Christopher Wendt: Good evening, everyone. Good evening, Your Excellency.
His Excellency: Good evening.
Christopher Wendt: I greet all members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima and all guests. Tonight we’re pre-recording on the feast of August the sixth, the Transfiguration, so I wish you all a belated feast day. Tonight’s broadcast is going to be a catechism lesson from the Roman Catechism on the Third Commandment, and the next broadcast will be a question-and-answer session. So after this broadcast, you can start sending your questions in so that we can prepare. But before we begin, can you start us off with a prayer, Your Excellency?
His Excellency: In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Amen.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Amen.
Christopher Wendt: Thank you, Your Excellency. Before we get started, we just have one announcement. If you haven’t gotten your copy of His Excellency’s book on the Rosary Crusade from Sophia Press, I highly recommend that you get your copy for your family. Um, it’s something that we can do to help the Church be renewed, and it’s really the Rosary, especially the family Rosary, that really is the answer to a lot of other problems and crises in the Church. Without further ado, Your Excellency, we’re looking forward to your catechism lesson tonight on the Third Commandment.
His Excellency: So, today we will speak about the Third Commandment of God, according to an exposition and explanation of the Catechism of the Council of Trent. Holy Scripture says: Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy works, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt do no work on it, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gate. For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day. Wherefore, the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.
So, the words of the Holy Scripture.
Let us look at the reasons for this commandment. This commandment of the law rightly and in due order prescribes the external worship which we owe to God, for it is, as it were, a consequence of the preceding Second Commandment.
For if we sincerely and devoutly worship God, guided by the faith and hope we have in Him, we cannot but honor Him with external worship and thanksgiving. Now, since we cannot easily discharge these duties while occupied in worldly affairs, a certain fixed time has been set aside so that they may be conveniently performed. How the Third Commandment differs from the other commandments: The other commandments of the Decalogue are precepts of the natural law, obligatory at all times and unalterable. Hence, after the abrogation of the Law of Moses, all the commandments contained in the two tables are observed by Christians, not, indeed, because their observance is commanded by Moses, but because they are in conformity with nature, which dictates obedience to them.
This commandment about the observance of the Sabbath, on the other hand, considered as to the time appointed for its fulfillment, is not fixed and unalterable, but susceptible of change, and belongs not to the moral but to the ceremonial law. Neither is it a principle of the natural law, we are not instructed by nature to give external worship to God on that day exactly, rather than on any other day.
And in fact, the Sabbath was kept holy only from the time of the liberation of the people of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh. The observance of the Sabbath was to be abrogated at the same time as the other Hebrew rites and ceremonies, that is, at the death of Christ. Having been, as it were, images which foreshadowed the light and the truth, these ceremonies were to disappear at the coming of that Light and Truth, which is Jesus Christ.
How the Third Commandment is like the other commandments: The worship of God and the practice of religion, which it comprises, have the natural law for their basis. Nature prompts us to give some time to the worship of God. This is demonstrated by the fact that we find among all nations public festivals consecrated to the solemnities of religion and divine worship.
As nature requires some time to be given to the necessary functions of the body, such as sleep, repose, and the like, so also it requires that some time be devoted to the mind, to refresh itself by the contemplation of God.
Hence, since some time should be devoted to the worship of God and to the practice of religion, this Third Commandment doubtless forms also part of the moral law.
The Jewish Sabbath changed to Sunday by the Apostles: The Apostles, therefore, resolved to consecrate the first day of the week to divine worship and called it the Lord’s Day. St. John, in the Apocalypse, makes mention of the Lord’s Day, and the Apostle commands collections to be made on the first day of the week – St. Paul. From all these, we learn that even then, the Lord’s Day was kept holy in the Church by the Apostles themselves.
There are four parts of this commandment.
First, the text says, “Remember.” It would seem to have been necessary to remind the people, for although the law of nature commands us to devote a certain portion of time to the external worship of God, it fixes no particular day for the performance of this duty.
We are taught, and the instruction demands our serious attention, that there will not be wanting occasions which may lead to our forgetfulness of this commandment, such as the evil example of others who neglect or despise its observance, and an inordinate love of amusements and sports, which frequently withdraw us from the holy and religious observance of the Lord’s Day.
