In accordance with the Third Commandment, the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(2168-2195) deems it our obligation to attend mass on Sunday – unless there is a serious excuse for missing (for example,
illness, the care of child, etc).
Deliberate failure to fulfill this obligation is to commit a grave sin. This,
coupled with full knowledge and deliberate consent, constitutes mortal sin.
There are
groups known as “Sabbatarians” who reject the idea of observing the Lord’s Day
on Sunday. They claim that the 3rd
Commandment is very clear that the day of rest and observance is to be on
Saturday. Saturday was the day for
observing the commandment I the Mosaic Law.
However, as Christians, we realize that Jesus is the fulfillment of the
Law.
For the
Jews in the Old Testament, the Sabbath was the seventh day on which the Lord
rested after the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth. In Col.
2:16, we read where St. Paul tells us, “Let no one, then, pass judgment
on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or
sabbath.” Furthermore, in the New Testament, we find
that the Apostles and the early Christians worshipped and broke bread
(celebrated the Mass) on the first day of the week, Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2, Rev. 1:10).
Sunday
became our day for observing the Third Commandment because it symbolizes the
new creation that was ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it is
the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day.
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