‘R emember thou keep holy the Sabbath.” 

 

This is a version of the Third

 

Commandment. It is part of the Ten 

 

Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. 

 

The Third Commandment, to observe the Sabbath, or the Lord’s Day, covers a wide and deep foundation of our faith. 

 

First, in the Book of Genesis, at the end of creation we are told that, “On the seventh day God completed the work He had been doing; He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had undertaken.”

 

From the very first book of the Old Testament the foundation is laid for the life of human beings not to be dedicated only to activity, work and acquisition. A day is regularly to be set aside for rest and for other obligations such as the family. In this way also the poor are not to be oppressed with unending work.

 

Subsequently, the Sabbath became for the People of Israel a weekly day to remember God and His covenant. It is this religious focus of the Sabbath that we so often read in the Gospels as being at the heart of criticisms against Jesus by Jewish leaders.

 

This combination of relief from the work that is part of the human condition with honor and worship of God was honored by the early Church. As is well known, the Church began to gather together each Sunday as the Lord’s Day in remembrance of Jesus’ greatest work, His resurrection from the dead and so His conquering of sin and its ultimate power. “For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2174).

 

Over time, the Church formalized this practice into an obligation, an obligation of love for God that is at the heart of our Catholic practice. It is a precept of the Church that we are bound and obliged to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation (or on the evening prior).

 

Two considerations are important about our observance of the Sabbath. First, the Third Commandment to keep holy the Lord’s Day is a divine law. It comes from God and so we are all bound to obey it. The Church’s precept, of attending Mass on Sundays and holy days, is a human law. It is binding to be sure, but still it is a human law in service to the divine command.

 

Currently, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a general dispensation has been given in the Diocese of Rockford and elsewhere from the Church’s precept. At the moment, no one is bound to attend Mass under pain of sin on Sundays or holy days. This is especially out of consideration for efforts to stem the spread of the virus. It is also to respect the vulnerabilities of the elderly or those with medical conditions, or those who are dealing with fear of the virus.

 

However, God’s Law of keeping holy the Sabbath cannot be dispensed. Human authority simply cannot do so. We need to ask ourselves, then, how am I honoring the Lord’s Day, especially if I am not able to attend Mass? Do I pray specifically on Sunday? Do I watch with prayerful attention a virtual Mass? Do I offer a recitation of the rosary?

 

The point is, each of us must not allow the current situation to keep us from fulfilling our relation to God by some observance of the Lord’s Day.

 

Some day, perhaps even soon, the dispensation from the Church’s precept will be modified and even ended. Our hearts and our faith must be ready to resume Sunday Mass attendance, especially if we have continued to keep holy the Sabbath in the meantime.