“In the last few decades this Great Commandment has most certainly been neglected, diminished, and literally rejected for how God meant it to be held by man in its full definition and meaning. Does this Commandment not mean a ‘whole day’ of obligation? Did not the change of Saturday night Mass, fulfilling one’s obligation to this Commandment, ‘cater’ to convenience and man’s monetary evaluation of time?
There is no doubt that the convenience connected to being able to perform one’s obligation of Holy Mass on Saturday evening has been a tremendous delight in many ways, for many reasons, on many occasions. Sad to say though, this has obviously diminished this Commandment to our merely performing an obligation to attend Holy Mass, eliminating the rest of this Commandment, letting it fall where it may.
It is logical to say, for some people it is necessary to perform work hours on the Sabbath Day. These should be restricted to necessities, and of course, where public requirements motivate necessary obligations for human needs and necessities.
We should never lose the true sense of value of this important Commandment. We must never become so involved in our own ‘self-pleasure’ that we deny God time.
Should this Commandment be split mainly on the reason of sheer convenience, compromising the importance of our obligation and privilege, thus creating confusion where the Commandment is kept to its fullest, using this convenience to be relieved of further obligations included in this Commandment? By not fulfilling the full obligation to this Great Commandment that God gave us for the benefit of our mind, our body, and our Soul, do we not open the door to distractions that cause us to forget the greatness in purpose and need that man has for this Commandment of God’s? The very fact that God put it as one of the Ten Commandments to man says we must practice it as best we can, and to never eliminate a portion of it because it is so obviously a Commandment of direct communication with God.
Scripture tells us that God rested on the seventh day. In The Commandments God told man to set aside a day in seven to honor Him, to rest, and to allow the body to refresh itself spiritually, meditating on God and not monetary measures or occupying oneself with things opposite to ‘Keeping Holy The Sabbath Day’.
Man’s love for convenience now overrules God’s Commands, and though it is comfortable for one to split the Sabbath, holding the Sabbath as special has also become lessened because of man’s immediate response to convenience. Saturday night Mass has confused and most definitely diminished the Commandment of God to Keep Holy the Sabbath Day. It can be said in three words — convenience and monetary gain diminished one of the Greatest Commandments God gave to us.
The world talks a lot about God; that is, in terms of the wording of Scripture, the interpretation of Scripture, but few people apply it to their living conditions, situations, putting first obedience to God’s Ten Commandments.
There should be restrictions on activities on the Sabbath Day, but only individuals can decide what is best for their Soul.
We live in a time of selfish activity and a time of cultural changes, but we must begin once again to emphasize the Spiritual Existence of our Soul, the realistic Purpose for our Soul and of our Soul, and The Commands and Demands that God’s Ten Commandments not just provided us with, but in Their very existence should haunt our wills and our logical instincts, binding us to God being First and Above all things, thus making God’s Ten Commandments as being our Rules of life above all other rules, and our attention focused on how, in our time, we can best obey to the fullest, without compromise in any form, obedience to God’s Ten Commandments.
We are splitting hairs when we allow ourselves to justify disobedience to any One of God’s Ten Commandments, even the One that seems so simple to perform, focusing on an obligation attached to it that we can understand perfectly: Remember, Keep Holy The Sabbath Day.
It has been pronounced that Sunday is our Sabbath. As an individual, when we attend Holy Mass on Saturday night, what do we do to conform to fulfillment of this Commandment to its fullest? Do we relax? Do we attend more devotions? Do we use this time to get closer to our families? Do we use it with total good example to others in our speech, our actions, our duties?
God did not say, ‘Do not take care of your personal needs one day a week.’ The wording in the time of Moses was more elaborately spoken and contained much more definition, but we have it in our time, specific, down to the point, speaking a very important word. Keep Holy The Sabbath Day. What does Holy mean to you? Does it not mean goodness, charity, happiness, fruitful, respectful, a time of sharing good thoughts, words and deeds?
We must not forget this Great Commandment and the purpose for which God gave it to us.”
