The Lord’s Day

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

Three of the Evangelists say that “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5).

St. Justin said, “On Sundays there is an assembly of all who live in towns or in the country. This is the first day, on which God transformed darkness and matter and made the world; the day on which Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead” (St. Justin, First Apology).

The Jewish Sabbath gave way to the Christian Sunday from the very beginnings of the Church, and from then on, every Sunday we celebrate the Lord's Resurrection.

Saturday was the day dedicated to Yahweh in the Old Testament. God Himself instituted it (Gen. 2:3) and commanded the Israelites to abstain from certain tasks on that day in order to honor Him properly (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15). It was also the day in which the family got together to celebrate the end of the captivity in Egypt.

As time passed, the rabbis complicated the divine precept, so that by the time of Jesus, there had come into being a series of oppressive and meticulous prescriptions that bore no relation to what God had laid down about the Sabbath.

The Pharisees clashed frequently with Jesus on these points. In spite of this, Our Lord did not look down on the Sabbath.

He did not suppress it as a day dedicated to Yahweh; on the contrary, sometimes it would have seemed to have been His favorite day.

On that day, He often went to the synagogues to preach, and many of His miracles were performed on the Sabbath.

Sacred Scripture everywhere presents a lofty and noble idea of the Sabbath. In the Book of Exodus, we're told it was the day established by God so that His people might devote to Him public worship, and the complete dedication of the day to this purpose appears as a grave obligation (cf. Ex. 31:14-15).

The importance of this command is also deduced from its repetition in Scripture. Sometimes the prophets point out as a cause of God’s punishment the fact that people have not kept the Sabbath.

The Sabbath rest was strictly a religious event, which is why it always culminated in the afternoon sacrifice, we’re told in the Book of Numbers (cf. Num. 28:9-10).

The feast days of Israel, and particularly the Sabbath, were a sign of the Divine Covenant and the people's way of expressing their joy at being God's property and the object of His choice and of His love. That's why every feast day was linked to a salvation event.

Yet these feast days contained only the promise of a reality which still had to take place. With the Resurrection of Our Lord, the Sabbath gives way to the reality which it had foreshadowed, the Christian celebration.

Our Lord Himself in St. Matthew speaks of the Kingdom of God as a great banquet offered by a king on the occasion of the wedding of his son (cf. Matt. 22:2-13), through whom we are invited to share in the messianic benefits (cf. Isa. 25:6-8).

And so, with Christ, there arises a new and superior form of worship, because now we also have a new priest, and a new victim is offered.

After the Resurrection, the first day of the week was commemorated by the Apostles as the Lord's Day, Dominica dies (Rev. 1:10), the day on which He had won victory over sin and death for us through His Resurrection.

For that reason, the first Christians had their meetings on a Sunday. And that has been the constant and universal tradition up to the present day.

We are called to try and keep that tradition alive, to continue to give the Lord's Day the importance that it has. The one thing that the Church asks of us, every week, is that we go to Mass on Sundays.

The Church doesn't oblige us to do a whole pile of other things, but it does oblige us under penalty of mortal sin to attend Mass on Sundays or on the evening of Saturdays because in the time of Our Lord, the evening began with the sunset of the previous day. So, the anticipated Mass is valid for Sundays.

That means we have to try and give that Mass great importance. If we see that there's something else happening on Sundays, we have to try and get to Mass, maybe on Saturday evenings.

Or if we're traveling, not to say, ‘Well, I'll catch Mass somewhere when I arrive,’ but rather, ‘I'll get Mass first before I start my travels.’

Or if we're traveling to distant places, nowadays with Google you could find out the times of Mass before you even start your journey, so that you find out where the churches are near the hotel that you might be staying in.

We take all the necessary precautions to make sure that we fulfill that precept. God wants us to give that example in our Christian family: Sunday Mass is not negotiable. It comes first before everything.

