Lent
The Extent of the Season of Lent: The “forty days” of Lent constitute the first part of the whole paschal cycle that reaches from Ash Wednesday through the Tritium until Pentecost Sunday. Seen in its relationship to the Easter celebrations, Lent serves as a preparation for the Easter mysteries. Lent itself begins on Ash Wednesday with the proclamation from the prophet Joel, “Proclaim a fast … ” It ends at the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the start of the Tritium. Lent actually includes six Sundays. Since the revision of the Liturgical calendar in 1969, the sixth Sunday of Lent has been called Passion (Palm) Sunday.
Lenten Schedule 2008