Central to the Church’s liturgical life is Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. The observance begins with the evening of the preceding day. It is a day when all Catholics are obliged to take part in the Mass. ‘The Lord’s Supper is its centre, for there the whole community of the faithful encounters the risen Lord who invites then to his banquet’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 1166). The Church encourages that Sunday, the ‘Lord’s Day’, also be a day for rest and recreation. It is also a day when the faithful can devote themselves to works of mercy and the apostolate. This is discussed also in the chapter of the Catechism on the Third Commandment.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland.
