Chat meeting summary May 16th 2009-Sunday

[Krisztina]

Chat log for May 16th 2009 on the topic of Sunday.

Sunday means the Day of God. "Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery. This is a tradition going back to the Apostles, taking its origin from the actual day of Christ's Resurrection — a day thus appropriately designated 'the Lord's Day.”

Some people celebrate the Lord’s Day on Saturday. How can we explain to them the reason why Catholics consider Sunday to be the Lord’s Day?
Saturday was the day of rest for the Hebrews. Also, the early Christians at first also rested on Saturday. But since Christ rose from the dead on Sunday and His Resurrection is one of the most important truths of our faith (if not the most important because, as St. Paul said, if Christ did not rise from the dead), or faith, hope and everything else would be in vain if we did not celebrate Sunday because that would mean that Christ wasn't God.
How can we connect this with the day of rest?
The Sabbath precept, which in the first Covenant, prepares for the Sunday of the new and eternal Covenant, is therefore rooted in the depths of God's plan. It is as if the Sabbath was sanctified and taken to a new level. The following is a paragraph from “Dies Domini” by John Paul II about why the Lord’s Day changed from Saturday to Sunday.
Because the Third Commandment depends upon the remembrance of God's saving works and because Christians saw the definitive time inaugurated by Christ as a new beginning, they made the first day after the Sabbath a festive day, for that was the day on which the Lord rose from the dead. The Paschal Mystery of Christ is the full revelation of the mystery of the world's origin, the climax of the history of salvation and the anticipation of the eschatological fulfillment. What God accomplished in Creation and wrought for his People in the Exodus has found its fullest expression in Christ's Death and Resurrection, though its definitive fulfillment will not come until the Parousia, when Christ returns in glory. In him, the "spiritual" meaning of the Sabbath is fully realized, as Saint Gregory the Great declares: "For us, the true Sabbath is the person of our Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ".(14) This is why the joy with which God, on humanity's first Sabbath, contemplates all that was created from nothing, is now expressed in the joy with which Christ, on Easter Sunday, appeared to his disciples, bringing the gift of peace and the gift of the Spirit (cf. Jn 20:19-23). It was in the Paschal Mystery that humanity, and with it the whole creation, "groaning in birth-pangs until now" (Rom 8:22), came to know its new "exodus" into the freedom of God's children who can cry out with Christ, "
In the light of this mystery, the meaning of the Old Testament precept concerning the Lord's Day is recovered, perfected and fully revealed in the glory which shines on the face of the Risen Christ (cf. 2 Cor 4:6). We move from the "Sabbath" to the "first day after the Sabbath", from the seventh day to the first day: the dies Domini becomes the dies Christi!
Another part of this letter speaks about how early Christians had to get up early in the morning to go to Mass because the Romans had their own feasts to celebrate. Christianity has slowly begun to influence society so much so that Sunday was made the weekly day of rest. But today it seems that Christianity is losing its influence on society. The world does not want to celebrate Sunday. People have their priorities all mixed up and many of them will miss attending the Mass on Sunday for a sporting event or a family gathering. We must do absolutely everything we can do attend Mass on Sunday, and more than that, we must thrive to enrich our Sundays through prayer, reading Scripture, fellowship with other Christians etc. Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of priests had all sorts of activities for his church that the entire village attended. It was easier for him because he lived in a small town. If circumstances don’t permit a community to come together in such a way, we can still do the same in our own little way with our families at home.
Many times parishes have youth groups that have many different activities but no prayer. That is not good. You have to have time for prayer and fun. You have to have both, at least put the emphasis on prayer. There are things to do, for example Eucharistic adoration, music, quiet time for reflections, and testimonies are just few things that provide spiritual nourishment. And there are many more. Young people have to grow to love prayer. They need to be exposed to it more and they need to learn what it is all about.