Do Sundays in Lent Count?

From Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday the math doesn't add up. There should be 40 days, however we count 46.

It is often argued that “Sundays don’t count” because every Sunday is the celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection; maybe so, but we don’t say the Gloria during Sunday Mass during Lent, nor do we say the A-word during Lent, Sunday or not.

Another solution is given by the missal: the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday are not within “the 1st Week of Advent,” but are called “Thursday after Ash Wednesday” and so on. The Holy Triduum goes by “Holy Thursday,” “Good Friday” and “Holy Saturday,” without the mention of Lent, since each of these days has a special spiritual significance. Subtract these six days, and you get 40. 

In my experience, the question of the correct interpretation of the 40 days of Lent usually arises when we ask whether or not we have to keep our Lenten resolutions on Sundays.

Each year, Lent is a reminder that we have already given up on, or even forgotten, our New Year’s resolutions, possibly as early as January 2nd. We realize that we have a second chance to fulfill some 2012 resolutions (we still have ten months to go!), and we vow to do better this time because we are doing it for Jesus. That is often enough of a push: we give up chocolate for 40 days (nothing wrong with a Snickers on Sunday!), cross Lenten Sacrifice off our list of things to do in 2012, feel that we’ve accomplished something, and celebrate the victory over our sweet tooth with a huge Cadbury egg on Easter Sunday morning.

Is it possible that what I promised Jesus for Lent ends up being more about MYSELF? Am I truly motivated by love for Christ, or by my desire to conquer one of MY weaknesses, or simply by the feeling of satisfaction and achievement at Easter?

That’s the reason Pope Benedict, in his Ash Wednesday audience, wanted to dwell on the symbolism of the number 40. The point is not that because we have fulfilled our resolution for the whole 40 days, we are ready for Easter. The point is rather that 40 is a symbolic number in the Bible, always related to purification during a moment of faith. The Pope mentioned that the number 40 refers to: 

• The days in Noah’s arc 
• Moses’ days on Mount Sinai before receiving the Commandments 
• The years of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land 
• The years of peace under the Judges 
• Elijah’s pilgrimage toward Mount Horeb to meet God 
• The days of penance done in Nineveh after Jonah’s prophetic warning 
• The reigns of each of the three final kings before the division of the kingdom of Israel (Saul, David and Salomon) 
• Above all, our Lord’s days of fasting in the desert 

These were moments of purification and preparation for a time of grace. That's what Lent is too. Sacrifices made out of love for Christ purify our hearts and prepare us to experience his love.

So the question is not whether Lent “counts,” if I can eat chocolate on Sundays, but why I make the sacrifice in the first place. If we focus on Christ, we can truly enjoy his grace – and a big Cadbury egg – on April 8th.

By Colin Gore