Question 267
I read somewhere that we Catholics changed the Ten Commandments, with regards to keeping the Sabbath Day holy. It said that we changed it from “keep the Sabbath Day holy” to “keep the Lord’s Day holy.” I felt insulted by the accusation that we changed the Ten Commandments. But Father, is there even a difference between the two?
Response
The transition can be found in the New Testament where Christians would gather on the Lord’s Day to celebrate their Christian faith (the Mass and the “Agape”). The commandments were modified or re-interpreted in light of Christ and his saving works. The incarnation of our Lord changed the economy of images. Thus, the prohibition against images (which was never absolute) is relaxed. Jesus is the revelation of the Father. God reveals himself with a human face. The early Jewish Christians were expelled from the synagogues where they gathered on the Hebrew Sabbath (Saturday). All they had left then were their gatherings on the Lord’s Day (Sunday morning). Thus, the commandment was now associated with our re-creation in Christ instead of the creation story in Genesis. Most churches, Catholic and Protestant, view this transition as legitimate. Certain cults and the Seventh Day Adventists do not. Read DIES DOMINI by Pope John Paul II. The answer and more details are there.
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