulted in 39 days. Then we decided to REALLY observe the whole Triduum, instead of just Holy Thursday and Good Friday before Vatican II, and folks wanted to say The Triduum was separate from Lent. Also, to add to the ultimate confusion, some folks do NOT count Ash Wednesday and the three succeeding weekdays as part of Lent, since the Collect for the First Sunday of Lent says the Latin-named period of forty days begins with the First Sunday of Lent.

Go figure.

If you would like to be confused more, go to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Click on:
newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm

Happy hunting! Peace.
 
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