Reclaiming Sunday as the Lord’s day

Apr 12, 2025

As I was contemplating - Fr Gerard Steve Theraviam
Recently, talking with some priest friends, we were worried about the phenomenon of children who come for catechism but not for Mass on Sunday. Sadly, it’s hard to put the blame on the children as they are dependent on their parents for transport. The reality is that some of these parents themselves are not there for Mass so where have we as Church gone wrong?

Once upon a time people came for Mass under the pain of mortal sin and so they complied, willingly or otherwise. However the pendulum has swung to the other side and some now chose to come when it suits them, sometimes just at Christmas and perhaps on Good Friday, rather than Easter. Ash Wednesday, interestingly, is not a day of obligation (but of fast and abstinence) but chalks up high attendance. Some newly confirmed youngsters seem to think that they have now ’graduated’ from church attendance and would rather sleep in on a Sunday. (By the way, there is a possibility of an evening Mass!) Parents may despair that their offspring seem to have abandoned the practice of the faith and wonder where they went wrong and feel guilt-ridden. So what has happened?

Perhaps it could be argued that not coming out of fear but rather that they want to is actually better. Maybe. But the reality is that when people let their attendance slide, they can end up stopping altogether after a while and are then labelled ‘non-practicing’ or ‘lapsed’ Catholics. They might come for weddings and funerals and even walk up for Holy Communion, despite announcements that say otherwise. Perhaps for many, there is still a sense of still being Catholic although they may no longer actively participate in the life of the parish. Some will point to a lessening in the ‘sense of sin’ and an ‘anything goes’ mentality that pervades society. Some will refer to ‘cafeteria Catholics’ who pick and choose for themselves from among the beliefs and practices of the Church.

It could be that some people never really moved from mere attendance on Sundays to radical discipleship that was an ongoing daily endeavour. Maybe some are like the seeds that fell onto unfertile ground that failed to sprout or died quickly, as in the Parable of the Sower.

One of the realities is that people have lost a sense of what the Eucharist and even Sunday is. Hence I reread St John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter entitled Dies Domini, [Keeping the Lord’s Day] released in 1998.

One significant point I picked up is that genuine spiritual maturity is needed to distinguish between “the weekend” (time to rest and relax) and Sunday (time to worship). For many, the weekend is about ‘me’ time and we might have a lot of different things that we haven’t the time for on weekdays, but we forget that Sunday is actually the Lord’s Day and we should not shortchange ourselves or even God on that. St Jerome declared: “Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, it is the day of Christians, it is our day.”

So how can we spend worthily spend Sunday?

In the words of Pope John Paul II, Sunday is the “very heart of Christian life. The celebration of the Eucharist is the very heart of Sunday. The Eucharist is the celebration of the living presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of his own people. The Eucharist is the “fountainhead” of the Church; it feeds and forms the Church.

As in every Eucharistic celebration, the Risen Lord is encountered in the Sunday assembly at the twofold table of the Word and of the Bread of Life .

John Paul II stated that Sunday is the “day par excellence” for our relationship with God. It is a day of explicit prayer, “in which the relationship becomes an intense dialogue” with God. Sunday is the day for remembering all the good that God has done. In addition, the “weekly Easter” becomes the “weekly Pentecost” – we relive the joyful encounter with the Risen Lord and receive the life-giving breath of his Spirit.”

We journey from Mass to mission. Our Eucharistic celebration does NOT stop at the church door… there is a responsibility entrusted to us to share with others the joy of meeting the Lord in the liturgy but also in our daily life and shared experiences.

Of course, Sunday is a day of rest, a break from the mundane tasks of the week. The account in Genesis of the creation of the world describes God resting on the seventh day – the Sabbath rest. Rest is something sacred, because we all need a break from excessively demanding cycle of earthly tasks in order to renew our awareness that everything is the work of God. All our work is actually cooperating with God who is at work in our world.

With the advent of Saturdays off, it now is possible to do our shopping and other necessary tasks then and allow ourselves a more restful Sunday – a day for re-creation of our tired selves.

Sunday allows us more family time, of being together, not just at church but also at meals and shared relaxing time together. With our respective busy weekly schedules, Sunday allows us the opportunity to bond together and make time for each other.

Sunday is a day of solidarity and brotherhood with others who share faith with us. As we come for Mass, we realise that we are not alone as we encounter our sisters and brothers who share the same faith in the Risen Christ and who share in our burdens of life. Sunday also allows us the opportunity for mission, for reaching out — for instance, visiting the elderly and sick in their homes as well as hospitals. We can take the opportunity for acts of mercy, charity and apostolate.

When we travel, let us not take a holiday from church on Sundays. Allow ourselves the joy of discovery of the church in new places, cultures and languages. The basic structure of the mass is the same everywhere but it can be a refreshing experience of the Church beyond the ordinary.

My hope is that in this Jubilee Year of Hope, we will re-discover the beauty of the Lord’s Day, crowned by the Eucharist which strengthens us for the mission of the week ahead. May our “weekly Easter” becomes the “weekly Pentecost” – we relive the joyful encounter with the Risen Lord and receive the life-giving breath of his Spirit who empowers and sends us on mission.

“Leave everything on the Lord’s Day and run diligently to your assembly, because it is your praise of God. Otherwise, what excuse will they make to God, those who do not come together on the Lord’s Day to hear the word of life and feed on the divine nourishment which lasts forever?” The Didascalia, 3rd Century.

For a fuller understanding of the Lord’s Day, please do read St. John Paul II’s Dies Domini, Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy - an Apostolic Letter published in 1998. https://rb.gy/hfg336

(Fr Gerard Theraviam is the parish priest of the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Spiritual Director to the World Community for Christian Meditation, Malaysia.)