Do you take Sundays “off” during Lent?
Sundays aren’t counted in the 40 days of Lent because they are solemnities, or holy days of celebration. We commemorate the Resurrection on Sundays, the eighth day of the week, so “when the bridegroom is present, the guests cannot mourn.” We do not have to observe our Lenten penitences on that day.
However, I feel like letting up on the fast on Sundays can have two negative consequences:
- It reduces the challenge, since doing something for six days isn’t exactly in the same league of self-discipline as doing it for six weeks.
- It tempts me to overindulge. When I used to give up eating between meals, I’d eat all day on Sundays. Sweets? Sugar binge! For me, self-control works best “all or nothing”.
Please don’t interpret this as Katie disagreeing with the Church. I’m just saying it’s something to think about – for each Lenten promise you make to the Lord, you should decide at the beginning whether or not you’re going to “rest” from it on Sundays or not.
I was going to check in on Twitter today, but I was conflicted because I don’t usually blog on Sundays, as a day of rest. Then when I do get to “work” after the kids are down, that’s when I need to focus and not be distracted! So another week will go by before I see who’s tweeting about me – no small sacrifice as I know I had some Mentions and DMs on account of Tweetdeck still telling me all day Thursday and Friday even after I closed the window! Hubs reminded me to say a prayer every time I was reminded of what I was missing, and that helped.
I’m a total *fail* on corn, soy and unsoaked grains! I forgot about the grains Friday and ate Goldfish, pretzels, and store bread. After I realized I should check the ingredients on the snacks at Friday mornings group, I found corn sugar in the pretzels and soybean oil in the Goldfish. I stopped eating them, and only later realized that the grain thing would have knocked them out anyway!
My biggest surprise? There’s corn in my cottage cheese! I have to use only Daisy brand cottage cheese and sour cream because all the other brands have more fillers than real ingredients. I never realized that! Although one of my points in giving up corn and soy was to learn what they’re in, I very disappointed and didn’t want to know this one. !!
On the positive front, I’ve gotten into the Scriptures catching up on some back Bible study reading and learned even more (although not every day), and I’ve had some nice time with my children. I only missed one day of greeting the Lord in the morning. I hope He doesn’t mind that I only have about three brain cells firing at that time of day, enough to say, “Hello, Lord. Please help me get through this day and be a good mother!”
How are your Lenten promises going?
Still wanting for inspiration on the perfect Lenten sacrifice? I am encouraged by the amazing posts linked at the “What are you Doing for Lent?” Carnival, still open for linking up if you have a Lenten post lying around.
Hallee has a great post describing what Lent is and origins in Scripture.
**Remember you can see me speak next Tuesday at the second of two discussions on “Just Food” at the Catholic Information Center. February 23rd and March 2nd from 7-8:30 pm in downtown Grand Rapids.
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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Photo credit from maciek_draba
I just got really confused reading this post until I realized, you must have some sort of automatic tweet when you do a new post. You’re still tweeting, just not in person!
.-= Krystal´s last blog ..Sweet feet =-.
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I’ve decided to observe the solemnity. I agree that the all-or-nothing is more effective when it comes to sweets, however I find that after several days, a small cheat is nice…as long as it’s not a day-long binge. I was asking my husband if the solemnity begins after dark on Saturday. After all, Saturday evening mass counts for the Sunday mass obligation. Well, we went out to eat Saturday evening, and at the end, they brought out a small ice cream for each of the kids and I had a couple of bites. I felt pretty bad when I though about it later.
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Katie Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:32 am
Jassica,
Katie
When I observe a Sabbath blog rest, I start Saturday night-I’m sure as long as your intentions are good, you can observe the Sabbath like the Church sundown to sundown – no reason to feel badly!
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I’m not skipping Sundays. I’m afraid it would be a slippery slope to skipping more than that, and my brain also works on a pretty rigid all or nothing set of rules.
So far, so good. The primary sacrifice (my pride), there’s really no going back on after that blog post and subsequent facebook posts about it. I just keep reminding myself to tell the truth, smile, and let people settle into the idea. And, so far as the secondary sacrifice is concerned … success so far … not one drop of soda since Fat Tuesday. Yay!
