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Having finished in our last instruction the second commandment,
we come to-day to the explanation of the third commandment : "
Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

What does this commandment oblige us to do? It obliges us to
sanctify the Lord s day by performing works of piety and abstaining
from servile work.

Although there is due to God the highest honor and praise at all
times, yet it is befitting that of the seven days of the week one should
be set aside on which to devote ourselves in a particular manner to
His holy service. As everything in this world has its own definite
time work, rest, eating, sleeping, etc. reason must tell us that a
time for striving after our highest goal is also necessary. Such time
God Himself has fixed by setting aside the Sabbath day, and He
has solemnly enjoined us to keep it.

Holy Scripture tells us that, although God did not need rest and
was not capable of feeling fatigue, yet He rested on the seventh day,
after the completion of the visible creation, so as to impress upon
man the lesson to employ six days in temporal labor and give the
seventh to the glory of God. To make this plain beyond doubt, God
gave the commandment : " Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath
day." Remember, that means make it thy special duty ; never
forget it. It is no new law ; it is as old as humankind ; therefore, be
particularly mindful to keep holy the day of the Lord. But a day
can only be kept holy to the Lord if on this day pious and God-pleasing
works are performed. Lest some should think themselves
outside the law, God impresses it upon all explicitly. Note the words :
" Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works. But the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : thou shalt do no
work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor
thy maid-servant." This commandment, therefore, enjoins
upon us the twofold duty : (a) To sanctify the day of the Lord by
dedicating it to His service as well as to our own salvation ; and, (b)
To employ it in holy rest and avoid all servile work.

Which is the Lord s day ?

In the old law it was the seventh day of the week, called the Sabbath
day, in commemoration of God s resting on that day after He
had finished the work of creation in six days, and of the deliverance
of the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage. In the new law it is
the first day of the w r eek, called Sunday, in commemoration of the
accomplishment of our redemption, which is a new spiritual creation,
and the deliverance from the bondage of sin.

How was our redemption accomplished on Sunday?

1. It was on a Sunday that our Saviour rose from the dead.

2. It was on a Sunday that He sent down the Holy Ghost upon
His Church.

3. It was on a Sunday that the Church entered upon her public
life, for it was on a Sunday that through the sermon of St. Peter
three thousand souls became converted to Christianity.

Even the earliest Christians called Sunday the " day of the Lord."
By whom, then, was the substitution of Sunday for the Jewish
Sabbath enacted?
By the apostles.

Although an absolute command in regard to this is not found in
Holy Writ, yet we read that the early Christians assembled on the
first day of the week to break bread, i. e., to celebrate the mysteries
of sacrifice and partake of the Body of Christ. We also know from
the writings of the early fathers that the celebration of Sunday, in
place of the Jewish Sabbath, was instituted by the Christian Church.
St. Ignatius, the martyr, writes : " When you have obtained the renewal
of hope, do not celebrate the Sabbath, but sanctify the day of
the Lord ; for through Him we have preserved our life." St. Justin,
the martyr, explicitly calls the first day of the week Sunday, for he
writes : " On Sunday we all come together, because it was the day
on which God at the creation of the world separated darkness from
light." During the first centuries of Christianity there were many
Christians who continued to celebrate the Sabbath as well as the
Sunday. The bishops tried for a long time in vain to suppress this
Sabbath celebration. The Council of Laodicea finally issued a decree,
in the year 364, that Christians should work on the Jewish Sabbath,
but that they must abstain from work on Sunday, this being the
real day of the Lord.

What works of piety should we perform on Sunday?

We should, before all other things, hear Mass, and, if possible,
also attend at other divine service, at catechetical instruction,
vespers, etc. We should receive the holy sacraments, read books
of devotion and meditation, and occupy ourselves with works of
mercy.

The first pious duty on Sunday then is, that we should hear Mass.
In regard to the holy sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus commanded His
disciples, that, as He had done Himself, they also should do for all
future time " in commemoration of Him." If, then, as successors
of the apostles, the bishops and priests are in duty bound to celebrate
the holy sacrifice of the Mass, it certainly follows that the faithful
are in duty bound to assist at this celebration. They are required
by the Church to do so under penalty of sin. By simply assisting
at Mass alone, however, the day of the Lord can not be said to be
kept holy according to the meaning of the commandment of the
Lord. Even in olden times there was connected with the celebration
of the holy sacrifice of the Mass Christian instruction as a
part thereof. The Council of Trent urges all priests to instruct
their parishioners in holy religion on all Sundays and holydays. If
the priests have the duty of instructing their parishioners, it must
be the duty of the faithful to attend these instructions. " Who is of
God will hear God s word."

