Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

903. “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day”

(Ex 20:8; Dt 5:12) is usually formulated for
Christians as: “Remember to keep holy the
Lord’s Day.” The Third Commandment enjoins
us to keep holy the day set aside for the
worship of God and for recreation.
} When grounded in its Old Testament context,
it binds together the two tablets of the Law.
For two basic sources are given for this
Commandment, one stressing our direct
relationship to God, the other focusing on its
human, liberating effects.
904. The first source relates the sabbath rest to
God’s creative action in Genesis. “In six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the
sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh
day He rested” (Ex 20:11).
905. The first reason given for the Third
Commandment, then, is God’s rest on the
seventh day (cf. CCC 2172). This rest was not
an absence of work; when God stopped
working, He created something new,
something which was not there before __ REST.
Rest here means much more than withdrawal
from labor and exertion, more than freedom
from toil, strain or activity of any kind. What
was created on the seventh day? Tranquility,
serenity, peace and repose” (A. Heschel, The
Sabbath).
906. The second reason given for the Sabbath
rest in Scripture is the great liberation from
slavery in Egypt: “For remember that you too
were once slaves in Egypt, and the Lord, your
God, brought you from there with His strong
hand and outstretched arm. That is why the
Lord, your God, has commanded you to
observe the sabbath” (Dt 5:15; cf. CCC 2170).
} 907. Balance Needed. Throughout history,
these two reasons for the Sabbath commandment
have sometimes been set against each other. If
the worship reason alone is stressed, then the
Sabbath tends to become a day of Pharisaic
legalistic piety, with its social humanitarian
dimensions gravely restricted. On the other hand,
if __ as seems to be the more common case
today __ only the human social rest dimensions
of the Sabbath are emphasized, the holy day
becomes simply a holiday for physical relaxation
and enjoyment, with only minimal concern for
any religious aspect.
} 909. Jesus and the Sabbath. Although all
four Gospels record that Jesus faithfully
observed the Sabbath, attending synagogue
services (cf. Mt 4:23; Mk 1:39; Lk 4:15; Jn
18:20), they also report a number of
incidents which show Jesus in conflict with
the Sabbath law in the legalistic interpretation
that held sway in his days.
} In line with the liberation grounding of the
Sabbath rest, Jesus, as “Lord even of the
Sabbath,” taught “The Sabbath is made for
man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27-28).
} When the legalists tried to trap Christ into
breaking the Sabbath law, Jesus asked: “is it
lawful to do a good deed on the Sabbath — or
an evil one? To preserve life — or to destroy
it?” When they refused to answer, Jesus
“looked around at them with anger, for he
was deeply grieved that they had closed their
minds against him” (Mk 3:4-5).
} This indicates that genuine Sabbath worship
of God is not to be separated from human
liberation: “It is mercy I desire and not
sacrifice” (Mt 12:7; cf. CCC 2173).
} 910. Easter: the New Sabbath. After Christ’s
glorious Resurrection and the Pentecostal
enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, a whole new
dimension was added to the Sabbath. St. Ignatius
of Antioch wrote: “Those who walked in ancient
customs came to a new hope, no longer
sabbatizing, but living the Lord’s Day, on which
we came to live through him and his death.”
Thus, because “Jesus rose from the dead on
Easter Sunday, the day after the Sabbath.
Christians have always kept this day as the new
Sabbath . . . . Sunday is the Easter celebration; it
is a day when the presence of the risen Lord
Jesus is celebrated, especially in the Eucharist”
(CCC 2175).
} 914. As members of the new People of
God, the Church, we have the duty to worship
together as a community so as to express our
unity as one people with Christ as head (cf. 1
Cor 12:27; Eph 4:4-6), and to deepen our
relationship with God.
} On this day [Sunday] Christ’s faithful are
bound to come together in one place. They
should listen to the word of God and take
part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the
Passion, Resurrection, and Glory of the Lord
Jesus, and giving thanks to God who “gave us
new birth; a birth unto hope which draws its
life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead” (1 Pt 1:3). The Lord’s Day is the
original feast day, and it should be proposed
and taught so that it may become in fact a
day of joy and freedom from work (SC 106).
} 915. Therefore, in accordance with the
Third Commandment, the Church decrees
that Catholics should fulfill this obligation by
actively participating in the Eucharist, the
sacrifice of the New Law instituted by Christ.
} On Sundays and other holy days of obligation
the faithful are bound to participate in the
Mass; they are 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 (CJC, Can.
1247).
} 917. Observance of the Lord’s Day. Since
Vatican II, the major efforts to raise the quality of
Sunday worship have met with considerable
success. Nevertheless, there has also been a
noticeable decline in Sunday Church attendance,
and in avoiding work that impedes the Sunday
rest. Renewal of celebrating the Lord’s Day
through better understanding of the essential
meaning of the Commandment and of its proper
motivation, is an urgent priority for the Church.
} 918. For today’s average Filipino Catholic,
further clarification might be needed
concerning the “rest” enjoined by the Third
Commandment. Basically, the rest on the
Lord’s Day concerns more than psycho-
physical recreation. It has to do with St.
Augustine’s famous words: “Our hearts are
restless till they rest in Thee.” It means a rest
in God’s presence.
} opposing three particular modern attitudes:
heightened anxiety, hyper-activism, and
success-orientation. (CFC
} Being over-anxious against all eventualities
often ends in a perverted, desperate,
enslaving effort for self-made security and
independence. When the rich old man in the
Gospel thought he had everything, God said
he was a fool. “That is the way it works with
the man who grows rich for himself instead of
growing rich in the sight of God” (Lk 12:21).
} Instead Christ taught: “Do not worry about
your livelihood, what you are to eat or drink
or use for clothing . . . Your heavenly Father
knows all that you need. Seek first his
Kingship over you . . . and all these things will
be given you besides” (Mt 6:25-33).
} 920. Being active and industrious is a
highly praised virtue these days, yet some
people can become so “task-oriented” that
they lose all sense of proportion. Their own
efforts become an “idol” for them. So, too, for
those for whom success or achievement
becomes their only goal. They tend to judge
everything, even their friends and neighbors,
uniquely in terms of usefulness and
productivity.