Lent Sacrifices

SadieO

I grew up going to Catholic school and church and never heard of the Sundays off thing. Quite the opposite in fact, I remember my mum (and the other mums in the family) being a bit (gently!) when we used to forget that they'd given up chocolate for lent, and get them some for Mother's Day! Never heard of it finishing on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday either, those chocolates went firmly on the top of the cupboard until Easter Sunday and not a minute before!

Honestly it feels a bit like cheating to me. If you can just avoid chocolate (or whatever) during the week and then stuff your face with it on a Sunday it's not really making a sacrifice in my book. I don't really see the point in pledging to do something and then looking for what seems to me to be loopholes. 

DundeeDoll

I too have always struggled with working out when the 40 days were as Ash Wednesday to Easter Saturday is 46 days so when someone told me it didn't include Sundays that made sense, but then so did it being up to holy week (which is also 40 days). and i guess that makes sense if one took it literally as Jesus must have been out of the desert for Palm Sunday. oh hang on that's only 39 - back to the drawing board! But in answer to the question, I am working hard at not making excuses this lent.

Rosa_Damascena

I seem to have gone a bit overboard on chocolate over the last week and today in particular. Which is perhaps why dinner isn't missed?!

Blackcats

I might be further confusing things but I recall we treated Good Friday differently to Lent.  It was a day of fasting and abstinence.  Fasting apparently is 1 normal sized meal and 2 smaller than normal meals.  Abstinence is not eating "meat or fowl" which makes sense for fish on Friday.
my birthday is in April and often fell during Lent or on Good Friday which made me feel a bit hard done by.  However an Easter Sunday birthday was a day full of treats.

Rosa_Damascena

Blackcats said:

I might be further confusing things but I recall we treated Good Friday differently to Lent.  It was a day of fasting and abstinence.  Fasting apparently is 1 normal sized meal and 2 smaller than normal meals.  Abstinence is not eating "meat or fowl" which makes sense for fish on Friday.
my birthday is in April and often fell during Lent or on Good Friday which made me feel a bit hard done by.  However an Easter Sunday birthday was a day full of treats.

Easter is late this year. Personally I think April its a great time of the year to have a birthday, spring flowers abound!

IrishRose12

Blackcats said:

I might be further confusing things but I recall we treated Good Friday differently to Lent.  It was a day of fasting and abstinence.  Fasting apparently is 1 normal sized meal and 2 smaller than normal meals.  Abstinence is not eating "meat or fowl" which makes sense for fish on Friday.
my birthday is in April and often fell during Lent or on Good Friday which made me feel a bit hard done by.  However an Easter Sunday birthday was a day full of treats.

Yes we abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

SadieO said:

I grew up going to Catholic school and church and never heard of the Sundays off thing. Quite the opposite in fact, I remember my mum (and the other mums in the family) being a bit (gently!) when we used to forget that they'd given up chocolate for lent, and get them some for Mother's Day! Never heard of it finishing on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday either, those chocolates went firmly on the top of the cupboard until Easter Sunday and not a minute before!

Honestly it feels a bit like cheating to me. If you can just avoid chocolate (or whatever) during the week and then stuff your face with it on a Sunday it's not really making a sacrifice in my book. I don't really see the point in pledging to do something and then looking for what seems to me to be loopholes. 

We only figured ouut the Holy Thursday thing in recent years.  But I didn't say it was true, and we never actually break ours until Easter Sunday,  

But after having another conversation about this a few days ago, we sat and counted the 40 days and 40 nights, and it actually takes us up to Palm Sunday lol. We then googled it to see what they said and it says Lent begins on March 5 and ends on April 17 - which is Holy Thursday, so my first thought was correct. 

But we'll always carry on until Easter Sunday as thats what we've always done lol