Do Sundays “count” during Lent?
This issue comes up every year. Do you continue your Lenten penances on Sunday?
I’ve heard varying opinions on this. Sundays are not counted among the 40 days of Lent, so some people say our Lenten penances should not count on Sundays. So bring on the chocolate, or wait until Easter?
Others think the whole season is penitential, and so therefore we should continue our disciplines. I read once a commentator say that Jesus didn’t take a break during his 40 days of fasting in the desert.
Here’s a link to a Q&A on Lent from EWTN, and it includes an answer about Sundays. Basically, there’s no official rule, so you are free to choose. Here’s also another interesting article from a blogger with the Archdiocese of Washington who offers insight on both celebrating Sunday, and why fish doesn’t count as meat.
Count me in the “celebrate Sunday” camp. At our house, we tend to mark Sundays as a day of Resurrection, though in a more muted way during Lent. I might have a piece of chocolate (or not) on Sundays, but usually my husband, who goes meatless for Lent, usually doesn’t eat meat on Sundays in general.
We (actually, me) also tend to celebrate the feast days during Lent. Just off the top of my head: St. Patrick’s Day, St. Joseph’s Day (we have two in our immediate family, so we definitely celebrate this one, with savoiardi and usually a special dinner), the Feast of the Annunciation, and I’m sure I could find more. To me they are not just a little “break” during Lent, but a way to really celebrate those important holidays in the liturgical year.
I’m putting up this question on Sunday, because I know some people take a break from the Internet during Lent, but do check in on Sundays.
So what about you? Do you “count” the Sundays in Lent? How is your Lent going after just this first few days?