The Sunday Eucharist
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Why have
the followers of Jesus
consistently emphasized
participation in
the Sunday Eucharist?
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Since the beginning of
Christianity, the dominical (Sunday) Eucharist has always been at the heart of
the church’s life. An early attestation to this is found in the Acts of
the Apostles: "They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to
the communal life, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers" (2:42), the
"breaking of bread" being one of the first names for what we today commonly call
the Mass or the Eucharist.
Why have the followers of Jesus consistently emphasized participation in the Sunday Eucharist, often at considerable cost and inconvenience? Why have Catholics clung tenaciously to it, risking imprisonment and death, to be faithful to the Lord's command, "Do this in memory of me"?
The basic reason is that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the weekly commemoration of Christ’s resurrection and the day which is meant to be given over to worship of God, to rest, and to the building up of family relationships. The great bishop and theologian Augustine of Hippo said, "Every Sunday is a little Easter."
Unfortunately, in a secular age like ours, Sunday is often viewed as just another work day, as time to catch up on what we weren’t able to accomplish on the other six days. As a result, the Lord’s Day doesn’t feel any different or function any differently in our lives.
It takes discipline and faith to resist this growing incursion on the Lord’s Day, to keep Sunday holy especially by participating in our communal prayer, the Eucharist.
That same discipline and faith are necessary, however, to remain focused on Jesus in a meaningful way as we go about our daily lives. It all begins at the Lord’s table . . . on the Lord’s Day.
In the 1998 apostolic letter Dies Domini (The Lord’s Day), Pope John Paul II writes: "Sunday is a day which is at the very heart of the Christian life. . . . The rediscovery of this day is a grace which we must implore, not only so that we may live the demands of faith to the full, but also so that we may respond concretely to the deepest human yearnings."
"Time given to Christ is never lost time, but is rather time gained, so that our relationships and indeed our whole life may become more profoundly human."