July 18, 2008
On the Importance of Not Working
(Tim Jones)
"...but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates."
- God to Moses, Exodus Ch. 20
" 'Yo ho, my boys.' said Fezziwig. 'No more work to-night. Christmas Eve,
Dick. Christmas, Ebenezer. Let's have the shutters up,' cried old
Fezziwig, with a sharp clap of his hands, 'before a man can say Jack
Robinson.' "
- Fezziwig, in Dickens' A Christmas Carol
I think we forget, sometimes, that God invented Saturday. It was His idea.
I love Dickens' A Christmas Carol - always have - and I love when Fezziwig (Scrooge's old boss) jovially and emphatically insists that Dick and Ebenezer knock off work right now and join him and all his family and friends in an evening of raucous merrymaking. His attitude is, "It's Christmas Eve! What are you doing still working?".
Who wouldn't give their eye teeth for a boss like that? One who cheerfully orders you to take a day off, relax and have a party on his nickel? We can't even seem to take time off very well anymore. There is always some chore that insinuates its way into our downtime. Even outside of our normal work, our lives are so crowded with activities that taking a whole day off every week to really do nothing seems lazy and irresponsible. We often look at Sunday as not much more than an obligation to go to church. Another chore on top of all the others. But God knows us much better than we know ourselves. We need time to do nothing in particular. We need to carefully plan some time when we have no plans, and guard that time like a mother badger. That time ought to be on Sunday.
There was a time when Christians took the idea of the Sabbath more seriously, but many got that wrong, as well. I remember reading one of the Little House books (by Laura Ingalls Wilder) and particularly a description of a typical Sunday; the family went to church, of course, but afterward they were allowed to do nothing except sit or perhaps read, but then only the Bible. Even the little children must simply sit. Playing, running, whistling or even kicking one's legs was considered irreverent and inappropriate for the Lord's Day. I think maybe that was even more wrong-headed than our own slovenly approach.
It seems to me like we ought to plan our divinely mandated play day with more emphasis on play. I even kind of like the way the weekend has expanded into two days, paying homage to the old Sabbath and celebrating the Lord's Day, too. Hey, I'm for that. Count me in. Why, when we think of God's command to "do no work", must we imagine Him with a scowl? Jesus isn't a Puritan, keeping an eye out for anyone having too much fun.
I prefer to imagine Him sounding more like Old Fezziwig, saying "Yo ho, my boys! No work today, it's Sunday!"
Posted by Tim Jones in Sunday Obligation | Permalink | Comments (7)
April 12, 2004
Fulfilling the Sunday Obligation on Saturday: Part Deux
(Jimmy Akin)
In response to a recent blog entry, a reader writes:
let's say I'm Latin rite, and so I must go to Mass on the Feast of the Assumption. Can I go to an Eastern rite liturgy instead, even if they don't celebrate the Assumption on that day? It's not just different readings, ceremonies etc., but it's a daily mass instead of a Solemn mass.As noted before, here is what the law says:
A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass [CIC Can. 1248 §1].Note that there is nothing in this about the rite you are attending having to be celebrating the same feast or offering a "solemn Mass" or anything like that. The fact is that by going on such a day you are celebrating the feast and fulfilling your obligation regardless of what is going on around you. By attending "a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite" you are "satisf[ing] the obligation of participating in the Mass." Period.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Sunday Obligation | Permalink | Comments (5)
April 10, 2004
Fulfilling the Sunday Obligation on Saturday
(Jimmy Akin)
A correspondent writes:
My mother just called me with a question (I'm the family theologian, I guess!). Her pastor insisted that the Easter Vigil Mass does not count as the Easter Sunday Mass "obligation." My wife and I usually go to the Easter Vigil Mass and Easter morning Mass, so it has never been a question in our minds, but I was always under the assumption that the vigil Mass would work the same way as a Mass of anticipation. As I thought about it, though, I realized that the readings are different, and that the special rites of the Vigil Mass may make a difference. Can you help to clarify this issue for us?Your mother's pastor probably had the same thought that you did--that the readings, etc., for Easter Vigil are different than those of Easter Sunday and that, as a consequence, Easter Vigil might not (or, in his opinion, does not) fulfill the Sunday obligation.
The idea that the readings of a Mass must be the same as those of the Sunday or holy day following in order to fulfill the obligation is a common idea, but it is in error. There is no doubt about this in the law.
Here is what the law says:
A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass [CIC Can. 1248 §1].Note that there is nothing in the law about there needing to be any particular readings or set of ceremonies needed to fulfill the obligation. Any Mass in any rite on the evening of the preceding day satisfied the obligation.
The fact that no readings or ceremonies are required in the law is itself proof of the fact that they are not required, but the matter is doubly proven by the fact that the law provides that a Mass "anywhere in a Catholic rite" is sufficient. The reason is that the different rites have different readings and ceremonies in their Masses. If I were to go across the street to the local Maronite parish, or a few miles one way to the local Chaldean parish, or a few miles the other direction to the local Ruthenian parish, I would hear completely different readings and observe different ceremonies. Yet their Masses would fulfill my Sunday obligation, as the above canon indicates.
So despite the popular misconception, no particular rites or ceremonies are needed, and any Mass on Saturday evening--Easter Vigil Mass included--will satisfy the obligation for Sunday.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Sunday Obligation | Permalink | Comments (5)
