New apostolic letter urges a day of rest

National Catholic Reporter, July 17, 1998 by Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY -- Sunday prayer and rest is a human need and a religious obligation, Pope John Paul II said in a new apostolic letter.

In the letter "Dies Domini," ("The Day of the Lord") published July 7 at the Vatican, the pope reaffirmed church teaching that Catholics must attend Sunday Mass and that other Sunday activities should be in harmony with the sacred character of the day.

While not criticizing store openings, entertainment and sporting events on a Sunday, the pope said all people have a right to a day of rest, and the Sunday rest should be dedicated first of all to communal prayer and praise of God. Sundays are a very appropriate day for an after-Mass trip to the countryside, seaside or mountains, he said.

"As the day on which man is at peace with God, with himself and with others, Sunday becomes a moment when people can look anew upon the wonders of nature" and praise their Creator, he said.

Although the church's teaching about Sundays "may merge naturally with the human need for rest, it is faith alone which gives access to its deeper meaning and ensures that it will not become banal and trivialized," the pope said.

The pope said he wrote the letter to encourage people who make Sunday Mass the center of their week and to exhort those who have given up the practice.

"In the minds of many of the faithful, not only the sense of the centrality of the Eucharist but even the sense of the duty to give thanks to the Lord and to pray to him with others in the community of the church, seems to be diminishing," the pope said.

Keeping the Lord's day holy is so important that it is included in the Ten Commandments and in the Code of Canon Law, he said. Just as for the Jewish community, the pope said, the Catholic obligation to observe the Lord's day is "not just a matter of community religious discipline, but a defining and indelible expression of our relationship with God."

Because it is an Easter celebration, Sunday Mass must be a gathering marked by obvious joy, the pope said.

"The festive character of the Sunday Eucharist expresses the joy that Christ communicates to his church through the gift of the Spirit," he said. The pope called on pastors and those involved in parish liturgies to give particular attention to the songs chosen for Sunday Mass, "since singing is a particularly apt way to express a joyful heart, accentuating the solemnity of the celebration and fostering the sense of a common faith and a shared love."

Special care also must be taken in preparing the homily, he said.

The Second Vatican Council reaffirmed the importance of listening to Christ in the Liturgy of the Word by allowing the readings to be proclaimed in the language of the local assembly, he said. "In considering the Sunday Eucharist more than 30 years after the council," the pope said, "we need to assess how well the Word of God is being proclaimed and how effectively the people of God have grown in knowledge and love of sacred scripture."

The entire Mass, he said, including the prayers, songs and homily, should reflect the theme of the scripture readings proclaimed. While various groups and movements present in a parish have their importance and place, the Sunday Mass must be an expression of the unity of the whole parish, he said.

"This is why on Sunday, the day of gathering, small group Masses are not to be encouraged," he said. Communion with Christ, the pope said, is tied to communion with our brothers and sisters. "The sign of peace -- in the Roman rite significantly placed before eucharistic communion -- is a particularly expressive gesture which the faithful are invited to make as a manifestation of the people of God's acceptance of all that has been accomplished in the celebration and of the commitment to mutual love which is made in sharing the one bread," Pope John Paul said.

After listening to the gospel and participating in the eucharistic sacrifice, he said, Catholics must leave the Mass with a renewed commitment to performing works of charity, promoting solidarity and sharing the gospel message with others. While each Catholic has a serious obligation to attend Sunday Mass, bishops and priests must do all they can to make Masses available, including on Saturday and Sunday evenings, the pope said. 'When no priest is available, he said, Catholics are encouraged to keep Sunday as a day of prayer and gathering by participating in a prayer service.