Second, the word Sabbath. Sabbath is a Hebrew word that signifies rest. To keep the Sabbath, therefore, means to cease from labor and to rest. In this sense, the seventh day was called the Sabbath because God, having finished the creation of the world, rested on that day from all the work which He had done.
This is called by the Lord in the Book of Exodus. Later on, not only the seventh day, but in honor of that day, the entire week was called the Sabbath. And in this meaning of the word, the Pharisee says in St. Luke, “I fast twice on a Sabbath.”
Third, the word keep holy: In the Scriptures, keeping holy the Sabbath means a cessation from bodily labor and from busyness, as is clear from the following words of the commandment: “Thou shalt do no work on it.” But this is not all that it means. Otherwise, it would have been sufficient to say, “Observe the day of the Sabbath,” but it is added, “and sanctify it.”
These additional words prove that the Sabbath is a day set apart for religion, for works of piety and devotion.
Fourth, the day of the Sabbath is delightful: We sanctify the Lord’s Day fully and perfectly, therefore, when we offer to God works of piety and religion. This is evidently what the prophet Isaiah means when he calls the day of the Sabbath delightful, for festivals are, as it were, the delight of God and of pious man.
The true and proper meaning, therefore, of this commandment tends to this: that we take special care to set apart some fixed time when, disengaged from bodily labor and worldly affairs, we may devote our whole being, soul and body, to the religious veneration of God.
Let us now look at the second part of this commandment.
The second part of the precept declares that the seventh day was consecrated by God to His worship, for it is written: “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy works, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”
From these words, we learn that the Sabbath is consecrated to the Lord, that we are required on that day to render Him the duties of religion, and to know that the seventh day is a sign of the Lord’s rest: “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”
This particular day was fixed for the worship of God because it would not have been well to leave to a rude people the choice of a time of worship, lest, perhaps, they might have imitated the festivals of the pagans, of the Egyptians. The last day of the week was therefore chosen for the worship of God.
And in this, there is much that is symbolic.
Hence, in the Book of Exodus and in the Book of Ezekiel, the Lord calls it a sign. “The Sabbath is a sign. See that you keep my Sabbath because it is a sign,” says the prophet Ezekiel, “a kind of covenant between Me and you in your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”
It was a sign that man should dedicate and sanctify himself to God, since even the very day is devoted to Him. For the holiness of the day consists in this: that on it, men are bound in a special manner to practice holiness and religion.
It was also a sign and, as it were, a memorial of the stupendous work of creation. Furthermore, to the Jews, it was a traditional sign, reminding them that they had been delivered by the help of God from the yoke of Egyptian bondage.
This is the Lord Himself declares in these words: “Remember that thou also didst serve in Egypt, and the Lord thy God brought thee out from thence with a strong hand and a stretched out arm; therefore has He commanded thee that thou shalt observe the Sabbath day.”
It is also a sign of a spiritual and celestial Sabbath.
The spiritual Sabbath consists of a holy and mystical rest, wherein the old man, being buried with Christ, is renewed to life and carefully applies himself to act in accordance with the spirit of Christian piety. For those who were once darkness but are now light in the Lord should walk as children of the light in all goodness and justice and truth, having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
The celestial Sabbath, as St. Cyril of Alexandria observes on these words of the Apostle, “There remains, therefore, a day of rest for the people of God,” is that life in which, living with Christ, we shall enjoy all good, when sin shall be eradicated. According to the words of the prophet Isaiah: “No lion shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by it, nor be found there. But a path shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way.”
This is the spiritual meaning, or the mystical meaning, of the Sabbath.
Then we look: there are still other festivals observed by the Jews besides the seventh day. The Jews observed other festivals and holy days instituted by the divine law to awaken the recollection of the principal favors conferred on them by God.
The Sabbath changed to Sunday:
But the Church of God has, however, thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday. For as on that day light first shone on the world, so by the Resurrection of our Redeemer on the same day by whom was thrown open to us the gate to eternal life, we were called out of darkness into light. And hence, the Apostle would have it called the Lord’s Day.
We also learn from the Sacred Scriptures that the first day of the week was called sacred because on that day the work of creation commenced, and on that day, the Holy Ghost was given to the Apostles.
There are other festivals observed by the Church. From the very beginning of the Church and in the following centuries, other days were also appointed by the Apostles and the holy Fathers in order to commemorate the benefits bestowed by God. Among these days to be kept sacred, the most solemn are those which were instituted to honor the mysteries of our redemption.