There might be times when we have to make heroic efforts to fulfill that Sunday obligation. If you're going to be traveling in China on a Sunday, maybe try and reorganize your journey—although I think in most places in China now, it's possible to get Mass. Try not to be somewhere where you're going to have difficulty in getting to Mass.

Somebody told me once that they were going scuba diving on an island and there wasn't going to be Mass there. I said, ‘Why don't you ask the travel agent if you can find a Mass some place; otherwise, don't go to that place.’

We asked the travel agent and the travel agent called through to the place they were going to stay, and they said, ‘Oh yes, we can arrange Mass.’

When they arrived at the place and got off the plane, the travel agent was there and asked, ‘Who's the one who wants to go to Mass?’

It became a bit public among his ten or fifteen friends, but he didn't mind.

Then the agent said, ‘Well, this is an island and if you want to get to Mass, you have to get a boat to the mainland. It's a 30-minute journey. Then you have to get a bus for two hours to the local town where there's a Mass. And the whole thing will cost you about $20,’ expecting that the fellow would say, ‘Okay, never mind, thank you very much.’

But when Sunday morning came, he took the boat, and then he took the bus. He got his Mass and then took the return journey, then joined his friends for the rest of the weekend.

In doing so, he gave a great example to his other friends, some of whom were Catholics, of living the Sunday obligation.

The document of the Second Vatican Council on the liturgy says, “The Church, following an apostolic tradition which began with the Resurrection of Christ, celebrates the paschal mystery once a week on the day which is fittingly called the ‘day of the Lord’ or Sunday” (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum concilium, Point 106, December 4, 1963).

This precept of sanctifying holy days regulates one of man's essential duties with regard to his Creator and Redeemer.

There's a Psalm that says, “What shall I give back to God, for all that He's given to me?” (Ps. 116:12). One of the things that God asks of us is to sanctify our Sundays, particularly by being present at Mass.

We give worship to God on this day that is especially dedicated to Him, particularly through our participation in the Holy Sacrifice.

There's no greater prayer or sacrifice, no more transcendental act that man can perform or be part of, than to be present at the Sacrifice of the Altar. No other celebration could fill the meaning of this precept.

In addition to Sunday, the Church, and each diocese, has established holy days to commemorate the chief events of our salvation: Christmas, Easter, the Ascension, Pentecost, and other feasts of Our Lord and of Our Lady.

Alongside these, from the earliest times, the Church has often celebrated the death anniversary of the martyrdom of the first Christians.

Very often, it is said in that document, the Sacrosanctum concilium, these Christian holidays eventually became the basis of the civil calendar.

In her calendar, the Church “commemorates the mysteries of Redemption, opens the riches of the sanctifying power and merits of Our Lord in such a way that in a certain sense, these become present at every moment, so that the faithful can put themselves in contact with them and become filled with the grace of salvation” (Ibid., Point 102).

The center and origin of the joyfulness of Christian feasts is to be found in the presence of Our Lord in His Church. He is the promise and anticipation of definitive union in the celebration which will have no end (Rev. 21:1ff; 2 Cor. 1:22), the eternal wedding feast to which we're all called.

From this celebration then, there springs the joy that characterizes our Sunday celebration. We could tell Our Lord will make the great joy He gives us come to perfection in heaven

A holy day of obligation is not merely a remembrance of past events, a historical anniversary. It is, rather, a sign which shows Christ and makes Him present among us.

The Mass makes Jesus present in His Church. It's a sacrifice of infinite value, offered to God the Father in the Holy Spirit.

All other human, cultural, and social values of holy days have to take second place to this. They shouldn't be allowed to obscure or substitute for what is fundamental.

Alongside the Mass, other expressions of liturgical and popular piety like Benedictions, processions, special care in dress, family celebrations are all particularly important.

It is good for children to grow up knowing these aspects of Catholic culture and their purpose.

