Sanctifying Sunday
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Saturday, September 06, 2008 12:49 PM
In my recent meeting with Andy from our Diocesan Family Life Office, one of the topics he stressed to me was his concern for helping the families of our diocese to live out the precepts of the Third Commandment, reserving Sunday as a day for worship, rest and family time.
Andy’s passion on the topic got me thinking. I came home and queried my friends at Plurk.com with the simple question, “How does your family “Keep holy the Sabbath” by cherishing Sunday as a family?”
The responses I received were very inspiring. All of them involved keeping Mass as a focal point of the day. Many answered that family meals and time spent in family prayer were important as well.
I decided to dig a little deeper into the topic and take a look at what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says expressly on this topic. My favorite portion of this wonderful reference included the following:
On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.
The charity of truth seeks holy leisure; the necessity of charity accepts just work.
Those Christians who have leisure should be mindful of their brethren who have the same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from work because of poverty and misery. Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life.
I will confess here to the fact that our family does not adequately always live up to the precepts of the Catechism when it comes to truly sanctifying Sundays.
Yes, we always attend Mass (at least once, and often twice since my “men” are music ministers) as a family. We frequently enjoy a family meal following Mass, but more often than not, I also use it as somewhat of a “catch up” day. Laundry, errands and other things that don’t seem to get done during the rest of the week often happen on Sundays.
Am I living out the true spirit of what our Catechism and the Church call for when it comes to keeping Sunday holy? All I can say is I’m doing my best, but there’s lots of room for improvement.
Family Life Minister Andy would probably be happy to know that he’s got at least one family thinking about and talking about sanctifying Sundays!
I’d love to hear from you. What does your Sunday celebration include? Have you been able to avoid my pitfall of using Sunday to catch up and if so what are some of your tips? How does your family spend Sundays?
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