BROADCASTS.com

b'

Back when I worked as an apologist with Catholic Answers we received a lot of questions around this time of year. Perhaps the most common was, \\u201care Sunday\\u2019s excluded from Lent?\\u201d

The answer is . . . are you ready for this?

No. Sunday\\u2019s are not excluded from Lent.\\xa0According to the\\xa0General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, \\u201cLent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord\\u2019s Supper exclusive\\u201d (28).

No exceptions are given for Sunday\\u2019s during Lent. In fact, a couple of paragraphs later the GN says:\\xa0\\u201cThe Sundays of this season are called the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent. The Sixth Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week, is called Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday)\\u201d (30).

So there you have it. Now, does that mean that we cannot choose to allow ourselves the things we voluntarily gave up for lent? No, it doesn\\u2019t. These voluntary fasts are\\xa0personal devotions. Because they have been voluntarily taken up, we can choose to set them aside.

That said, be awesome and sacrifice this Lent. What my P.E coach told me in middle-school applies to Lent also, \\u201cmate, if it\\u2019s not hurting, you\\u2019re not doing it right.\\u201d

Link to GN here:\\xa0https://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWLITYR.HTM

---