The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church." "Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, and the feast of All Saints." Mass is celebrated in the church at 730 PM on the Vigil of a Holy Day, at 9 AM and 730 PM on the Holy Day when the Holy Day falls on a weekday. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Deut 5:12). "The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord" (Ex 31:15). 2190 The Sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ. 2191 The Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the "eighth day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day (cf. SC 106). 2192 "Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church" (CIC, can. 1246 § 1). "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass" (CIC, can. 1247). 2193 "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound . . . to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord's Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body" (CIC, can. 1247). 2194 The institution of Sunday helps all "to be allowed sufficient rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives" (GS 67 § 3). 2195 Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day. |