397 / 665
Chapter 27. Third Commandment: Love the Lord’s Day • 369
sports activities or other unexpected intrusions, it is hoped that Catholic
pastors and other Christian religious leaders, with the support of their
congregations, may prevail on sponsors of athletic events to adapt their
programs to the religious needs of youth. We must preserve the oppor-
tunity to go to Mass on Sundays without competition from sporting
events, work, or other temptations.
On Sunday, we can also seek out forms of culture and entertain-
ment that enhance the message of the Gospel and foster spiritual growth.
A proper observance of Sunday can thus be a prophetic stance in our
culture, offering a witness that is both wholesome and healing for the
great number of people who need to be less frantic and more willing to
let go and settle down to what best corresponds to their spiritual nature
and yearnings.
FOR DISCUSSION
1. What is your Sunday like? How can it become a balance of worship,
restful reflection, and personal spiritual renewal? What pressures
make this a challenge for you, and what can you do about them?
How does Sunday Mass enrich your life, your relationships, and the
rest of your week?
2. What can be done to free up poor people from unfair working prac-
tices that deprive them of the gift of the Christian Sunday? How can
families reverse the trend sponsored by those who schedule athletic
events for children and young people on Sunday morning?
3. How does consumerism eat away at the Christian ideals of Sunday?
What are ways that family gatherings could again become a regular
feature of Sunday life?
DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS
• “Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the Lord, your God,
commanded you. Six days you may labor and do all your work; but
the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord” (Dt 5:12-14).