Pete Brown
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It is not news that we live in a 24/7 world. For the majority of us, it seems there is always too much to do and not enough time to do it. In light of those realities, the idea of taking a whole day for worship, rest, and relaxation seems rather anachronistic. Yet, perhaps it is because life goes at such a frantic pace today that observance of the sabbath rest deserves a second look. The sabbath has its roots in the Jewish faith. The …
Question : What does the 3rd commandment really mean — to keep holy the Sabbath day? It seems we have reduced it down to attending Mass for 45 minutes a week on a Sunday. People work regularly, use Sunday as a day of leisure, sports entertainment, whatever. I've looked at the catechism and it seems a little wishy-washy to me, especially since this is a commandment.
Discussion : Thank you for this excellent question, not only because of its importance in drawing …
Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of keeping our spiritual fuel tanks full in order to better weather the storms of life. I touched on one way that God had planned to help us do this by asking us to really and regularly observe the Third Commandment, that is to "Keep holy the Sabbath". But there are those weeks when the road from one Sunday to the next is a lot longer and bumpier than usual. Unexpected …
… afraid of running out of gas in the car. I think it is because I learned to drive in Northern Wisconsin, where running out of gas in the middle of winter could be a fatal mistake. Driving instructors told tales of fools who carelessly ventured out on old logging roads without enough gas and were never seen again.
"Freak snowstorms as early as October or as late as May are not too remote a possibility," my instructors would ominously warn. Taking their tales to …
… Blog Entry:
Although there are a few other strong contenders, the Third Commandment may be more misunderstood and simply ignored of all the Ten in our fast-paced, non-stop modern world. For most of us, "Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8) means at most a 55-minute stop for Sunday Mass, then we're off to a rush of activities not limited to shopping, going to work, sports events, and just about anything besides a holy rest.
Perhaps the Gospel story of our …
… salvation He came to bring to all men, using two Old Testament passages as evidence of God's favor even to the Gentiles.
"As was His custom." That's such a simple phrase, and it can zip right by without our even noticing it, but it is worthy of reflection.
We know that Jesus was truly a man of prayer. He began His public ministry by spending 40 days and nights in the desert, fasting and praying. Luke tells us that the night before Jesus named His Twelve Apostles, He spent the …
We all know that one of the Ten Commandments is to “keep holy” the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8). However, many of us as Catholic men struggle to understand what it means to observe or “keep holy” the Sabbath on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. It can be a source of guilt, if we think we are sinning by some of the activities we do on Sundays. The article below was adapted from the September 5, 2005 meditation in the The Word Among Us magazine. (Used with permission.) …
Dear Grace,
Why did the Christian Church change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? As you well know, the Jewish people still recognize Saturday as their Sabbath.
The Sabbath, which means “cessation” or “rest” in Hebrew, was the seventh day of the week, which the Hebrews later known as the Jews were commanded by God to keep holy. All work was forbidden and violations of the Sabbath could be punishable by death. It was a day …
Dear Grace,
In one of the Ten Commandments, we are told to keep holy the Sabbath. Does this mean that it is considered sinful to work on Sundays?
The Bible tells us that, “In six days the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; but on the seventh day, He rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20: 11). For the Jewish people, the seventh day (or Sabbath) was always a day of “complete …