In the next place are the days which are dedicated to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Apostles, martyrs, and other saints who reign with Christ. In the celebration of their victories, the divine power and goodness are praised, due honor is paid to their memories, and the faithful are encouraged to imitate them.
“Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work,” says the Lord in the Holy Scripture. And as the observance of the precept is very strongly assisted by these words “Six days shalt thou labor, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of God” from these words it can be gathered that the faithful are to be exhorted not to spend their lives in indolence and sloth, but that each one, mindful of the words of the Apostle, should “do his own business and work with his own hands,” as he had commanded them.
These words also enjoin, as a duty commanded by God, that in six days we do all our works, lest we defer to a festival what should have been done during the other days of the week, thereby distracting the attention from the things of God.
Let us look at the third part of this commandment. It points out, to a certain extent, the manner in which we are to keep holy the Sabbath day and explains particularly what we are forbidden to do on that day.
Works Forbidden: “Thou shalt do no work on it,” says the Lord, “thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.”
These words teach us, in the first place, to avoid whatever may interfere with the worship of God. Hence, it is not difficult to perceive that all servile works are forbidden, not because they are improper or evil in themselves, but because they withdraw the attention from the worship of God, which is the great end of this commandment, and indeed of all commandments.
The faithful should be still more careful to avoid sin, which not only withdraws the mind from the contemplation of divine works but entirely alienates us from the love of God.
Works Permitted: But whatever regards the celebration of divine worship, such as the decoration of the altar or the church on the occasion of some festival, and the like, although considered servile, is not prohibited. Hence, our Lord says, “The priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are without blame.”
Neither are we to suppose that this commandment forbids attention to those things on a feast day which, if neglected, would be lost.
Why animals are not to be employed on the Sabbath:
To omit nothing that may interfere with the sanctification of the Sabbath, the commandment mentions beasts of burden, because their use will prevent its due observance. If beasts are employed on the Sabbath, human labor also becomes necessary to direct them, for they do not labor alone, but assist the labors of men. Now it is not lawful for man to work on that day; hence, it is not lawful for the animals to work, which man uses. This is what is meant by the commandment.
But this commandment also has another purpose: For if God commands the exemption of cattle from labor on the Sabbath, still more imperative is the obligation to avoid all acts of inhumanity toward servants or others whose labor and industry we employ.
Works Commanded or Recommended: These are: to go to church, and there with heartfelt piety and devotion to assist at the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and to approach frequently the sacraments of the Church instituted for our salvation, in order to obtain a remedy for the wounds of the soul.
The faithful should also listen with attention and reverence to the Word of God, sermons, and catechetical instructions. Likewise, they should give themselves to frequent prayer and the praises of God. An object of their special attention should be to learn both the things which pertain to a Christian life and to practice with care the duties of piety, such as giving alms to the poor and needy, visiting the sick, and administering consolation to the sorrowful and afflicted.
“Religion, clean and undefiled before God and the Father,” says St. James, “is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their tribulation.”
Let us look at the motives of the observance of this commandment. The reasonableness of this day had God commanded us to offer him every day the tribute of religious worship. It is not to be our duty, in return for his inestimable and infinite benefits toward us, to endeavor to obey the command with promptitude and alacrity. But now that the days consecrated to his worship are but few, there is no excuse for neglecting or reluctantly performing this duty, which, moreover, is under a grave sin. The observance of this commandment brings many blessings. Those who are faithful in its observance are admitted, as it were, into the divine presence to speak freely with God, for in prayer we contemplate the divine majesty and communicate with him. In hearing religious instruction, we hear the voice of God, which reaches us through the agency of those who devoutly preach on divine things, and at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we adore Christ, the Lord, present on our altars. Such are the blessings which they preeminently enjoy who faithfully observe this commandment.
The neglect of this commandment is a great crime.
