In the Third Commandment, God tells us to
– 8 Remember the sabbath day
and keep it holy. 9 For
six days you will labor and do all your work, 10 but
the seventh day is a sabbath for Yahweh your God. Do not work that day, neither
you, nor your son, nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your
animals, nor the stranger who is staying with you. 11 For
in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is
in them, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why Yahweh has blessed the
sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-16
Private Worship Is Not Enough
From the earliest days of the Church, Christians have
understood that being a Christian isn’t a private matter. We are called to be
Christians together; while we can and should engage in the private worship of
God throughout the week, our primary form of worship is public and communal,
which is why Sunday Mass is so important.
THE SABBATH DAY (A Day of Rest)
Genesis 2.2 tells us that six days God created, and when His work of
creation was done He rested.
Verse 3 says, "He blessed that day and made it holy".
Why did the chosen people keep
the Sabbath?
In Deut 5:12-15 Moses reminds the people that God brought them out of
slavery in Egypt and commands them to keep the Sabbath as a memorial of their
liberation. In this way they proclaim
God's covenant that they are His chosen people.
This day was to be set apart for the Lord – made holy, a day to remember
God's saving work in liberating them.
THE LORD'S DAY – SUNDAY
All the four Gospels tell us that Jesus rose from the dead on the first
day of the week.
The Resurrection of our Lord brings to mind the first day of
creation. In Gen 1:3 God said, "Let there be light", and
there was light. When Jesus rose from
the dead on the first day, He became the Light for all the nations.
The Resurrection is the symbol of the new creation which has begun in
Christ's resurrection. It is the first
of all days, the greatest of all feasts.
SUNDAY – FULFILLMENT OF THE
SABBATH
1Cor 10:1-4 recalls how the
chosen people were brought from slavery in Egypt into the promised land:
1 I
do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the
cloud and all passed through the sea,
2 and
all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
3 All
ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same
spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, 2 and the rock was the Christ.
"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".108 St. Ignatius of
Antioch
THE SUNDAY OBLIGATION
The first precept of the church states that all the faithful should
participate in the Celebration of Holy Mass on Sundays and holy days of
obligation and refrain from heavy labour.
We fulfill this obligation when we attend Holy Mass in any Catholic Church
where it is celebrated either on the holy day itself or on the evening before
it.
Catholics are bound to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation
unless excused due to serious reasons (sickness, care of infants). Deliberately failing to fulfill the
obligation is a grave sin.
When the community of the faithful celebrate Mass we testify that we belong
and are faithful to Christ and to his Church.
Our faith and love is a witness to our communion. Together we proclaim that God is holy and He
is our hope of salvation. We strengthen
one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The fourth commandment
(C 2196-2257, USC Ch. 28)
“Honor your father and your mother.” The first three commandments
help us to understand how we are to love and honor God with our whole being.
The remaining seven commandments tell us how we are to love and relate to
others. The fourth commandment addresses family relationships, especially the
respect and honor that children should have for their parents. The fourth
commandment also addresses the duties of governments and citizens. Today,
families come in many shapes and forms: the traditional family of husband and
wife and children single parent families, blended families, families in which
grandparents are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren, families made
up of adults with foster children. “The family is the original cell of society”
(C 2207)
It is prior to the state in origin. The state did not invent
the family. Therefore, it has no right to reinvent it. The Christian family is
a community of persons equal in dignity and a living symbol of the unity of the
Blessed Trinity. It is a “domestic church” in which the gospel of Jesus is
taught by word and deed.
Have I...
-(If still under my parents' care) Obeyed all that my
parents reasonably asked of me? Neglected the needs of my parents in their old
age or in their time of need?
-(If still in school) Obeyed the reasonable demands of my
teachers?
-Neglected to give my children proper food, clothing,
shelter, education, discipline and care (even after Confirmation)?
-Provided for the religious education and formation of my
children for as long as they are under my care?
-Ensured that my children still under my care regularly
frequent the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion?
-Educated my children in a way that corresponds to my
religious convictions?
-Provided my children with a positive, prudent and
personalized education in the Catholic teaching on human sexuality?
-Been to my children a good example of how to live the
Catholic Faith?
-Prayed with and for my children?
-Lived in humble obedience to those who legitimately
exercise authority over me?
-Have I broken the law?
-Have I supported or voted for a politician whose
positions are opposed to the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church?
Duties of children
It is a wonderful and inspiring thing to see children
love, honor and respect their parents. It is very sad and painful to see
parents and children who are alienated from each other. Ideally, children are
raised in a home by a mother and father who love each other and also love and
cherish their children. But life being what it is, sometimes children are
raised in very dysfunctional and unhappy home atmosphere. When this happens, it
is much more challenging for children to live the fourth commandment which
calls them to honor their father and their mother. Fortunately, there are many
inspiring stories of adult children who were failed badly by their parents as
youngsters and who were able, with the grace of God, to forgive their parents
and reconcile with them. In the home,
children should be taught to respect, honor, love and obey their parents. This
is usually a much easier task for children to achieve when they feel loved and cherished by their parents than
for children who grow up in a home in which parents do not respect each other
and are neglectful of their children.
Parental duties
(C 2221-2231, USC p. 378)
The awesome privilege and responsibility of parents is to
allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit to help their children become the
person God created them to be. As all parents know, no two children are the
same. Each is unique and special. God has a special plan for each child.
Parents who often seek the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit will play a
very important role in helping their children discover and become the person
God created them to be. More
specifically, parents live out the parental aspect of faithful discipleship
when they: Attend to the physical,
spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and moral needs of their children. It is a
big challenge to keep these FIVE needs of children in proper balance. It is
very easy for parents to over- emphasize one set of needs to the detriment of
others. For example, if children are very involved in sports, (which can be
very helpful to the character formation of a child), a particular sport may
become more important than Sunday Mass. If the intellectual development of a
child is overly emphasized, the emotional and social development may be
neglected.
•Develop the virtues.
. One of the most important and challenging roles of
parents is to help their children grow in virtues that will help them follow
God’s ways, help them to be responsible citizens and generally all around good
people.
•Praying together.
It has been well said that “the family that prays
together stays together.” Blessed are the children who know that prayer is
important to their parents and who have parents that pray with them in their
homes and church family.
•Sacramental life of the
Church.
An important part of a child’s formation is introducing
them to the sacramental life of the Church, helping them to grow in their
appreciation of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This can be
especially challenging in parishes where little efforts are made to involve
children in the liturgy.
The fourth commandment
and civic authorities (C 2234-2246, USC
p. 379)
Church teaching on the fourth commandment extends beyond
family relationships to the duties of civic authorities and the duties of
citizens within society. All
authority—whether within the family, the Church or society—is from God and
should be exercised in a way that is respectful of the dignity of others. No human
authority should seek to establish any law that is contrary to the dignity of
others or to the natural law. Government leaders should defend and protect the
family as created by God. On the other hand, citizens have a duty to respect
and obey legitimate civic authorities and to obey the laws of the state that
promote the common good. This includes our moral obligation to pay taxes,
exercise our right to vote, and defend the nation if attacked.
GROUP DISCUSSIONS
3RD COMMANDMENT – KEEPING THE SABBATH HOLY
How did you spend Sunday
when you were growing up? How do you spend Sunday now? Has our society lost its
sense of the Sabbath—a day to stop work, and to rest and worship God?
4TH COMMANDMENT – HONOR YOUR FATHER AND
MOTHER
How do we honor our
parents?
What is your opinion on
how parents are raising children today in contrast to how your
parents raised you?