Pope Pius XII said we must try, through example and apostolate, “to make Sunday into the Lord's day, a day of adoration and glorification of God, of the Holy Sacrifice, of prayer, of rest, of recollection, of cheerful meetings in the family” (Pius XII, Address, September 7, 1947).

In Psalm 66 it says, “Let the earth cry out to God with joy! Praise the glory of His name; proclaim His glorious praise” (Ps. 66:1-2).

The precept of sanctifying holy days responds to the need to give public worship to God. We can't be satisfied with merely private worship.

‘Why don't I stay at home and just pray to God instead of going to Mass?’ Because a certain social aspect is needed, but also the greatest sacrifice that we can offer to God is the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Some people try to relegate dealing with God to the realm of conscience, as if it didn't necessarily have to have an external expression.

But man has the right and the duty of giving public and external worship to God, and the laws of the country should respect that.

Pope John Paul II, when he was the Archbishop of Krakow, had to fight pretty hard with the communist government of that time to respect these rights of citizens.

It would be gravely harmful if Christians were obliged to hide away in order to practice their faith and worship God, which is their primary right and duty.

Of course, this is something that's happened very much in communist countries. Maybe the 21st century will reveal many stories of the heroism of lay people and of priests trying to celebrate the Mass or be present at Mass, sometimes having to risk their lives, down through history in times of persecution.

Many Catholics have given heroic witness of their faith in the Mass.

Sundays and Church holy days are, above all, days set aside for God, days particularly well-suited to looking for Him and finding Him.

And so, the Church invites us to abstain from servile work, which basically means work that could be done some other day, or work for which we achieve some remuneration, with the exception of people who have to perform some important public service, like nurses or doctors or policemen or whatever.

But generally, if we can use our time on Sundays to spend more time and focus on our family, that would be a good thing.

John Paul II, in one of his homilies, says, “We can never cease to look for God. But there are certain moments which demand that we do so with more intensity, because during those periods, Our Lord is particularly close, and so it is easier to find him and to meet him.

“This nearness constitutes Our Lord's answer to the Church's invocation, which is expressed continuously by means of the liturgy. Even more so, it is the liturgy which precisely actualizes the nearness of the Lord” (John Paul II, Homily, March 20, 1980).

Holy days of obligation are of great importance in helping Christians to receive the action of grace more fully. During those days, the believer is asked to interrupt his work in order to dedicate himself better to the Lord.

But there's no festivity without celebration. A holiday does not consist simply in refraining from working.

Neither can there be a Christian feast day without the faithful coming together to give thanks, to praise the Lord, and to remember His deeds.

And so, it would be very un-Christian to plan to spend a weekend or a ‘holiday’ of obligation in such a way as to make impossible, or very difficult, one's dealings with God.

Parents, with their example, have to try and create that atmosphere in the family, putting first things first.

The Lord's Day can be a day of rest. But rest is not only an opportunity to recuperate energies. It's also the sign and the anticipation of the definitive rest, of that celebration which is heaven.

That's why the Church wishes to celebrate her feast days by including in them a rest from work. All Catholics, like anyone else, have a right to that rest, a right which the State should guarantee and protect.

The rest of these holy days should not be interpreted as simply doing nothing, a mere passing of the time, but rather, a positive involvement in something which enriches the personality in different ways.

We may need to learn how to rest, which can often mean engaging ourselves in a different activity, change of environment, change of circumstances, meeting people, trying to have some apostolic purpose.

There are many ways of resting. It's important not to take the easiest way out, which is not the one that rests us most in any case.

If we know how to limit the use of television on feast days, for example, we will not be repeating so much the false excuse of not having time.

We can create time for other things. We plan things or schedule things—things which we may not be able to do on other days, but when opportunities come from the time of less pressured exchange, we can use them well.

John Paul II has a wonderful apostolic letter called Dies Domini, the “Day of the Lord.” It's on the Internet. He talks a lot about rest and the sanctification of rest.