Those who altogether neglect its fulfillment resist God and his Church. They heed not God’s command and are enemies of him and his holy laws, of which the easiness of the command is itself a proof. We should, it is true, be prepared to undergo the severest labor for the sake of God, but in this commandment, he imposes on us no labor. He only commands us to rest and disengage ourselves from worldly cares on those days which are to be kept holy. To refuse obedience to this commandment is therefore a proof of extreme insolence, and the punishments with which its infraction has been visited by God, as we learn from the Book of Numbers, should be a warning to the people. Are we obliged to keep only the commandments of God? No, we must also keep the precepts of the Church he established, because the Church exercises its legislative power. Our Lord says, Whoever listens to you listens to me, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Why, then, has the Church made these precepts? To strengthen and encourage the faithful to keep the commandments of God, practice the maxims of the Gospel, and establish the reign of supernatural charity in their souls. What is the difference between the commandments of God and the precepts of the Church? The precepts of the Church fix the time and manner of keeping the commandments of God. They differ from the latter in three ways.
First, they are human and mutable, whereas the commandments of God are infallible and immutable. Second, they bind only the members of the Church, whereas the commandments of God are binding on everyone.
Third, they cease to bind when a grave difficulty stands in the way of observing them, whereas there is no dispensation from the commandments of God.
What are the precepts of the Church?
First, to assist at Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.
Second, to fast and abstain on days appointed. Fasting is as ancient as the human race itself. Even in Paradise, it was enjoined upon man to abstain from the fruit of one tree. Moreover, certain meats were forbidden to the Jews. Pork, for instance. On the day of propitiation, the Jews were not permitted to taste food for twenty-four hours. Our Lord fasted even forty days. So did also Moses and Elias before him. And Saint John the Baptist, the precursor, fasted most rigorously. So the Church has good reasons for laying the obligation of fasting upon the faithful.
The laws of the Church in regard to fasting have been largely relaxed in modern times to suit the exigencies of time and place. In the first millennium of the Church, the rule of fasting was so stringent that on fast days, not only was abstinence from flesh meat enjoined, but milk, eggs, and butter were also prohibited. This was then formally the universal rule in the Catholic Church until 1917 and is still kept by the Orthodox Churches. In most ancient times, it was also the rule that no food was to be taken before sundown, but owing to the increase of constitutional weakness, the ancient rules of fasting have been more and more relaxed.
There are three kinds of fasting at present.
First, abstinence from flesh meat. Second, taking only one full meal in the day. Third, strict fasting, in which both of these are enjoined, abstinence and fasting.
In the second commandment of the Church, we are ordered to abstain on all Fridays of the year from flesh meat. According to the ancient Code of Canon Law, fasting during the forty days of Lent also means taking only one full meal only in a day. The same applied to the Ember Days and to the vigils of certain feasts.
So then, we are forbidden to eat meat on Friday because on that day, our Lord died for us. Not only is meat prohibited, but also all dishes in the preparation of which it is used. The Church has forbidden the use of meat because Christ sacrificed his flesh, his body.
For us, another reason is to remind us that the lusts of the flesh are to be resisted. Some people quote our Lord’s words, “Not those things which go into the mouth defile the man,” as opposed to this prohibition to eat meat on Fridays. But our Lord also said, “The things that come from the heart, those things defile the man.” So disobedience to the Church comes from the heart, and this is what defiles, not the actual meat.
If Christmas Day falls on a Friday, meat is allowed because our Lord would not have us fast at a season of rejoicing. In early ages, the use of meat was also forbidden on Saturdays. The original object of this prohibition was to suppress the observance of the Sabbath day, which still lingered among Christian converts.
During the forty days of Lent, the old rule was that only one full meal was to be taken, but a slight collation was permitted in the morning and evening. The fasting was meant as a partial imitation of our Lord’s fast of forty days and as a suitable preparation for celebrating the festivals of Easter. The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday and last until Easter Day. Still today, the Sundays alone are not fasting days.
The Lenten fast was instituted by the Apostles in commemoration of our Lord’s fast in the wilderness. It is a time of penance and of sorrow for sin. Hence, violet vestments are worn at the altar. It is natural to fast when we are in grief. We ought also, during Lent, to meditate upon our Lord’s Passion, which is commemorated in Holy Week and which usually forms the theme of the Lenten sermons. By fasting and meditation upon our Lord’s Passion, we most readily awaken within ourselves the grace of contrition and consciousness of sin.
The forty days of Lent are also a preparation for the Easter festival. In early times, the fast was much more rigorous. The primitive Christians ate no meat during the entire time and did not break their fast until the evening, at sundown. In the Middle Ages, those who broke the law of fasting were punished even by the secular authority, on the grounds of contempt for religion.
