Sunday as the Day of the Lord
"Yom" is the Hebrew word for day.
The Hebrew names for the first six days of the week are just numeric: first day, second day, third day, etc.
"Sabbath" means "day of rest." In the Jewish Scriptures, called the "Old Testament" by Christians, the Commandment to "Keep Holy the Lord's Day" meant the Sabbath day, or Saturday in the pagan name-day system used in English.
| # | Hebrew Name | Pagan Name | Pagan God |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yom rishon | Sunday | Sun |
| 2 | Yom sheyni | Monday | Moon |
| 3 | Yom slishi | Tuesday | Tiw (God of war) |
| 4 | Yom revi'i | Wednesday | Woden |
| 5 | Yom khamishi | Thursday | Thor |
| 6 | Yom shishi | Friday | Frige, goddess of love |
| 7 | Yom shabbat (day of rest) | Saturday | Saturn, father of Zeus |
| Acts 20:7 | "On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight." |
| Colossians 2:16-17 | "Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or sabbath. These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ." |
| 1 Corinthians 16:2 | "On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever one can afford, so that collections will not be going on when I come." |
| Revelation 1:10 | "I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet." |
A Day of Rest
2042 The first precept ("You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor") requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the Mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.
Cf. CIC, cann. 1246-1248; CCEO, cann. 881 § 1, § 2, § 4.
Can. 1246 §1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.
§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday.
Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.
Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.
Links
- "Sabbath or Sunday"--patristic evidence over and above those four passages.