f) SUNDAY, DAY OF THE WORD AND THE BREAD

"Sunday! what sublime riches this word contains!

Sunday is the holy day par excellence: holy in itself, holy in its institution, holy in its purpose, holy in the works it prescribes, holy in the effects it produces; and therefore so beneficial.  Sunday is the day of true liberty, equality, and fraternity, the day of our ransom, greatness, hope, glory, and joy, the prelude of the blessed and joyous day that will never end.

Sunday is above all the Lord's day, the day of his marvels, blessings, and victories.  It was on Sunday that he created the light and brought into being the stupendous work of this universe (...). On Sunday he worked his first miracle.  On Sunday he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  On Sunday he rose gloriously from the sepulcher, giving us a sure pledge of our immortality.  On Sunday he commissioned the apostles to preach the gospel to all peoples and conferred on them the power to forgive sins.  On Sunday he sent them the Divine Paraclete and transformed them into courageous heralds and defenders of his teachings.  On Sunday, finally, he founded his Church to last until the end of time.

Glory be to Sunday! exclaims St. John Chrysostom.  This day is the monument God himself erected between heaven and earth as a perpetual memorial of his blessings and of our twofold alliance with him; a monument of infinite wisdom, on which human generations will find summarized in bright letters, until the end of time, the great events of religion and humanity, the wonders of nature and grace, the miracles of power and love, the name of the Father who created us, the name of the Son who redeemed us, the name of the Holy Spirit who sanctified us.  Sunday is par excellence the Lord's day!⁵²

"The day God has set aside for himself is sacred"

Just as a church is a place separated from all others and set aside for prayer, so Sunday is distinct from all other days and consecrated to divine worship.  What a church is with respect to the rest of the city or town, Sunday is to the other days of the week.  The place God has chosen as his dwelling place on earth is sacred and inviolable; hence, he who desecrates it is guilty of sacrilege.  Likewise, the day God has set aside for himself is no less sacred and inviolable.  Hence, he who desecrates it is no less guilty of sacrilege (...).

God certainly has every right to demand that we use exclusively for his honor at least a part of the time he has given us as a gift.

Is he not our Creator and Lord?  Is he not the absolute master of time and space?⁵³

"The feast days of the saints are as inviolable as the days of God"

The desecration of Sundays has become, even among us, one of the most deplorable and heartbreaking scourges of our time, a real scandal.

Certainly, there are still very many Christian families, both in the city and in the diocese, who, notwithstanding the wickedness of our times and the efforts of the ungodly, give an example of truly edifying piety especially on Sundays and holy days.  We ought to thank the Author of every good gift for this.  But there are many more who could not care less for God's command and even brazenly desecrate it.

You be the judges, my brothers and my sons and daughters.  Are we not saddened at the sight of stores open and goods on display on Sunday, like any other day?  Are not our ears wounded by the clatter of machines, the creaking of the carts, the bang of the hammers?  Are we not heartbroken when, on Sundays and holy days, we often see poor workers, even children, forced to work without letup, just like on any other day of the week?  On the farms, where certain landlords without faith and compassion are mostly at fault, do we not find people who plow, sow, or gather the harvest even on Sundays and holy days?  Even among those who do not work on those days, how many unfortunately turn to revelry and abandon themselves to theaters, dances, games, debauchery, and worse!  What do reason, heart, and faith have

to say about all this?

Reason, heart, and faith raise their voices in protest against such depravity, and to each one of us they passionately repeat the solemn injunction: "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day."  Remember to keep holy Sundays and holy days.⁵⁴

"Allow workers at least one day to attend to themselves"

Industry and commerce are undoubtedly sacred and noble things, and I earnestly hope they spread and multiply more and more.  But they must never, never spread and multiply at the expense of much more sacred and nobler values, such as human dignity and freedom.  Come now!  Would you want to turn a man into a slave, into a beast of burden, just to multiply your possessions and increase your profits?

You barbarians!  How can you forget that in that body tanned by the sun, in those limbs hardened by heavy work, there resides an immortal soul, just like yours?  Do you not know that, in the eyes of science and of Christian faith, a worker ‑- except for rank ‑- is equal in everything to the noblest of princes, to the most powerful ruler?  In fact, precisely because he is a worker, he more vividly reflects the image of the divine Artisan of Nazareth, who by his example ennobled work and a life of poverty.