.-= Em.´s last blog ..The Oven’s Triumphant Return! =-.
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I’m fascinated. Sundays are NOT a part of Lent; they, as you say, are a celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.
So ………. why is it “cheating” to not sacrifice on a day that is not sacrificial but celebratory? There is a rhythm to life of fast/ordinary/feast. Can’t we rely on God’s strength to get us through the fast, and offer thanks to Him for the feasting?
Is this about us and our will power?
Just asking.
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Katie Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:57 am
Judith,
Katie
For me, it’s all about my lack of will power! I would feel terrible if I gorged on sugar all day, so better to just not. I definitely struggle with what to do on Sundays. Jesus went into the desert 40 days, though, you know? Not 6 and then a break, etc. For me, because I need so much self-discipline, I really NEED to go whole hog. For others, the solemnity is a great time to rest.
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Katie, thanks for your Mary and Martha moments. Seeing how you are teaching your children to have a reverence for God has been a blessing to me, and reading about the traditional celebrations of the Church calendar has encouraged me to really prepare my heart for the coming Easter celebration.
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Thank you for your honesty about your journey. It’s always good to recognize that you aren’t alone
On another note, and only slightly off topic, you know you can fairly quickly make your own sour cream (with no fillers) by taking heavy cream and adding a couple tablespoons of yogurt and then letting it sit out in a warm place covered with a cloth until it thickens, just like making yogurt. You don’t even have to heat it first if you don’t want to…the best sour cream ever
.-= Evelyn´s last blog ..End of the World =-.
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I appreciate the M&M moments too (huh that looks funny. . . ). I think we all need to be careful about legalism, grace, and works. God’s specific call and conversation with us as individuals in light of His other ‘words’ (creation, sacraments, Church, Bible) are what we need to let lead us in our actions and attitudes. Anyway, just a nonCatholic’s brief thoughts on the gift of Lent. On other notes, thanks Evelyn for the sour cream advise and Katie, I would love to try to come see you speak next Tuesday, but we’ll see (we have a two week old sweet baby girl who might rather not, but someday I’ll meet you in this lovely city of ours!).
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I’m not Catholic, but have long been fascinated by Catholicism. I’ve really enjoyed reading your more Catholic posts here!
I was wondering…does it have to be all or nothing for Sundays? If sugar is that much of a problem, why not NOT keep sugary snacks around? I make lots of things with raw honey or maple syrup, which, as you know, are much better for you. Fruit salad can sub as a sweet treat. I make my own version of Waldorf Salad which is delicious and feels like a treat when you eat it. In addition to apples, celery, and walnuts, I include dried cranberries and I make my own mayo specially for the salad. I also mix in lemon juice and some raw honey. It really is good, and even better the next day…although perhaps there are some foods in there that would not be eaten during Lent, so in that case only make what you will eat in one day!
Anyway, hope this helps a bit.
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Katie Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 2:04 am
Jana,
I just think one should decide before the enter Lent what the Sabbath will look like – a total break from their sacrifice, a small change (like cutting all sugars yet having raw honey and maple syrup on Sundays, just not white sugar), or just keeping the sacrifice the whole time. It’s kind of between me and God, which is great. Your salad sounds totally yummy! 
Katie
That’s the great thing about a relationship with God – He’s pretty flexible, just like other people!
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Jana Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
You’re absolutely right, these kinds of things are personal between us and God, but I guess that’s the downside of blogging…everyone has an opinion about your life!
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I think my Sundays will be about moderation. Our church often has meals together on Sunday and I don’t want to shun this fellowship. I think my body also needs a day off because it’s not healthy to lose so much weight.
Last night we got to bed really late. I wasn’t thinking and I set the alarm later so I could catch up on sleep. I was pretty sorry this morning when I suddenly remembered I was going to devote my early mornings to prayer during Lent. I had a comforting thought though. God already knows I am not very good at this. That’s what makes Easter so great!
Thanks for the posts on Lent!
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