Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on Most Holy Trinity Sunday
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are seven (7) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Third Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘Keep Holy the Sabbath.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2189.
The Catechism cites two passages from Sacred Scripture to highlight the Second Commandment, to keep holy the Sabbath (Exodus 31:15; Deuteronomy 5:12). There are many other passages from Sacred Scripture which call us to be a people of prayer, rendering worship in spirit and truth to the One Only God (e.g. Exodus 16:26–30; 20:8, 10; 31:14–16; Leviticus 23:3; 25:35; Nehemiah 9:14; 13:17–22; Isaiah 56:2; John 4:23…).
What does it mean to “keep holy the Sabbath”? How is it that we are to observe the “Sabbath”? When is the “Sabbath”? If the Sabbath is a “day of complete rest” are we allowed to take more than six steps, or pick anything up from the ground, or cook on the Sabbath??? What does it mean that the Sabbath is “consecrated to the Lord”?
For Catholics, the sine qua non required in order to “keep holy the Sabbath” is our full, active and conscious participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Above and beyond Sunday Mass we also observe the Sabbath by spending quality time with family and friends, participating in the life of society, doing works of mercy and various forms of recreation. Saint John Paul II, besides the Catechism addresses all this in his Apostolic Letter Dies Domini (31 May, 1998) composed of one hundred thirty-one endnotes, eighty-seven articles, over forty pages on the Vatican web-site, including five chapters and the introduction.
Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. Before Christ’s glorious resurrection at Easter (and even still) pious Jewish people “keep holy the Sabbath” each Saturday, beginning with sundown Friday evening. In the Talmud the rabbis identify thirty-nine categories of work (citing Exodus 31:13) which impede the keeping of the Sabbath, such as cooking, cleaning, building, repairing, writings, kindling fire (cf. Exodus 35:2–3). The Lord Jesus Christ reminds us that He is “Lord of the Sabbath”and that the “Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”which relativizes the value of the Sabbath in relation to Himself, the Lord of the Sabbath (cf. Matthew 12:1–8; Mark 2:27–28; Luke 6:5). By His working many miracles on the Sabbath, the Lord Jesus showed His Lordship over the Sabbath as well as raise the ire of those who refuse(d) to believe (cf. Matthew 12:10–12; Mark 3:2; Luke 6:7; 13:14–16; 14:1–5). Without God’s grace we can not keep even the smallest part of God’s Holy Law. We are now no longer slaves of sin or Satan or to the law (cf. Romans 6:14, 18 8:2). We show our love for the Lord God by living according to His grace and keeping His Commandments, including that which calls us to keep holy the Sabbath (cf. John 14:15; 15:10).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr