Easter Sunday is a profound reminder of how blessed we are as Christians and Catholics. To us has been entrusted the faith of the Church and the good news of God’s offer to the world of eternal life.

 

We know that we are part of the people who walked in darkness but have seen a great light 

(Is 9:1). We have walked in darkness because every one of us has sinned. In that we were separated from Christ.

 

But still, we have also seen the great light. That light is the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ. In this Easter week we are reminded that His rising from the dead was not simply His victory over sin and death. It was also the offer to us, in the humanity that we share with Jesus, to rise with Him to glory and fulfillment of our nature. So with Him, we have been given the way to pass from darkness to life.

 

Of course, we must freely agree to do so. Jesus does not impose even heaven upon us. And so our life now is a test of our love and obedience to the will of God.

 

Our life of prayer, of the sacraments, and our moral conduct are the specific questions on this test. So too is our charity and concern to serve Christ in the needy and less fortunate.

 

Because our faith is so centered on the resurrection and how it has changed everything, the body of believers shifted the weekly day of prayer and rest from Saturday to Sunday, when Jesus came forth from the tomb. 

 

Sunday, and how we honor, approach and live that weekly Easter day has become, then, one of the constant reminders to us that we are focused on our own resurrection. For that reason we keep holy the Sabbath as we are enjoined by the Third Commandment (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2168).

 

Of course we first honor the Lord’s Day by fulfilling our obligation to attend Mass on Sunday (or Saturday evening of course). There is no question that our attendance has become more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. The obligation has been dispensed for the time being because of the threat of being infected, even though our churches are doing a very good job of taking the standard mask, distancing and cleaning precautions.

 

With the wider availability of the vaccine and the increasing control that has been gained over the virus, the safety of coming to Mass is increasing. With that in mind, it becomes ever more important to keep holy the Sabbath by attending Mass when possible. And how much more important that becomes as people begin to frequent other public places such as restaurants. Can we do that without first returning to Mass?

 

Another part of honoring the Sabbath is to use Sunday as a day of rest from work or from activities that hinder the worship owed to God (CCC, 2185). In this regard we should ask ourselves if we witness to our faith in the resurrection by avoiding work on Sundays. If we own a business, we should give a priority to closing on Sundays if possible, and so allowing our employees the opportunity to honor God on that day. If we are an employee, can we ask to have Sunday as one of our weekly days off? And can we shift our shopping to another day of the week as well?

 

Finally, do we make any efforts on Sundays to do works of charity or to aid the poor? What better way could we honor Christ than by serving Him in others?

 

The truth is, honoring Sunday as the day of the Lord’s resurrection has waned in our society and our era. This Easter week is a good time to take stock again of our own efforts to keep holy the Sabbath.

 

Once again, Happy Easter to all!