The last of the commandments that focuses on our relationship with God calls us to keep the Lord’s Day holy.  The intention of the commandment recalls that the Lord labored for six days in the creation of the world, and on the seventh day He rested.  God’s action of resting on the seventh day blesses and sanctifies it.  If the infinite and almighty God rests on the seventh day, then we, as humble human beings, should rest as well.  Sunday is further sanctified by our Lord’s Resurrection.  Because of this, the Sabbath is set apart for the praise of God to give Him glory for our created lives and the salvation He offers to us.  How do we keep this sacred day the Lord has blessed?

              The main action of following the third commandment flows to our attendance at Sunday Mass.  Every Sunday Mass attendance is obligatory, so to ever miss Mass without a valid reason is a sin.  Some valid reasons are if we are physically unable to attend or we have the obligation to care for someone who is sick and cannot find a way to attend Mass ourselves.  Beyond physical illness of ourselves, those entrusted to our care, or unforeseen inability to find transportation to Mass and similar issues, there is no excuse that dispenses us of our Sunday obligation.  Beyond rare instances, traveling does not dispense one of the obligation to attend Mass, because the universal Church has Masses throughout the world, making attendance widely available.  The attendance at Sunday liturgy dates to Biblical times, for in the Letter to the Hebrew the people are called “not to neglect to meet together” (Hebrews 10:25).  The reason is that our faith is not something that is in isolation.  Communal celebration of the Sacrament proclaims our faith joined to a community of faithful, a Church, and connects us to Christ through the Body of Christ.  Our identity as a Catholic intimately connects to our attendance at a Catholic Church for Mass. 

              Keeping Sunday holy goes beyond the obligation of Mass attendance.  Sunday is also a day of grace and rest from work.  It does need to be recognized that Christ does not demand a pharisaical practice of this command.  In the Scriptures, the Pharisees criticized Christ and the apostles for plucking grain to eat.  Jesus’s response pointed to the reality that David’s soldiers “were hungry, how he went into the house of god and ate the bread of offering” (Matthew 12: 3-4).  There are some things like hunger, simple tastes that need immediate care, and similar things that would require some work to accomplish.  Things of leisure are also forms of relaxation that may require physical activity, but do not break the Sabbath rest.  There are two practical violations of leisure that put us in conflict with the commandment.  The first centers on the question, “Does our leisure require someone else to work and break the commandment?”.  Though we are relaxing, our rest time puts pressure on someone else to work.  We are not directly breaking the command, but we are placing someone else in a position to break it in their lives.  The second centers on our leisure and recreational activities versus other priorities for our Sunday obligation.  Weekends and Sundays can be busy and fun, but if those activities are prioritized over Mass attendance, then the ultimate following of the commandment has been violated.  We cannot give God glory on the Sabbath if we skip the primary reason for the Sabbath by attending Mass with the community. 

              Keeping Sunday holy by attending Mass ties us to our Faith in worship of God and joining the Body of Christ.  This worship ensures that we are connected to the one true God and the faith community with which we share our Faith.  Let us give thanks to the Lord for providing us with such an intimate setting to give Him praise.