For the proper celebration of Sunday, also afternoon and evening
devotions are held in our churches, such as hours of prayer and
vespers, also meetings of church sodalities, so as to give the faithful
an opportunity of consecrating the whole day to God s service.

As regards the receiving of the holy sacraments of Penance and
of Holy Communion, it stands to reason that Sunday is a most suit
able day, for not only do we sanctify ourselves by such acts of piety,
but this day of rest is more convenient for their performance than
other days.

Furthermore, we should sanctify the day of the Lord by reading
good books and meditating upon them. Anything which brings us
real profit is good, and books are good if they strengthen our faith,
enliven our hopes, and inflame our charity. One of the best books
to read on Sundays and holydays is the record of the lives of the
saints. Their lives place before us the noblest and most exalted
examples of virtue, and induce us to compare with them our own
lives, so that we become conscious of our faults, failings, and
weaknesses, that we learn to know ourselves, make good resolutions to
avoid sin and surmount the obstacles to virtue. The Christian is thus
not only himself instructed and improved, but he is made fit to be an
instructor of others.

Works of charity should also be practised on Sundays. To such
belong, for instance, a visit to the cemetery to pray there for the
dead. To this day in a special manner belongs also the exercise of
the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Which works are servile and forbidden?

All works which are performed by labor of the body. To these
belong the work of all laborers and mechanics ; also housework, such
as ironing, washing, sewing, knitting, etc. Work necessary to satisfy
the daily wants of life, as, for instance, cooking, making of beds,
sweeping of rooms, etc., as well as work performed by the mind
rather than with the body, as studying, writing, playing of musical
instruments, teaching, etc., are not forbidden ; however, such occupations
must in no sense encroach upon the sacredness of Sunday,
and must not interfere with the discharge of our duties toward God.

Is it ever lawful to do servile work on a Sunday ?

It is lawful: 1. When the priest for weighty reasons gives a dispensation.
2. When the honor of God, the good of our neighbor, or
urgent necessity require it. The celebration of Sunday is a divine
commandment and in reality it is not in man s power to dispense
therefrom, but in virtue of the authority to bind and loose received
from Christ, the Church and her representatives are empowered to
grant a dispensation if there are important reasons. A dispensation
of this kind, however, is invariably granted only upon condition
that the hearing of Mass is not neglected. Corporal works are permitted
on Sunday when they are performed for God s glory, as, for
instance, the decorating of altars and other necessary work in
churches. They are allowed for the well-being of our fellow men ;
for instance, in the case of accident, fires, etc.

Are they alone guilty who themselves do forbidden work ?

No; those also are guilty who without necessity require their inferiors,
servants, laborers, etc., to do such work, or who allow them
to do it.

Can the Sunday be profaned only by servile work and staying
away from divine service?

No ; it is likewise profaned by debauchery, intemperance, and such
pleasures as make of the Lord s day a day of sin, revelry, and public
scandal. It would be a great error to suppose that we have kept
the divine commandment sufficiently by attending divine service and
refraining from all servile work, if we at the same time indulge in all
kinds of sinful pleasures and amusements.

The third commandment of God, besides ordaining the veneration
and glorification of God, has in view also our recreation and
our deserved rest ; it is, therefore, not sinful to enjoy modest pleasures
and amusements, but the excess in enjoyment, riotous amusements,
noisy games, are absolutely forbidden, because they profane
that holy day. This day, set apart by God for his service and for
the sanctification of the Christian, is too often misused for sinful
amusements, and for a greater part of mankind Sunday has become
a day of intemperance, licentiousness, extravagance, idleness, gambling,
and of other vicious excesses.

What should we particularly consider in order to be deterred from
profaning the Sunday ?

1. The punishment with which God threatens those that profane
the Sabbath.

2. The thought that the profanation of Sunday tends to the ignominy of
religion and is a scandal to our fellow Christians.

Application. Observe the Lord s day conscientiously, and never
be induced to violate it, neither by thoughtlessness, nor by excessive
fondness for amusements.
The two sources from which arises the profanation of Sunday are :

1. Levity. Some persons do not consider the commandment to
keep the Sunday holy to be as strict as it in reality is.

2. Pleasure seeking. An immoderate desire for recreation over
shadowing all thought of religious duties.