So do not destroy the poor worker; do not humiliate him; do not mortify him! Respect his dignity.  Allow him at least one day to attend to himself.  Allow him to have time to be instructed on his duties, to sit down at the family fireplace, to attend religious functions, to have a foretaste in time of the joys of the spirit, and to prepare himself for his eternal home.  In a word, allow him his Sunday rest.⁵⁵

"On Sunday, the four fountains of divine mercy open up to us: the word of the Gospel, prayer, the Sacrifice, and the sacraments"

Compared to the other commandments, that of observing Sundays and holy days is really a yoke that is sweet and a burden that is light.  In the words of an outstanding writer, it is a return to the blessings of the Garden of Eden, a suspension of the terrible law

of bitter labor, a protection of the poor and weak against the oppression of the rich and powerful, a holy cry of liberty, an invitation from our heavenly Father who gathers his scattered family around himself and enters into intimate, loving communion with all his sons and daughters.  On that day, the four fountains of divine mercy open up to every man and woman: the word of the Gospel, prayer, the Sacrifice and the sacraments.  On that day, earth rises up, heaven stoops down, all creatures speak to us in the language of faith, hope, and love.  And the soul experiences all its moral greatness and tastes the joys of heaven even in the midst of the bitter trials of life.⁵⁶

"A day when the soul will rise free"

Is not ignorance of religious matters, so common in many, many people today, especially among the working classes, more frightening than poverty itself?  True, today, more than ever before, society is making vigorous and commendable efforts to educate the masses. However, under the guise of education, how often ideas are taught and disseminated that harm the people!

It has been and always will be one of the immortal glories of the Church that, in every age, she has been the great teacher of the people.  While science may be the privilege of a few, the basic truths of religion must be everyone's birthright.  In the words of an illustrious prelate, people may know nothing about the difficult problems of algebra, but they must know something about the problems of life.  They may not know whether there are inhabitants on the various planets, but they must know that we are destined to be inhabitants of heaven.  Now, Sunday answers the need for this kind of knowledge.  On that day, all over the world, the churches throw open their doors to all people.  From these churches, as from a universal school, the noblest and sublimest knowledge goes forth to one and all.

There is more.  What is it, dearly beloved, that raises us up above everything around us?  Undoubtedly, it is this: inside the fragile frame of our body, which is destined to die, there is something that gives life to inert matter, transcends space, defies time, and conquers death.  There is thought, which mirrors the universe.  There are sentiments that embrace the infinite.  There is the will with its free powers.  In a word, there is a soul made in the image and likeness of God, constantly thirsting and ever longing for him, like the deer longing for the

spring, the needle turning to the magnet, the wave plunging back into the sea.

Now, should there not be one day a week when the soul, relieved of the burden of its earthly concerns, removed from the hustle and bustle of material life, is free to draw closer to God?  One day, when the soul can rise freely to the endless horizons and enjoy a bit of peace?⁵⁷

"Sunday is the day of the family"

Sunday is not only the day of the Lord and the day of man.  It is also the day of the family.

The family!  What tender thoughts, what delicate feelings this beloved word stirs up in us!  Everybody is lamenting the fact ‑- and they are right ‑- that family spirit is growing weaker and weaker by the day in our modern society.  But is not Sunday work, now more frequent than in the past, one of the principal causes of this deplorable situation?  How could the members of a family somehow not become strangers to each other if Sunday did not come around to bring them together in the intimacy of the family home?  On the other days, the family is more or less dispersed.  Father is all taken up with his business, while mother is busy with her household work.  And the children?  They are either in school or at the shop.  Only on Sunday can they all come together, visit with each other for a longer stretch, spend time with each other, strengthen the bond of mutual affection and enjoy together the bliss of family life.  To spend Sunday with the family: this phrase so common in the mouth of our forefathers and mothers conjured up for them memories of undiluted joys and perfectly expressed their sense of moral propriety.⁵⁸

"On Sunday, all feel like masters of their time, their thoughts, their affections, their life, and their soul"

Observe Christians on that day.  They all meet in church.  Joy radiates from their faces and peace descends on all hearts.

For these people liberty, equality, and fraternity are not empty words but a comforting reality.  Rich and poor, servants and masters, humble workers and powerful capitalists, simple clerks and illustrious officials, all are free to be themselves.  On that day, all, without exception,

feel they are masters of their time, their thoughts, their affections, their life, and their soul.  They are all together in the arms of the same Mother, offer up the same prayers, kneel with the same sense of adoration, hear the same word of truth, profess the same faith, offer the same Sacrifice, sit around the same mystical table, and pray for the same motherland.  By the fulfillment of the same obligation, they now feel more than ever like sons and daughters of the same heavenly Father.  From that temple emanates a breath of love and peace that vivifies and restores all things.⁵⁹

"Attending Mass at one's own parish"

The Church strongly recommends that her children attend Mass in their own parish as often as they can easily do so.  In fact, the Sacred Council of Trent instructs bishops to remind the faithful of this obligation and elsewhere directs them to urge their people to attend Mass at their own parishes at least on Sundays and major feasts.  And with good reason, for, as an eminent writer says, the parish Mass is really the family Mass, celebrated in the name of the whole parish gathered together and for all the faithful who belong to it.  This Mass usually is supplemented by special prayers, devotions, timely announcements, and explanations of the Gospel.  In fact, the pastor is bound by Church law to celebrate the holy Sacrifice of the Mass for his parishioners on Sundays and holy days so that, by attending his Mass, his parishioners may enjoy the fruits of the Mass and accompany the pastor's intention with their prayer and devotion.  In this way, the offerings and prayers of a united family gathered around its head will rise acceptably to God.  Pastors will get to know their sheep better and will be able to call them by name, as the Gospel says.⁶⁰