Lets Take Back Sundays

Dearest Ones,

A long time ago when God made the world; He worked six days making it and then rested on the seventh day. Ever since God gave us the example of resting on the seventh day, Sunday, it has been a holy tradition. Just to make sure we would know how important it is, God also made it a command: "Remember, keep holy on the Lord's Day, Sunday." This isn't a suggestion, a take it or leave it request, we have no choice. We must Keep Sunday holy. It is a command.

God didn't make the commandments to be a burden for us, He made them out of love. "If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love." -John 15:9-11. This commandment doesn't mean to spend the day in bed, being lazy. It means giving one's time to Jesus, in order to get to know Him better.

In 1924, a world famous Olympics runner from Scotland, Eric Liddell, was asked to compete in a 100 meter race on a Sunday, which he refused to do out of respect for God's laws. As a result he disqualified himself from the finals. As he was running for Great Britain, the country was raving mad at him, as he was the favorite. Instead Eric decided to run in the 400 meter race. For this he was criticized and mocked. "The flying Scotsman" won a gold medal and a world record, 47.6 seconds. Most important of all, Eric kept his commitment to his faith and God rewarded him.

Of course, there are certain things we have to do on Sunday, such as cooking and washing dishes, but we don't have to save up manual labor, such as cleaning, sewing, mowing, earning money, etc. Sometimes, our job may require us to work on Sunday, but God understands this. Just why did God command that we rest on Sunday? God knows we need to take time to get to know Him. Sundays are meant to be different, not only because we get all dressed up and go to church for an hour. The entire day is meant to give extra praise and glory to God. Some people like to take in the beauty of nature, go for walks, swim, fish, etc. This is great, just so it doesn't take the place of attending Mass.

Sunday is a good day to visit the sick, write letters to someone who is lonely, or serve in a soup kitchen. Do something nice for someone. It is an important family day. Sundays need to be planned ahead of time, so they will not be violated. It is an excellent time to gather the family together for prayer or Bible reading, as well as playing games, singing, etc. How about having a contest to see who can memorize the 23rd Psalm first? The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want....

My Mother would never read secular newspapers, only Catholic papers, on Sunday. She didn't make a big deal of it, as I only found out about it after I was an adult. This was her way of showing respect for this holy day. My Father never worked in the fields - he only did the necessary chores of feeding livestock and milking cows. If there was a blizzard on Sunday, he felt someone from the family should go to Church, so he walked the 2 1/2 miles to Mass. Children learn from their parents how to keep holy the Lord's Day.

Sunday is special because it is the day in which Our Lord rose from the dead. It is the most important day of the week. Some people treat Sunday like every other day of the week. They save up cleaning jobs to be done on that day, as well as sewing. A priest from India visited the United States and was shocked at how American Catholics did not observe the Lord's Day. In India that day is devoted to God and includes spiritual reading and prayer. It was revealed by the Blessed Mother to a priest in France, Pere Lamy, that one of the causes of the First World War was the Lord's punishment because of the violation of Sundays.

We show respect for the Lord by the way we dress at Mass. If a woman is immodest in her dress and causes a man to have impure thoughts, it is the woman's fault. See though, strapless dresses and short, short skirts can be the cause of another's sin, even if it is the style. One needs to ask - Do I go to Church to attract attention to myself or to give God glory?

I know a parent who received the softball practice schedule which said it was on Sundays and the parent wrote to the coach refusing to send the child because Sundays are for families. The coach immediately changed the practice schedule to Saturdays, so the little boy could play. If parents don't give the example of keeping Sunday holy, who will? Please don't get me wrong - there is nothing wrong with sports on Sunday, it can bring families together. God has many blessings for those who keep Sunday holy. Let's rediscover Sunday!

All my love and prayers,
Sister Francelle