YOUCAT Lesson 365
YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic
youth
365 How do Christians make Sunday “the Lord’s
Day”?
A Catholic Christian attends Holy Mass on Sunday or on the
vigil of Sunday. On that day he refrains
from all work that would prevent him from worshipping God or disturb the
festive, joyful, restful, and restorative character of the day. [2177-2186, 2192-2193]
A woman reading on an inn porch. Google images. …..365
Since Sunday is an Easter celebration that occurs each week,
Christians from the earliest times have gathered together on that day to
celebrate and thank their Redeemer and to reunite themselves with him and with
others who are redeemed. So it is a
central duty of every conscientious Catholic Christian to “keep holy” Sunday
and the other holy days of the Church.
One is exempted from it only by urgent family duties and important
responsibilities in society. Because
participation in the Sunday Eucharist is fundamental for a Christian life, the
Church explicitly declares that it is a serious sin to stay away from Sunday
Mass without good reason. 219, 345
“Without Sunday we cannot live,” answered the Christian
martyrs of Abitene, before they were executed in 304 by Emperor Diocietian
because they had opposed his ban on the celebration of Sunday.
“People used to say: Give your soul a Sunday! Now they say: Give your Sunday a soul!” Peter Rosegger (1843-1918, Austrian writer)
[2177-2186, 2192-2193]
The Sunday Eucharist
2177 The
Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the
Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is
celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the
foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."( Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 1246 § 1.)110 —Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second
Edition
"Also to be observed are
the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension
of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the
Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph,
the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All
Saints."( Codex Iuris Canonici,
can. 1246 § 2: "The conference of bishops can abolish certain holy
days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday with prior approval of the
Apostolic See.") 111
--CCC
2178 This
practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic
age.( Compare Acts of the
Apostles 2:42-46; 1
Corinthians 11:17.)112 The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not to
neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one
another."( Hebrews 10:25.)113
Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation:
Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in
prayer. . . . Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude
its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. . . . We have often
said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that
the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."( Sermo de die dominica 2 et 6:Patrologia Graeca 86/1,416C and
421C.)114
2179 "A parish is a definite
community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a
particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as
its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop."( Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 515 § 1.)115 It is the
place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday
celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into
the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in
this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity
of the Lord in good works and brotherly love:
You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.( St. John Chrysostom, De incomprehensibili 3,6:Patrologia Graeca 48,725.)116
2180 The
precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On
Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate
in the Mass."( Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 1247.)117 "The precept of participating in the
Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a
Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding
day."( Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 1248 § 1.)118
2181 The
Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice.
For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on
days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness,
the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.( Compare Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 1245.)119 Those who deliberately fail in this
obligation commit a grave sin.
2182 Participation
in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging
and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by
this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God's
holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2183 "If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave
cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is
specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word if
it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place according to
the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an
appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in
groups of families."( Compare Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 1245.)120
2184 Just
as God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had
done,"( Genesis 2:2.)121 human
life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord's Day helps
everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural,
social, and religious lives.( Compare Gaudium et Spes 67 § 3.)122
2185 On
Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from
engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy
proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the
appropriate relaxation of mind and body.( Compare Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 120. )123 Family needs or
important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday
rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to
habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.
The charity of truth seeks holy leisure- the necessity of
charity accepts just work.( St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 19,19:Patrologia Latina
41,647.)124
2186 Those
Christians who have leisure should be mindful of their brethren who have the
same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from work because of poverty
and misery. Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good
works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians
will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and
relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time
for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers
the growth of the Christian interior life.
IN BRIEF
2192 "Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church" (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1246 § 1). "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass" (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1247).
2193 "On
Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound
. . . to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede
the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord's Day,
or the proper relaxation of mind and body" (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1247).
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