Hi everyone, just for clarification I have recently been told that Sundays are ,basically a day off ,from whatever penance we have undertaken for lent I have never heard this before Mary
The forty days of Lent on the Roman Catholic calender do not include Sundays. Every Sunday, even during Lent, is a day for Christians to celebrate the Resurrection. Keep this in mind on your Lenten fast. If you want to hold to the fast on Sunday for Spiritual reasons, follow your conscience. But if you hold to your fast without recognizing the great gift God gave us on every Sunday, then take some time to ask the Holy Spirit to give you the insight on how He wants you to proceed on Sundays during Lent. Even fasting can be a form of idolatry if it does not have the right intent. It sounds like you are asking the correct questions, peace to you and your family on this journey of ours in the desert with Christ. Ed
Hi Mary, thanks for bringing this up. I was not aware that anything except fasting might be suspended on Sundays, but apparently this may be so. In the matter of fasting, Sundays are excluded and we are not supposed to fast on those days since it is a day to celebrate the Resurrection. Lent is a penitential time, but the common custom of giving something up for Lent is voluntary and not something particular the Church mandates us to do so it is up to us to decide if we should continue that on Sundays or not. Here is some more detailed information from EWTN: http://www.ewtn.com/library/answers/lent.htm Q: Since Sundays are not counted in the forty days of Lent, does the custom of giving up something apply to them? A: Customarily, no. However, since the giving up of something is voluntary to begin with, there is no official rule concerning this aspect of it. Nevertheless, since Sundays are days of celebration, it is appropriate to suspend the Lenten self-denial on them that, in a spiritual and non-excessive way, we may celebrate the day of Our Lord's resurrection so that that day and that event may be contrasted with the rest of the days of Lent and the rest of the events of history. This heightened contrast deepens the spiritual lessons taught by the rest of Lent. Q: Why are Sundays excluded from the reckoning of the forty days? A: Because Sunday is the day on which Christ arose, making it an inappropriate day to fast and mourn our sins. On Sunday we must celebrate Christ's resurrection for our salvation. It is Friday on which we commemorate his death for our sins. The Sundays of the year are days of celebration and the Fridays of the year are days of penance.
Mother Angelica was asked about this and she said if we had stopped Adultery for Lent we should not go back on it on Sundays. The audirence roared.
I think it depends on whatwe are off. I would not fast o na Sunday. But I would not go back on the drink or smoking. It depends what you are off.
