The meaning of celebrating the Lord’s Day

Abstract

The situation of a modern man is marked by joy and hope, but also by sadness and fear. Joy and hope come from many positive tendencies and actions in the human family. These include: a strong and widespread desire for justice and peace, an insistent pursuit of truth and the protection of human dignity, as well as new opportunities for evangelization and the development of ecclesial life. On the other hand, sadness and fear arise from the fact that the values of natural and divine law are being questioned. In such realities, Pope John Paul II included the problem of celebrating Sunday as the Lord’s Day. The papal message was that “all the faithful should become clearly aware of the indispensable value of Sunday in Christian life” (DD, n. 6). In his letter Dies Domini, the Pope showed the different dimensions of this day. It is the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, the Day of the Church, the Day of Man, and finally the Day of the Days. This week-long feast is a gift of the risen Christ. The crucified and risen Kyrios started a new creation with his redemptive act. An important element in celebrating the Lord’s Day is listening to the word of God and full participation in the celebration of the Eucharist. Sacramental communion with Eucharistic Christ through the reception of Holy Communion and a rational Sunday rest are conditions for all apostolic activity.