Third Commandment

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

When grounded in its Old Testament context, it binds together the two tablets of the Law. For
two basic sources are given for this Commandment, one stressing our direct relationship to God,
the other focusing on its human, liberating effects.

904. The first source relates the sabbath rest to God’s creative action in Genesis. “In six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day
He rested” (Ex 20:11).

905. The first reason given for the Third Commandment, then, is God’s rest on the seventh
day (cf. CCC 2172). This rest was not an absence of work; when God stopped working, He created
something new, something which was not there before __ REST.

Rest here means much more than withdrawal from labor and exertion, more than freedom from
toil, strain or activity of any kind. What was created on the seventh day? Tranquility, serenity,
peace and repose” (A. Heschel, The Sabbath).

906. The second reason given for the Sabbath rest in Scripture is the great liberation from
slavery in Egypt:“For remember that you too were once slaves in Egypt, and the Lord, your God,
brought you from there with His strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the Lord, your
God, has commanded you to observe the sabbath” (Dt 5:15; cf. CCC 2170).

907. Balance Needed. Throughout history, these two reasons for the Sabbath commandment
have sometimes been set against each other. If the worship reason alone is stressed, then the
Sabbath tends to become a day of Pharisaic legalistic piety, with its social humanitarian
dimensions gravely restricted. On the other hand, if __ as seems to be the more common case
today __ only the human social rest dimensions of the Sabbath are emphasized, the holy day
becomes simply a holiday for physical relaxation and enjoyment, with only minimal concern for
any religious aspect.

909. Jesus and the Sabbath. Although all four Gospels record that Jesus faithfully observed the
Sabbath, attending synagogue services (cf. Mt 4:23; Mk 1:39; Lk 4:15; Jn 18:20), they also report
a number of incidents which show Jesus in conflict with the Sabbath law in the legalistic
interpretation that held sway in his days.
In line with the liberation grounding of the Sabbath rest, Jesus, as “Lord even of the Sabbath,”
taught “The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27-28).
When the legalists tried to trap Christ into breaking the Sabbath law, Jesus asked: “is it lawful to
do a good deed on the Sabbath — or an evil one? To preserve life — or to destroy it?” When they
refused to answer, Jesus “looked around at them with anger, for he was deeply grieved that they
had closed their minds against him” (Mk 3:4-5).

This indicates that genuine Sabbath worship of God is not to be separated from human liberation:
“It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice” (Mt 12:7; cf. CCC 2173).

910. Easter the new sabbath. After Christ glorious Resurrection and the Pentecostal
enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, a whole new dimension was added to the Sabbath. St. Ignatius
of Antioch wrote: “Those who walked in ancient customs came to a new hope, no
longer sabbatizing, but living the Lord’s Day, on which we came to live through him and his
death.” Thus, because “Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, the day after the Sabbath.
Christians have always kept this day as the new Sabbath . . . . Sunday is the Easter celebration; it
is a day when the presence of the risen Lord Jesus is celebrated, especially in the Eucharist” (CCC
2175).

The church and the lords day

914. As members of the new People of God, the Church, we have the duty to worship together
as a community so as to express our unity as one people with Christ as head (cf.
1 Cor 12:27; Eph 4:4-6), and to deepen our relationship with God.

On this day [Sunday] Christ’s faithful are bound to come together in one place. They should listen
to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the Passion, Resurrection,
and Glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who “gave us new birth; a birth unto hope
which draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pt1:3). The Lord’s Day
is the original feast day, and it should be proposed and taught so that it may become in fact a
day of joy and freedom from work (SC 106).

915. Therefore, in accordance with the Third Commandment, the Church decrees that Catholics
should fulfill this obligation by actively participating in the Eucharist, the sacrifice of the New Law
instituted by Christ.

On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass;
they are to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be
rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and
body (CJC, Can. 1247).
917. Observance of the Lord’s Day. Since Vatican II, the major efforts to raise the quality of
Sunday worship have met with considerable success. Nevertheless, there has also been
a noticeable declinein Sunday Church attendance, and in avoiding work that impedes the Sunday
rest. Renewal of celebrating the Lord’s Day through better understanding of the essential
meaning of the Commandment and of its proper motivation, is an urgent priority for the Church.

918. For today’s average Filipino Catholic, further clarification might be needed concerning the
“rest” enjoined by the Third Commandment. Basically, the rest on the Lord’s Day concerns more
than psycho-physical recreation. It has to do with St. Augustine’s famous words: “Our hearts are
restless till they rest in Thee.” It means a rest in God’s presence.

Ethics of Grace

opposing three particular modern attitudes: heightened anxiety, hyper-activism, and success-
orientation. (CFC

Being over-anxious against all eventualities often ends in a perverted, desperate, enslaving effort
for self-made security and independence. When the rich old man in the Gospel thought he had
everything, God said he was a fool. “That is the way it works with the man who grows rich for
himself instead of growing rich in the sight of God” (Lk 12:21).

Instead Christ taught: “Do not worry about your livelihood, what you are to eat or drink or use for
clothing . . . Your heavenly Father knows all that you need. Seek first his Kingship over you . . .
and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:25-33).

920. Being active and industrious is a highly praised virtue these days, yet some people can
become so “task-oriented” that they lose all sense of proportion. Their own efforts become
an “idol” for them. So, too, for those for whom success or achievement becomes their only
goal. They tend to judge everything, even their friends and neighbors, uniquely in terms of
usefulness and productivity.