The rule of fasting is made very easy nowadays and is very relaxed. Drinking does not break the fast. Drinking of water, according to the current Code of Canon Law, is allowed. The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority until the beginning of their sixtieth year. So, from age eighteen to sixty.
Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who, by reason of age, are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.
Then the third precept of the Church is to confess at least once a year. Fourth, to receive the Holy Eucharist at least once a year at Easter time. Fifth, to contribute to the support of the Church, pastors, and material needs. Sixth, to observe the marriage laws of the Church.
Though we are obliged to keep the commandments of the Church, disobedience to the Church is also disobedience to Christ. Christ has conferred upon the Church the same power which he himself received from the Father. He said to the Apostles, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” When the Church enjoins anything upon us, it is the same as if Christ enjoined it, for he said, “Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven.”
In disobeying the Church, we disobey Christ, as he told the Apostles, “He that despises you despises me.” Our Lord speaks of the Church as a kingdom. He also compares it to a fold.
To teach us that the children of the Church must obey their ecclesiastical superiors. Every society is authorized to make laws which the members must observe. This the Church does, and by her mouth, God makes His will known to us. He, therefore, who deliberately violates one of the Church’s precepts commits also a grave sin.
Our Lord expressly says that he who will not hear the Church is to be regarded as a pagan. Under the old dispensation, death was the punishment of one who, through pride, refused to obey the commandment of the high priest. Thus we see that from the first, rebellion against spiritual authority was a heinous sin.
The shepherds of the Church are empowered to dispense the faithful from the observance of any of the commandments and precepts of the Church for weighty reasons. Christ said to the Apostles, “What you loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven.”
And we conclude with the words of the Psalm:
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is true, making wise the simple.” Thank you.
Christopher Wendt: Thank you. Your Excellency, maybe we have time for just one or two questions. As a shepherd of the faithful, what are some ways in modern life that might not be so good to do on Sunday and might be getting in the way of keeping holy the Lord’s Day, as the Church gives us this commandment?
His Excellency: Well, the meaning of Sunday is to rest, to express exteriorly that it is the day consecrated to the Lord, to Him as God, in the first place, and that we will not be distracted by the usual works we do during the weekday. The Lord said in the Law, “You work six days, but on the seventh day you must not work.” So there must be a difference. We cannot do the same work on Sunday that we do on the other six days. There must clearly be a difference between proclaiming and expressing that we honor God on this day.
Christopher Wendt: So is it fair to say that it’s better not to shop on Sundays, or is it not wise to have a general principle like that?
His Excellency: No, they should not be shopping. It is because you are collaborating, then, in the fact that other people are working on Sundays and do not observe or venerate God. This is a collaboration in not observing the Lord’s Day. We cannot go shopping on Sundays.
Even in Europe, for example, in some countries it was strictly forbidden, but nowadays, not anymore. Even until some decades ago, it was in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland strictly forbidden. All the shops were closed, entirely closed. You could only go out to buy bread or some medicines, this, yes, but the usual shopping, to buy clothes and other non-essential items, you did not need on Sunday. To buy bread or medicine was permitted, but not the usual shopping.
Christopher Wendt: I guess we could list other things, but the general principle that I really like, how you explain it, is that we really shouldn’t do on Sunday the things that we do as work during the week. Because some people work physically, like with their hands, servile work, and some people work intellectually, you know, on a computer. But what I’m hearing from you is that we really should not, for example, if I own a digital agency, I shouldn’t do anything related to that profession on Sunday. Even though it’s not physically demanding, like sweating or lifting things, am I understanding you correctly, Your Excellency?
His Excellency: Clearly. Even on the computer, people work on the computer also that is their work. So on Sunday, they should not do this. On Sunday, read a spiritual text on the computer, yes. To read a little text that helps us to meditate on the Lord, or to read a good book, you can read a book, a physical book, or a book on the computer. But not to do your usual business on the computer.
Christopher Wendt: That’s great. Wonderful.
One more question. I guess it was of recent origin that the Popes allowed or offered the vigil Mass on Saturday for some. And I’m wondering if that’s kind of distorted the idea, because a lot of people now fulfill their obligation on Saturday. Does that kind of throw a wrench into the idea of Sunday worship? What’s the traditional view, should you go on Saturday or not to fulfill your obligation on Sunday?
