My dear Parishioners,Peace! There are six (6) Commandments of the Church treated in three (3) articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2041-2043. The following is a reflection on the first commandment of the Church “Sunday and Feast Masses similarly.”
The faithful participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian Community gathers on the day which commemorates the Resurrection of the Lord.
This commandment or precept of the Church is related to the Third Commandment of God, to keep holy the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12). The Commandments of God are part of Divine positive law, given by God on Mount Sinai to Moses. Sunday is the day which commemorates the Resurrection of the Lord (Mark 16:9; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). This commandment or precept of the Church regarding the obligation to participate in the Holy Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is said to date as early as the time of the Emperor Constantine (+337).
Besides the fifty-two Sundays of each year, this commandment of the Church binds us to also participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice on Holy Days of Obligation. The Code of Canon Law puts it this way: “Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, is to be observed in the universal Church as the primary holy day of obligation.
The following feast days are also to be observed as holy days of obligation: the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (25 December), the Epiphany (on or near 6 January), the Ascension (varies), Corpus Christi (varies), Mary the Mother of God (1 January), her Immaculate Conception (8 December), her Assumption (15 August), Saint Joseph (19 March), the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul (29 June), and All Saints (1 November) (CIC 1246-1248). The enumeration of the specific list of the feasts we are obliged to participate is composed by the Church and as such are positive ecclesiastical law. In the United States of America, only the underlined feasts are obligatory. With approval of the Holy See, the Bishops in the United States of America have transferred the celebration of some feasts to the nearest Sunday (e.g. Epiphany, Ascension, Corpus Christi). Likewise with the approval of the Holy See, the Bishops of the United States of America have suppressed the obligation of the other days. Regardless, the liturgical rank of these days are all Solemnities, that is, the highest rank. Resting or abstaining from servile work is also a part of this commandment.
By the seventh-century penalties for desecrating Sunday and who fail to keep the feasts of the Church (cf. Penitentiary of Canterbury). Saints Peter Canisius (1521-1597; Summa doctrinae christianae, vol. 1 “Faith, Hope, Charity, the Precepts of the Church”) and Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621; Doctrina Christiana) both explicate the first precept or commandment of the Church as follows: observe the feast days appointed by the Church, hear Mass reverently on these feast days. The precepts or commandments of the Church predate the sixteenth century.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr