FROM SATURDAY (SABBATH) TO SUNDAY (PASCHA)
When God rested from all the work he had done in creation (Genesis. 2:2-3). Catholics
worship on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week (Sunday, the eighth day); the day
when God said “Let there be light” (Genesis. 1:3); the day when Christ rose from the
dead; the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles (Day of Pentecost). The
Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The Church celebrates the day of Christ’s
Resurrection on the ‘eighth day,’ Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord’s Day” (CCC
2191).
The early Church did not move the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Instead “The
Sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by
Sunday, which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ”
(CCC 2190). Sunday is the day Catholics are bound to keep, not Saturday.
We see evidence of this in Scripture:
On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them
because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight
(Acts 20:7).
On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever one can
afford, so that collections will not be going on when I come (1 Cor. 16:2).
Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to
a festival or new moon or Sabbath (Col. 2:16).
The Catechism also says:
By a tradition handed down from the Apostles which took its origin from the very day
of Christ’s Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery every seventh
day, which day is appropriately called the Lord’s Day or Sunday. The day of Christ’s
Resurrection is both the first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation,
and the “eighth day,” on which Christ after his “rest” on the great Sabbath inaugurates
the “day that the Lord has made,” the “day that knows no evening.” (CCC 1166.)
The Third Commandment
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour, 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.” (Exodus 20:8-10; cf. Deuteronomy 5:12-15)
“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)
1. THE SABBATH DAY
CCC 2168 – 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 2169 – In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six
days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and
rested the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and
hallowed it. (Exodus 20:11)
CCC 2170 – Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's
liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant
in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with
mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God
commanded you to keep the sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:15)
CCC 2171 – God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the
irrevocable covenant. (Exodus 31:16) The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set
apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on
behalf of Israel.
CCC 2172 – God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and
was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let
others, especially the poor, "be refreshed." (Exodus 31:17 cf. 23:12) The sabbath
brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest
against the servitude of work and the worship of money. (Nehemiah 13:15-22)
CCC 2173 The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of
violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this
day. (Mark 1:21; John 9:16) He gives this law its authentic and authoritative
interpretation: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." (Mark
27) With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than
harm, for saving life rather than killing. (Mark 3:4) The sabbath is the day of the
Lord of mercies and a day to honour God. (Matthew 12:5; John 7:23) "The Son of
Man is lord even of the sabbath." (Mark 2:28)
2. THE LORD'S DAY
This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
(Psalms 118:24)
2.1. The day of the Resurrection: the new creation
CCC 2174 – Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." (Matthew
28:1; John 20:1) 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, (Mark 16:1;
Matthew 28:1) 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:
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 Saviour rose from the
dead. (St. Justin, I Apol. 67:PG 6,429 and 432)
2.2. Sunday - fulfilment of the sabbath
CCC 2175 – 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 fulfils 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: (1 Corinthians 10:11)
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. (St. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Magn. 9,1:SCh 10,88.)
CCC 2176 – The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment
inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible,
public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II,122,4.) Sunday worship fulfils the moral command of the
Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the
Creator and Redeemer of his people.
2.3. The Sunday Eucharist
CCC 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." (CIC, can. 1246 § 1.)
"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." (CIC, can. 1246 § 2.)
CCC 2178 – This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings
of the apostolic age. (Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 11:17) 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)
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:PG 86/1,416C and 421C.)
CCC 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."(CIC, can. 515 § 1) 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:PG
48,725.)
2.4. The Sunday obligation
CCC 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." (CIC, can. 1247.) "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."
(CIC, can. 1248 § 1.)
CCC 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. (CIC, can.
1240.) Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.
CCC 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.
CCC 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." (CIC, can. 1248 § 2.)
2.5. A day of grace and rest from work
CCC 2184 – Just as God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which
he had done," (Genesis 2:2.) 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. (GS 67 § 3.)
CCC 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. (CIC, can. 120.) 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.
2.6. The charity of truth seeks holy leisure- the necessity of charity accepts
just work. (St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 19,19:PL 41,647.)
CCC 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.
CCC 2187 – Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort.
Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that
would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day. Traditional activities (sport,
restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public services, etc.), require some
people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside
sufficient time for leisure. With temperance and charity, the faithful will see to it
that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular
leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should
ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine worship. Employers have a
similar obligation toward their employees.
CCC 2188 – In respecting religious liberty and the common good of all,
Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy days as
legal holidays. They have to give everyone a public example of prayer,
respect, and joy and defend their traditions as a precious contribution to the
spiritual life of society. If a country's legislation or other reasons require work on
Sunday, the day should nevertheless be lived as the day of our deliverance
which lets us share in this "festal gathering," this "assembly of the firstborn who
are enrolled in heaven." (Hebrews 12:22-23.)
3. IN BRIEF
CCC 2189 – "Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Deuteronomy 5:12). "The
seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord" (Exodus 31:15).
CCC 2190 – The sabbath, which represented the completion of the first
creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation
inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ.
CCC 2191 – The Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the
"eighth day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day (cf. SC 106).
CCC 2192 – "Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation
in the universal Church" (CIC, can. 1246 § 1). "On Sundays and other holy days of
obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass" (CIC, can. 1247).
CCC 2193 – "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are
bound . . . to abstain from those labours 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" (CIC, can. 1247).
CCC 2194 – The institution of Sunday helps all "to be allowed sufficient rest and
leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives" (GS 67 § 3).
CCC 2195 – Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on
others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day.
