Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 24th

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

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We know that Sunday Mass and Adoring the Lord in
the Most Holy Eucharist (Blessed Sacrament) is of
utmost importance to us as Baptized members of the
One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. But why
on Sunday?
Saint Pope John Paul II wrote a pastoral letter to all
Christians in 1998 entitled: “Dies Domini” or “On
Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy.” The Holy Father
taught of the importance of our worship of God at
Holy Mass. The first Sabbath day was when God the
Father rested on the seventh day. The rest that God
took was an active rest. He looked at all He created
and said “it is good.” He observed His creation in
action as He rested. Throughout the Old Testament
God reminded His people to “remember to keep the
Sabbath holy.” This remembering as a way of
keeping the Sabbath holy was more than just a passing
thought. God called His people to remember that He is
the Lord; to remember that He brought them out of
slavery; to remember that He gave them the
commandments. When the Jewish people gathered on
the Sabbath to remember what the Lord did, they
actively told the story as if to relive it. For them, to
remember was to make the day holy as God continued
to create them into His people. The Sabbath is what
the Jewish people celebrate from sun-down on Friday
to sun-down on Saturday. When the Sabbath is kept
holy, they are keeping the third and the first
commandments of God.
Why then do we as Catholic Christians celebrate the
Sabbath on Sunday? God the Father sent His Son into
the world to search out what had been lost by sin; to
conquer death. This would be a new creation. After
Jesus nailed sin to the cross and accepted its
consequence, it was complete. The new creation was
accomplished. While in the tomb Jesus descended to
the dead and took them to Himself. Then, early
Sunday morning He appeared to Mary Magdalene
whom he delivered from 7 demons. Then He appeared
to the apostles. He observed what He had recreated –
the new day of the Lord, Sunday. With all this being
said, we can begin to see why the pandemic has
harmed the very core of our faith life, our ability to
participate in what the Lord has accomplished.
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day.

In Christ,

Fr. Steven Guitron

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