We can see if we can spend more time with our family during those days, look after the education of our children a little more, develop social relationships and friendships, make a visit or two to people in need, or to those who are alone or sick.

Or it may provide us with the opportunity to have a longer conversation with a friend. Or it could be the moment when a mother or a father needs to speak to one of their children on their own for a longer period, or to listen to them. It would provide that opportunity.

In general terms, one must know how to have, St. Josemaría says, “one's whole day taken up with a flexible schedule in which, besides the daily norms of piety, an important place should be given to rest, which we all need, to family get-togethers, to reading, and to time set aside for an artistic or literary hobby or any other worthwhile pastime.

“We live poverty by filling the hours of the day usefully, doing everything as well as we can, and living little details of order, punctuality, and good humor” (Josemaría Escrivá, Conversations, Point 111).

“The Lord's Day—as Sunday was called from apostolic times—has always been accorded special attention in the history of the Church because of its close connection with the very core of the Christian mystery. In…the weekly reckoning of time, Sunday recalls the day of Christ's Resurrection” (John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Dies Domini ff., May 31, 1998).

“It is Easter which returns week by week, celebrating Christ's victory over sin and death, the fulfilment in him of the first creation, and the dawn of ‘the new creation’ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17).

“It is the day that recalls in grateful adoration the world's first day and looks forward in active hope to ‘the last day’, when Christ will come in glory (cf. Acts 1:11, 1 Thess. 4:13-17) and all things will be made new (cf. Rev. 21:5).

“The cry of the Psalmist can rightly be applied to Sunday. ‘This is the day which the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it’ (Ps. 118:24).

“This invitation to joy, which the Easter liturgy makes its own, reflects the astonishment which came over the women who, having seen the crucifixion of Christ, found the tomb empty when they went there ‘very early on the first day after the Sabbath’ (Mark 16:2).

“It is an invitation to re-live in some way the experience of the two disciples of Emmaus, who felt their hearts ‘burn within them’ as the Risen One walked with them on the road, explaining the Scriptures and revealing himself in ‘the breaking of the bread’ (cf. Luke 24:32,35).

“And it echoes the joy—at first uncertain and then overwhelming—which the Apostles experienced on the evening of that same day, when they were visited by the Risen Jesus and received the gift of his peace and of his Spirit (cf. John 20:19-23).

“The Resurrection of Jesus is the fundamental event upon which Christian faith rests (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14). It's an astonishing reality, fully grasped in the light of faith, yet historically attested to by those who were privileged to see the Risen Lord.

“It is a wondrous event which is not only absolutely unique in human history, but which lies at the very heart of the mystery of time. ‘All time belongs to Christ and all the ages,’ as the liturgy recalls (Liturgy, Easter Vigil).

“And so, in commemorating the day of Christ's Resurrection, not just once a year, but every Sunday, the Church seeks to indicate to every generation the true fulcrum of history, to which the mystery of the world's origin and its final destiny leads.

“It is right, therefore, to claim, in the words of a fourth-century homily, that ‘the Lord's Day’ is ‘the lord of days.’

“Those who have received the grace of faith in the Risen Lord cannot fail to grasp the significance of this day of the week with the same deep emotion which led St. Jerome to say: ‘Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, it is the day of Christians, it is our day.’

“For Christians, Sunday is ‘the fundamental feast day’ (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum concilium, Point 106), established not only to mark the succession of time but to reveal time's deeper meaning.

“The fundamental importance of Sunday has been recognized through two thousand years of history and was emphatically restated by the Second Vatican Council: ‘Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery,’ it said. ‘This is a tradition going back to the Apostles, taking its origin from the actual day of Christ's Resurrection, and thus appropriately designated ‘the Lord's Day.’”

We can ask Our Lady that we ourselves might live very well this precept that the Church has given to us of hearing Mass on Sunday, and that she might help us to grow to a deeper appreciation of this day of the Lord that God and the Church have given to us.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

BWM