His Excellency: The Church never did this in two thousand years. Sunday is Sunday. We have to observe it. It is not Saturday. So we must even observe the reality and not confuse the two.
The Church, of course, had vigils, but those were days of penance and preparation for the next day of peace. There were the First Vespers of Sunday, but that was simply to prepare ourselves for Sunday it was not Sunday itself.
Therefore, it is regrettable, we have to regret that Pope Paul the Sixth introduced the possibility of Saturday afternoon or evening Masses to fulfill the obligation of Sunday. It is a fact, and now we see, after so many decades, that this has undermined the meaning and the practice of Sunday observance.
There is a proven fact that a considerable part of Catholics, out of laziness or comfort, attend Mass on Saturday evening, and then spend all of Sunday in amusements, in other activities, in sports, and so on. This is a reality.
Of course, there can be exceptions. When a priest has so many parishes to serve that he cannot celebrate Sunday Mass in all his communities, then he may celebrate the Sunday Mass on Saturday evening for the parish that could not have a Sunday Mass the next day. Simply, when it is not possible.
In such a case, it is strictly necessary for the priest to celebrate the Mass for a community. But when a community already has a Sunday Mass, they should not also have a Saturday Mass, because this de facto undermines the practice and meaning of Sunday.
The Orthodox Churches, to this day, do not have such evening Masses. They do not even know of this practice. They have no evening Masses at all. This is simply to compare with the reality of other Christian Churches, which also hold to apostolic tradition.
So, I think the Church should not continue to promote this practice, except in strictly necessary cases, when there is no Sunday Mass available at all in one place, for example, because there is no priest, and he can only come on Saturday.
In this case, yes. But when people say, “Well, I have to travel, and Saturday evening is more convenient,” well, when you are traveling and it is truly not possible to attend Mass on Sunday, the Church dispenses you automatically from your obligation.
Yes, when you travel for important reasons and there is no Mass available, you are dispensed by the law itself. So, you may go to Mass on Saturday for private devotion, or attend a Mass during the week. But if you are truly prohibited from attending Mass on Sunday, because of serious reasons, because you are sick, or you are caring for someone who is sick, or your professional duties require it, such as being a doctor or a police officer, then you are dispensed by the Church.
As a Christian, you should try to attend Mass on another day during the week to venerate the Lord, because it is not usually the case that someone is prevented from attending every Saturday and Sunday indefinitely. This is more or less not so common.
Christopher Wendt: But why did Pope Paul the Sixth introduce the Mass on Saturday evenings?
His Excellency: Well, I think it was to facilitate the people in observing Sunday. Probably the intention was good, but the method was wrong. It revealed itself, over time, to be undermining, not facilitating, the observance of Sunday.
It became a kind of cheap religion. That is what I would say a religion made easy and without effort. When the obligation toward God is made to seem less serious, easy, and cheap, this will not produce good Christians, strong Christians, or convinced Christians.
For example, I will tell you about my grandmother, Perpetua. During the Communist revolution in the Soviet Union, the Communist officials forced her to work on Sunday, doing hard labor. She said to them, “I am a Christian. I will not work on Sunday. You can kill me, but I will not do it.” That is what my grandmother said.
Christopher Wendt: Wow.
His Excellency: And they did not touch her. They did not harm her.
Christopher Wendt: Praise God for that. That’s such a powerful witness, truly a confessor of the faith. It’s inspiring.
His Excellency: Thank you. Also in my own family, we observed Sunday even when it required a great sacrifice. We would travel seventy miles one way and seventy miles back for Sunday Mass in a situation of persecution. It was not easy.
So when Pope Paul the Sixth tried to “facilitate” Sunday observance by allowing people to go on Saturday afternoon, he made it too easy and too convenient, and, in doing so, the depth of Christian life was weakened. That is why I believe this law should be abolished, or at least very clearly restricted. The so-called Saturday evening “pre-festive” Masses should only be permitted under very strict and clear conditions.
Christopher Wendt: Thank you, Your Excellency. You’ve given us a lot to think about. Let me ask one final question before we end. If someone goes to Mass on Saturday evening because Pope Paul VI allowed it, and the practice is now widespread, the Sunday obligation is technically fulfilled. But the obligation to rest on Sunday still remains, correct? Even if you attend Saturday evening Mass, you still need to honor the Lord’s Day, right?
