Sunday is the property of our good God; it is His own day, the Lord’s day. He made all the days of the week: He might have kept them all; He has given you six, and has reserved only the seventh for Himself. What right have you to meddle with what does not belong to you? You know very well that stolen goods never bring any profit. Nor will the day that you steal from Our Lord profit you either.”

St. John Vianney (the Cure d’Ars)

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If we need real evidence that we as a people are moving farther and farther away from God, it is that Catholics no longer take seriously our responsibility to keep the Lord’s Day. We have allowed the world to pressure us, and in our weakness and sin we have given in so many times to coaches, to principals, and to business, so that the world has eclipsed God, and the commandment is practically forgotten. We trespass the commandment every time we go to the mall on Sundays, for by doing that we ensure that our neighbors will have to work on Sundays. We trespass against the commandment of God when we permit sports to take the place of the spiritual formation of our children, and when we give in, we in turn make it easier for others to give in. We turn a game into our god, and we teach our children every time we do this that Church isn’t that big of a deal, and neither is God. We as Catholics are failing not only God by our sin, but also our world, because when we fail to keep holy the Lord’s Day, we basically admit to the un-churched around us that keeping the commandments of God is not important in our own salvation. Every Sunday that we miss Mass, we grow farther and farther apart from the Lord. Every Sunday that our children miss Mass, they grow more and more indifferent to our Faith, and it isn’t just us or our children who suffer, but it is also the world. Our modern families cannot be bothered to stop to worship or even to spend time with each other, and so no wonder our families are falling apart and so few are bothering even to get married or to have children, because nothing lasts, and nothing is important to us. The message of Sunday, however, is very, very different. This day of Faith and family is not here for God, who does not grow weary, nor can he fail in his faithfulness to us. No, this Sunday is here for us, because we NEED a day to reconnect to our Faith, and to strengthen our family ties, and to remember what is really important, and what really lasts.

We need a conversion on this friends! Let us take up our Catechism, and reread the section on keeping holy the Lord’s Day! This is the day of the week that marks the greatest event in our human history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the day of the week that belongs to God in a special way. Our secular world pushes in on every front, and we need a break, we need to push back, and we need to say to our spouses and to our children, THIS DAY is important for our salvation, and for the salvation of the world, and we will keep it.  We will dress up with clothes that reflect our dignity as a redeemed people called by Christ, we will go to Mass, and we will enjoy a meal together, and really find love as a family. That is what it means to keep the Lord’s Day good people, and we encourage you, for the sake of all that you hold dear, to find the courage to keep it, for this is the Day that the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad!