Shouts in the Piazza reminds us that counting to forty isn't always as straightforward as they taught you in grammar school. But do read the rest, there's some good back-story in the post. Of course, you knew it all already, right?
So, if we begin counting the forty days on the First Sunday of Lent and end on Holy Thursday we see it's easy. We begin counting on the evening of the Saturday after Ash Wednesday. (Remember? The sabbath begins at sundown the night before a Sunday.) So, starting on the Saturday eve of the First Sunday of Lent we count forward until the eve of the Second Sunday of Lent. That's seven days or one week. There are five weeks of Lent (five times seven is Thirty-five) bringing us up to the Saturday eve of Palm Sunday. From there we simply count forward: Palm Sunday, Monday of Holy Week, Tuesday of Holy Week, Spy Wednesday and Holy Thursday morning. That's five more days. Thirty-five plus five equals...FORTY!
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