Sunday's in Lent

So during lent we are posed with question of “What about Sunday?” do Sundays count at part of lent or are they a solemnity that we break our fast and celebrate the Lord’s day?

Technically no

Sundays are not counted as part of Lent.  They are regarded at the Lord’s day and therefore a day of rest.  Being that they are a day of rest no fasting or abstaining should be done on Sunday. 

Technically St. Joseph’s Day(March 19th) is a solemnity too which you could break your Lenten fast as well.  so you are not under any obligation to your Lenten sacrifice on Sunday

If you live on technicalities where is the sacrifice?

The other side of the coin it that if we are looking as lent as a whole then we should keep up our pattern of behavior even on Sunday.  Just because you are not under the obligation does not mean you should not take it as an opportunity to grow in holiness. Jesus went to the desert for 40 days to fast and pray.  Scripture does not say that Jesus came out of the desert every 6 day went to town for a good meal pronouncing that it was the Sabbath so he can break his fast.  So we too should follow the example of Jesus in continuing to give up our indulgences (candy, beer, etc.) throughout the entire forty days so that we can grow in holiness and closer to God.   

Conclusion

Are we called to rest on the Lord’s Day as prescribed in scripture or are we supposed to continue to a complete lenten journey?  That depends on your motivations.  Are you living out the 40 days of lent or are you living out lent 6 days at a time then making up for it on the seventh day?

Yes we should keep holy the Sabbath, yes we should not fast or abstain from meat on the Sabbath.  But if you are just living out your week so that you can use Sunday as the time to indulge in everything you gave up then where is your Lenten sacrifice?  Look at the big picture of Lent the whole time from Ash Wednesday to the Wednesday of Holy Week.  Are you growing closer to God EVERYDAY or are you only doing it somedays.  Only you can decide how you keep holy the Sabbath.  

Side Note:

I am going to give a quick plug for friend that just published his first spirituality book entitled "Remove the Stone": Using Your Sins to Redirect Spiritual Energy .  I have not read it yet but I am ordering it and will post a full review in a future post.  But if his writing is anything like his preaching or his general intellectual world perspective I expect good things from this book.  Some of my local readers may know Father Lanoue as he is the Associate pastor at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park, MD.  This is his first published book about spirituality.  I think it will be a good read and I look forward to reading it and posting a complete review soon.