The Sabbath/Apostle’s Creed

Q In the Old Testament, the Third Commandment says keep holy the Sabbath day.  The Jewish Sabbath is observed on Saturday.  So why do we Catholics go to Mass on Sunday?

A You are right, the Third Commandment in the Old Testament says: “Remember the sabbath day  keep it holy” (Ex 20:8) and “Observe the Sabbath day keep it holy” (Dt 5:12).  The fact that we Catholics go to Mass on Sunday is all about Jesus.  We celebrate the day that Jesus rose from the dead, opening up the gates of heaven for us.  Paragraph 2174 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Jesus rose from the dead ‘on the first day of the week.’  Because it is the ‘first day,’ the day of Christ’s resurrection recalls the first creation.  Because it is the ‘eighth day’ following the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ’s resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day … Sunday.”

The first Christians celebrated Mass on Sunday.  St. Luke states in Acts 20:7 “On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread.”  And St. Justin Martyr (a second century Christian philosopher) wrote: “We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.”

Paragraph 2176 of the Catechism states, “Sunday worship (which would include the Saturday vigil Mass) fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant.”  And, finally, paragraph 2177 in the Catechism states, “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal church.”

Q Sometimes at Mass we say the Apostle’s Creed, which includes the words “He (Christ) descended into hell.”  What does that mean?

A “Christ Descended into Hell” is addressed in the Catechism in paragraphs 632-637.
The expression “he descended into hell” confesses that Jesus really did die, just like all men, and he joined them in the land of the dead (hell) as their savior, proclaiming the good news to those imprisoned there.  In the Old Testament, “hell” refers to “the place of the dead” where all souls, good or evil, were deprived from being in the presence of God and were awaiting the redeemer.  The sin of Adam and Eve had closed the gates of heaven.  Jesus descended into hell, not to deliver the damned from their punishment, but to free the just, the holy ones and open up the gates of heaven for them.  

An “ancient homily” of the early church for Holy Saturday captured this event: “Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the king is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began . . .  He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him. He who is both their God and the son of Eve ... ‘I am your God, who for your sake have become your son ... I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.’ ”  The souls of the damned, however, remained in the place of damnation. 

Correction 

In my “Stump the Deacon” column in the Jan. 1 issue of The Catholic Commentator entitled “Children and divorce/Emotional God,” I stated that some children born of certain marriages are considered illegitimate.  I would like to modify my statement since it undermines the good work that the Diocesan Tribunal of Baton Rouge has done for many years in bringing healing to persons struggling with divorce and who are engaged in the annulment process.  I would not want my comments to hurt these men and women further. 

Based on conversations with some of our local canonists, Ecclesiastical annulments have no civil effects in the United States or really in any western country.  While the legitimacy of children is mentioned in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, all canonical consequences were removed from the code so that it is irrelevant to the church. While it may be a question of civil law, canon law clearly leaves that entirely to secular government alone.  Rather, the church’s law is pretty clear: “Children conceived or born of (that is, from) a valid or putative marriage are legitimate.” It further defines a “putative marriage” as “if it has been celebrated in good faith by at least one of the parties.” In reality, that always happens, even in marriages that lack canonical form. These types of marriage are surely “putative” since the spouses think they are married even if, in the eyes of the church, they are not. 

Unfortunately, the statement in my column may have furthered an often used accusation of illegitimacy that angry people often use to hurt former spouses and their children. I apologize if this confused anyone any further or undermined the good work that has been done by our tribunal in providing healing in the midst of brokenness.  

Deacon Hooper is a deacon assistant at Immaculate Conception Church in Denham Springs. He can be reached at [email protected].