YOUCAT Question n. 365 – Part VI. How do Christians make Sunday “the Lord’s day”?
(Youcat
answer - repeated) 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.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 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" (CIC, can. 1247).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) 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.
(CCC Comment)
(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.
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