So, in other words, if I go to Mass on Saturday, I should still read a spiritual book on Sunday, spend time in prayer, and try to grow in the spiritual life. I shouldn’t treat Sunday like just another day, going to the mall, shopping, and doing unnecessary work.
I think sometimes people go on Saturday and then mentally “transfer” the Lord’s Day to Saturday. They think, “Well, I went to Mass yesterday, so today’s my free day.” But the obligation to sanctify Sunday still stands. Is that right?
His Excellency: Of course. Even if they go on Saturday afternoon or evening to Mass for their Sunday obligation, they are still obliged by Divine Law to sanctify Sunday itself. In this, the Church cannot dispense them.
Yes, the Church can dispense you from assisting at Mass on Sunday. But to sanctify the Sunday itself to give that day to the Lord is an obligation from God. The Church cannot dispel you from that.
So yes, you must focus on the Lord on that day with your mind, with your heart. You should pray at home, read something spiritual, dedicate time to the Lord, and also rest in a way that manifests this is the Lord’s Day. Even if, for serious reasons, there is no Mass in your area, the day must still be sanctified.
Christopher Wendt: One final question. If I’m a policeman or a doctor and I have to work on Sunday, should I talk to my pastor or priest about it, get some kind of permission, or is it okay to just be honest with my conscience and say, “I tried to get out of working Sundays, but it’s not possible”? Should I ask, or is that unnecessary?
His Excellency: No, it is not necessary to ask. These cases are already automatically dispensed. People who must work on Sunday, for example, doctors, hospital workers, or others in essential professions, are automatically dispensed from the obligation of attending Mass, because their work serves the common good.
There is also a general rule in the Church that precepts do not bind in cases of unreasonable or disproportionate difficulty. That’s very important.
For example, if there is no priest available in your area, and the nearest Mass is 500 miles away, the Church does not obligate you to travel that distance on Sunday. That would be an excessive burden. Or, if there’s a Mass only five miles away, but there’s a snowstorm and it’s unsafe to leave your house, you are not bound to go. You are not required to put yourself in danger.
Christopher Wendt: Yeah, I’ve had that happen before. One year, when we lived in upstate New York, we tried to get to Midnight Mass for Christmas. The snow was so bad, we started driving, but we had to turn back. I said, “We’re going to slide off the road.” It just wasn’t safe.
His Excellency: Yes, exactly. Some people still try to go into difficult situations. That’s a heroic act, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the Church does not require heroism from everyone. That’s not the norm. The Church is a mother; she does not bind people when it would be unreasonable to do so.
Christopher Wendt: Yeah, exactly. Thank you, Your Excellency. This has been a lot to consider. I think we really, as a people, need to revisit this. And I think that’s what we’ve done here in this meeting. I really appreciate it. We’re actually over time now, which I try not to do. I want to be respectful of your time. Could you close us out with a prayer for holy popes?
His Excellency: Yes.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Kyrie Eleison! Christe Eleison! Kyrie Eleison! Lord Jesus Christ.
You are the Good Shepherd! With Your almighty hand, You guide Your pilgrim Church through the storms of each age.
Adorn the Holy See with holy popes who neither fear the powerful of this world nor compromise with the spirit of the age, but preserve, strengthen, and defend the Catholic Faith unto the shedding of their blood, and observe, protect, and hand on the venerable liturgy of the Roman Church.
O Lord, return to us through holy popes who, inflamed with the zeal of the Apostles, proclaim to the whole world: “Salvation is found in no other than in Jesus Christ. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they should be saved” (see Acts 4:10-12).
Through an era of holy popes, may the Holy See, which is home to all who promote the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, always shine as the cathedra of truth for the whole world. Hear us, O Lord, and through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Church, grant us holy Popes, grant us many holy Popes! Have mercy on us and hear us! Amen.
Dominus vobiscum.
Christopher Wendt: Et cum spiritu tuo.
His Excellency: Et benedictio Dei Omnipotentis: Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sanctus. Amen.
Praise be Jesus Christ!
Christopher Wendt: Now and forever!
Christopher Wendt: Again, thank you, Your Excellency. Until next time, Ave Maria.