On the Third Commandment: Keeping the Lord's Day Holy

SUNDAY, THE LORD'S DAY, MASS CELEBRATION.
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"Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day."

- Exodus 20:8

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, acknowledges the importance of keeping holy the Sabbath or the day of rest:

'The Third Commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath. "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. [Exodus 31:15]"' [CCC 2168].

God required one day out of seven to be set aside for man to render Him full worship. For the Jews, their covenant with God required that it be the seventh day. On that day, the Jews cease to work [see the Jewish definition of work to better understand it at the site to which a link is provided below] and focus on spiritual enrichment for the day is really that, to rest and to nourish the soul or spirit. Two important things must be taken into consideration in the Jewish celebration of Sabbath: Zakhor, that is to remember, which is more than merely not forgetting about the day itself, but more about commemorating creation and their liberation from slavery in Egypt; and Shamor, that is to observe, which means to comply with, fulfill, accomplish and here they keep the Sabbath holy by not working. More about the Sabbath or Shabbat here. 

Christians also observe the day of rest in observance of God's resting after six days of creating everything. But for most Christians, instead of the Sabbath day of the Jews, the rest day was celebrated on the day when Christ rose from the dead, which is the first day of the week, but was called the eighth day by the Apostles. Just like many observances of the Jewish people that are not obligatory to the Christians of heathen background, the celebration of the rest day was more meaningful for them to be fulfilled on the day of the Lord's resurrection rather than that which was being observed by the Jews. 

It must also be recalled that when the Lord Jesus Christ came, He made corrections about how the Sabbath should be properly remembered for the Jewish leaders of His time were more concerned about the external manifestations of the Sabbath to the detriment of the spiritual benefit of this day of rest for the ordinary people. He emphasized that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, that is, the day should be liberating not burdensome, enriching not worrisome, etc. He even commented that He, the Son of Man, is the Lord of the Sabbath [see Mark 2: 27-28] [2172; 2173; 2184]. 

So when the Lord rose from the dead on the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, but was symbolically made famous by the Apostles as the eighth day, that day became more meaningful to the Christians, especially those who were not of Jewish background. It became known as the Lord's Day, or the day when the Lord was resurrected. Hence every eighth day, Christians gathered to celebrate the day of rest. 

The Catechism have these important teachings,

'Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's day [he kuriake hemera, dies dominica] Sunday.' [The day of Resurrection; the new creation, 2174].

'Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ.' [Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath, 2175].

Therefore Christians fulfill the rest day on the Lord's Day, the day of the Lord's resurrection: Sunday. St Justin wrote, 

"We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead." [2174]

St Ignatius of Antioch wrote, 

"Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death." [2175]

As the Jews celebrated the Sabbath because of God's work of creating everything and liberating them from their slavery in Egypt, Christians celebrate the Lord's day because it is when Christ renewed all things and liberated mankind from slavery to sin. Perhaps the establishment of a five-day work week must have been inspired by the desire to provide both Jews and Christians the opportunity to celebrate their days of rest without conflict.

Important thing is that we fulfill the fundamental essence of the rest day: to provide rest to the body so that the spirit may be nourished in accordance with the will of God. For there are those who make the rest day a purely human holiday but not a day to commune with God and His family, the Church, making the rest day as a personal opportunity to escape from obligations and enjoy in leisure and recreation. Sometimes the activities that we do during this day of rest becomes the source of trouble, temptations and fatigue, such as drunkenness, gluttony, excessive physical activities. Hence, instead of making the day holy, it becomes an occasion to sin and therefore great irreverence to the One who has commanded us to remember keeping the day holy. 

So how do we, Christians, keep the Lord's day holy? First of all, we are to participate in the celebration of the Sunday Mass and holidays of obligation [2180, 2181]; participation in communal activities, through the Mass or at least the Liturgy of the Word in the absence of a priest, as testimony of belonging to Christ and unity with His Church [2182; 2183]; just like the Jews we refrain from servile work, that is, work that keeps us from enjoying the rest provided by God  [2184, 2185; 2186]; and, we must also refrain from making unnecessary demands on others that they may also observe the Lord's day [2186; 2195]. 

Moreover, we must never entertain the thought that only during the Lord's day that we ought to keep things holy. For each moment of our lives we are called to holiness [see Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15], not only for a day of each week. For even if it is written that God rested on the seventh day, the Lord tells us that He keeps working [see John 5:17].

A blessed Sunday to everyone!