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And so, we are preparing for Easter, for the BIG celebration of the Resurrection.

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It has come to my attention, by dint of some polling I have done, that the linkage between Sunday and "celebration" has somehow faded. Admittedly, my sample was small, but that does not make it innacurate. This Lent, after Sunday Mass, I would chat and ask my "chattees" whether "today was a day of Penance in Lent". I was assured that it WAS, a pretty resounding "yes", on several Sundays. (Now, I wouldn't ordain anyone who answered "yes" to that one.) So, I suggested we do the Math. That wouldn't be "subjective", "political". How many days in Lent? 40. It was unanimous. When does Lent start? Ash Wednesday. Sooo, that's Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. There are 6 weeks of Lent. Each week has 7 days. Six times seven equals 42, and plus four equals 46. That is beyond the "40" days of Lent. No. Sundays are NOT days of Penance. (Strictly speaking, when Lent ends is theoretically up for grabs, depending on which flavor of Christianity you have. Roman Catholicism has Lent ending at sundown on Holy Thursday. I can't get to 40 that way.)  Sundays are not counted as being "in" Lent as days of Penance. Nothing trumps the Resurrection. We don't have funerals on Sundays, do we? Sundays are separate, in a totally different category. Thirty-six plus 4 equals 40. I have remedied my own language. No more Sundays "of" Lent; no more Sundays "in" Lent. I am settling for "amid/amidst". 

So, WHY is it that we do not do Penance on Sundays amid Lent, at least as a choice, that we should be choosing to "celebrate" instead? And of course, that applies to all Sundays, not just the ones amid Lent.

Because on Sundays, all Sundays, on ALL Sundays until Jesus comes, we celebrate the Resurrection - 52 Sundays out of 52. We each have a Birthday. It comes once a year. Most of us look forward to it. There may be a Party, a festive outing with friends, family. Still, on the calendar, it's just a once a year event, nowhere near as significant as Sunday.
 

So, how do we celebrate? Well, there is of course, the family Feast, the Sunday Church gathering. Some people only think of that as an "obligation". If I don't turn up it will be a "mortal sin". This emphasis is a good red flag for the failure of education, a HUGE missing piece. Have a look at the image at the top. Is that not cause for celebration? Is there anything at all that you can imagine that would be better? I can't come up with a better top of the wish-list item. It would seem to be especially clear when we are confronted on all sides by so much death and destruction.

Perhaps including an extra celebratory event on Sunday would help: a favorite meal, a dessert, a phone call to a friend, or even including an experience which is in some way "new", "different", "unexpected", like resurrection. These are small things, but they can help to give context, to remind us of the tremendous gift we have been given, if we choose to accept.