The Third Commandment

The Third Commandment          
 

Submitted by Thomas Stidl

         What is the third commandment?  Remember man, that thou must keep holy the Lord’s Day.

         The first question that comes to mind is, which day is the Lord’s Day or Sabbath Day?  The Hebrew Sabbath starts at Friday sundown and ends on Saturday sundown.  Why do Catholics and other Christian sects keep Sunday as their day of rest?  It is the eighth day of the week or the first day after the Hebrew Sabbath.  We celebrate that day which in Genesis God separated matter from light and the day that Jesus rose triumphantly from the dead.  Whereas Saturday celebrates the Creator, Sunday celebrates the Creator, God the Father, the Redeemer Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who descended on the apostles and Mary on Pentecost.

         Therefore, what should we be doing on Sunday?  All Catholics are obligated to gather together on a Sunday or a Saturday evening to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  This is true worship and praise of the Triune Godhead.  The Mass celebrates Jesus’ entering into Jerusalem, The Last Supper, His Passion, Death, and Resurrection after hymns, prayer, and scripture readings for reflection.  At the consecration the priest through the power of transubstantiation changes the bread and wine mixed with water into the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ. 

The Mass then is the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary.  The bread is consecrated separately from the wine mixed with water.  This separation constitutes the death of Jesus on the cross.  Prior to the faithful receiving Holy Communion, the priest mingles a piece of the consecrated body with the consecrated blood.  That act represents the Easter resurrection.  Therefore, at Holy Communion, we receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I am not a theologian and probably a theologian can explain it better than I can.  This is the layman’s explanation of the core of the Mass.

         Sunday is a day set apart for all of us to rest from our labors.  It is a day to practice the Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy.  It is a day set aside to celebrate our social and cultural lives.  These practices for Sunday should also be celebrated on all Holy Days designated by Holy Mother, the Church.

         Worship of God on these days will help us to focus on bringing God into our daily lives for the balance of the week.  We should never forget about God at any time in our daily lives.  Remember, we become what we consume at Mass.  We consume the scriptures that are read and of course our Holy Communion with Jesus.  We become a God bearing being.  The Holy Spirit is within us.  Jesus becomes a part of us and we become a part of Him.  We hear the Father speak through the Gospel of Jesus and the consolation and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

         Until next time, Laus Tibi, Christe.  Deo Gratias.  Gloria Tibi Domini.  Praise be to God.  See you in Paradise.