The Third Commandment
“Remember the
sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do
all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your
God; in it you shall not do any work.” (Ex 20:8-10)
“The sabbath was
made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord
even of the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)
If God is really perfect, why
did He need to rest on the seventh day?
God did not actually
need to rest. There are multiple meanings to the Sabbath rest;
we shall focus on one. The Lord gave us the Sabbath as a
foreshadowing of our eternal destiny. While on earth we work out
our salvation, but earth is not our final end. We were created
to have perfect “rest” and fulfillment in Heaven by our unity
with the Blessed Trinity. We must, however, endure a time of
testing in which we work out our salvation. God gives us the
Sabbath as His first promise and revelation of Heaven and our
eternal destiny.
If
the Jews celebrated the Sabbath on Saturday, why do we celebrate
it on Sunday? (CCC 2174-2176)
There are a few
simple answers to this question. First, the celebration of
Sabbath on a Sunday still fulfills God’s command to keep holy
the Sabbath. In this command, God prescribes a day of rest and
worship each week. It is most important that this weekly
obligation be observed.
The day it is
observed is important and should have meaning, but the fact that
it must be forever the same day is not a matter of divine law.
This does not however mean that we can change it from
Sunday or celebrate it whenever we choose. The changing of the
Sabbath day does not rest in the hands of men, but God.
Jesus rose from the
dead on Sunday, the day after the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday.
This “eighth day” resurrection symbolizes a new creation
that Jesus began with the New Covenant and Kingdom that were
created upon his resurrection. This is principle reason why we
celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday. In this act we see that the
change was not man’s doing, but the Lord’s own act.
Is
it necessary that we attend Mass every Sunday, or is refraining
from work enough to observe this commandment? (CCC 2177-2183)
We must attend Mass
every Sunday and every other Holy Day of Obligation (Easter,
Assumption of Mary, Immaculate Conception, etc.). This is a very
explicit precept of the Church. Many people see this obligation
as a strict, rigid and uncompromising rule. They see it as a
hassle and often think it is too legalistic. “Why do I need to
go to Church to be a good Catholic?” they think. One answer to
this question has much to do with the Church as a community and
more on this can be found in the section on the Church. However,
we will look at another aspect to this answer here. This first
requires a little background on the human person.
As human beings, we
have a material body and a spiritual soul. The two form a
complex and intimate union that cannot be simply separated as
they overlap and intermingle to form one complex reality – the
human person. Both are important, but the soul is superior, and
the body serves and should be subordinate to the soul. The two
principle powers of the soul are the intellect and will. Because
of original sin, our bodies have ¨taken over¨ and now dominate
our intellect and will. Our entire Christian life is an effort
to strengthen our intellects and wills so that they can have
dominion over the body. It is important to understand that this
dominion is not one of a slave and master. The body should not
obey out of fear, coercion or threat of punishment. Ideally, our
bodies and souls should work in harmony together for the greater
good of our person. Our body and its passions should want to do
the right thing and should want to be under dominion of the soul
because this is what brings even our bodies the most happiness
and peace. However, the passions of our bodies, while not
bad, have left their right order (of being subordinate to
the intellect) and therefore, they have caused disorder. This
disorder brings pain and suffering. We must begin to right this
disorder. To do this, we need to strengthen our souls (our
intellect and will) so that they can again be superior.
Therefore, we need ¨soul food.¨ This is precisely what we go to
Mass to receive. We go to Mass to receive the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ. This heavenly Food has the capacity to strengthen
our bodies, intellects and wills so that each will be in their
proper order. Without this food, we will not receive the power
needed to put ourselves “in order.” Our bodies will remain in
control, and our passions will continue to dominate our
intellect and will. Unfortunately, bodies are mortal and they
die. If we ¨live according to the flesh,¨ we too will die along
with it. However, our spirits are immortal, and if we, with the
grace and strength coming from the Eucharist, strengthen our
spirits so that we ¨no longer live by the flesh, but by the
spirit,¨ we too will be immortal.
When we clearly see
and understand this, we can then see that the command of the
Church to attend Mass every Sunday is not simply an arbitrary
rule. It is for our survival. Parents do not make rules for
their children that require them to eat because their children
inherently know that they need to eat. The Church requiring us
to attend Mass is the same as parents requiring their children
to eat every day. However, they must make it an explicit rule
because our minds and wills have become so darkened by sin that
we do not know where to find proper food. We feel hungry, but do
not recognize it or know why, and the world presents us with all
kinds of false food that will fill our bellies. But the Church
speaks the truth to us. Our Mother Church knows precisely what
will fill us. She offers a food that will fill us forever and
never leave us hungry again. Therefore, we should never look at
the rules of the Church as tasks to test us, but instructions on
how to be satisfied and reach the fullness of life.
Finally, we look at
the most important reason we should attend Mass each Sunday.
Jesus is in love with us and wants to unite Himself with us and
live in us. He is in love with us. Passionately, more than we
can imagine or conceive. This love is the love of a lover, a
spousal love. He desires union with us so much that He, the
Creator of the Universe, makes Himself Bread so that He can
enter into us, His beloved. This is why we should go to Mass
every week – because Love awaits us and calls us to Himself.
What are we supposed to do
on Sundays? (CCC 2184-2188)
Whatever we do on
Sundays it should be something of rest and/or leisure. It should
promote our family life, cultural or social life, or our
religious life. It should not hinder us properly worshiping God,
resting our minds and bodies, and having joy due to our rest.
Sometimes pressing or important events come up, and it is
permissible to see to them when they do. However, they should
not become habits.
We are encouraged to
perform charitable acts and works of mercy for the destitute,
poor, homeless, sick, the elderly or lonely. These charitable
acts are not considered work, and it fact, it is encouraged that
we participate in them. We should spend this time as much as
possible with family and take the time to visit family members
that are lonely or sick or further away, knowing that is usually
more difficult to do these things during the week.
As well, we should
try as much as possible to make Sundays quieter and more
recollected, as they should be days of more prayer and
contemplation.
Though it is
necessary for those in certain lines of work to work on Sundays,
those who do not work should respect them by making a reasonable
effort to avoid excesses that would cause them to work more.
Are we allowed do
charitable work on Sunday’s (for example, feeding the poor,
visiting the sick and the elderly, etc)? (CCC 2185-2186)
As stated in the
previous question, we are not only allowed, but encouraged, to
perform charitable acts on Sundays. The Church does not deem
this work. Serving those less fortunate than us is a very
effective way of keeping Sunday holy, since we are following in
the footsteps of Christ by serving and caring for the most needy
and poor. It is actually an act of worship to serve our brothers
and sisters in need.
Should employees insist on
Sundays off from their employers? (CCC 2188)
As much as in their
means, employees should not work on Sundays. They should give
their employers a good example of piety and prayer by asking for
these days off (if they are not already automatically given).
However, it is understood that this is not possible under all
circumstances. When circumstances arise that prevent Sunday
being taken as a day of rest, one should try as best as he can
to live the day as a Sunday. How to go about doing this in
individual circumstances is a matter for prudence and prayer. As
for Mass attendance, those who must work on Sundays have the
option of attending the Saturday vigil Mass the night before.
