Dies Domini (SCS Reviewer)

Outline of the Papal Encyclical:

DIES DOMINI

by R. P. Geraldino

INTRODUCTION

1. The Lord’s Day has a close connection with the very core of the Christian mystery.

• it recalls the day of Christ’s resurrection
• it is a easter which returs, week by week
• it recalls with grateful adoration the world’s first day and looks forward in active hope to the last day

2. the resurrection of Jesus is the fundamental event upon which Christian faith rests.

• It is not only absolutely unique in human history but it lies at the very heart of the mystery of time.
• In commemorating, ergo, the day of Christ’s resurrection not just once but every Sunday, the Church seeks to indicate to every generation the true fulcrum of history, to which the mystery of the world’s origin and its final destiny leads
• The “lord’s Day” is the “lord of days”.

3. Sunday is the fundamental feast day established not only to mark the succession of time but to reveal; time’s deeper meaning.

4. Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery.

5. Today, changes in socioeconomic conditions have often led to profound modifications of social behavior and hence of the character of Sunday.

• the custom of the “weekend” (participation in cultural, political, or sporting activitie = free days)
• when Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes merely part of a “weekend”, it can happen that people stay locked within a horizon that they can no longer see “the heavens”.
• As a time for simple rest and relaxation

6. Sunday is a day which is at the very heart of the Christian life.

7. Time given to Christ is never time lost, but is rather time gained, so that our relationships and indeed our whole life may become more profoundly human.

CHAPTER 1: DIES DOMINI – The Celebration of the Creator’s Work

Through him all things were made (Jn. 1:3)

1. Sunday is above all an Easter celebration, wholly illuminated by the glory of the Risen Christ.

2. It is the festival of the “new creation”.

3. Already at the dawn of creation, ergo, the plan of God implied Christ’s “cosmic mission”.

4. “he blessed the 7^th day and made it holy…” Priestly writer: then was born the Sabbath

• characteristic of the first covenant
• foretells the sacred day of the new and final covenant
• in order to grasp fully the meaning of Sunday, ergo, we must re-read the great story of creation and deepen our understanding of the theology of the “Sabbath”.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gn.1:1)

1. “God saw that it was good” – sheds a positive light upon every element of the universe and reveals the secret for a proper understanding of it and for its eventual regeneration: the world is good insofar as it remains tied to its origin and, after being disfigured by sin, it is again made good when, with the help of grace, it returns to the One who made it.0

2. the cosmos bears the imprint of his goodness and also to become coworker with Him

Shabbat: the Creator’s joyful rest

1. the divine rest of the 7^th day does not allude to an inactive God, but emphasizes the fullness of what has been accomplished

• this is a “contemplative gaze” which does not look to new accomplishments but enjoys the beauty of what has already been achieved
• a gaze which discloses something of the nuptial shape of the relationship with God (pact of love)

2. in the creator’s plan there is both a distinction and close link between the order of creation and the order of salvation.

God blessed the 7^th day and made it holy (Gen. 2:3)

1. the Sabbath precept is therefore rooted in the depths of God’s plan.

• this is why it is set not within the context of strictly cultic stipulations but within the Decalogue, the 10 words which represent the very pillars of the moral life inscribed on the human heart
• not just a matter of community religious discipline but a defining and indelible expression of our relationship with God, announced and expanded by biblical revelation.

2. Sunday as the dialogue of marriage – knows no interruption yet is never monotonous.

3. The Lord’s Day is the day of this relationship par excellence when men and women raise their song to God and become the voice of all creation.

4. Sabbath has therefore been interpreted evocatively as a determining element in the kind of “sacred architecture” of time which marks biblical revelation

To keep holy by remembering

1. Before decreeing that something be done (Ex. 20:8), the commandment urges that something be remembered.

• it is a call to awaken remembrance of the grand and fundamental work of God which is creation, a remembrance which must inspire the entire religious life of man and then fill the day on which man is called to rest.
• Rest ergo acquires a sacred value: a call to rest in the Lord, bringing the entire creation to him, in praise and thanksgiving.

2. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 – where the precept is grounded less in the work of creation than in the work of liberation accomplished by God in the Exodus

3. Therefore, the main point of the precept is not just any kind of interruption of work, but the celebration of the marvels in which God has wrought.

From the Sabbath to Sunday

1. [3^rd commandment: remembrance of God’s saving works] Christians saw the definitive time inaugurated by Christ as a new beginning, they made the first day after the Sabbath a festive day, for that was the day when Christ resurrected.

2. Paschal Mystery of Christ is:

a) the full revelation of the mystery of world’s origin

b) the climax of the history of salvation

c) the anticipation of the eschatological fulfillment of the world

3. St. Gregory the Great: “For us, the true Sabbath is the person of our Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

4. The meaning of the Old Testament precept concerning the Lord’s Day is recovered, perfected and fully revealed in the glory which shines on the face of the Risen Christ.

5. We move from the “Sabbath” to the “first day after the Sabbath”, from the seventh day to the first day: the dies Domini becomes the dies Christi.

CHAPTER 2: DIES CHRISTI – The Day of the Risen Lord and of the Gift of the HS

The Weekly Easter

1. Saint Basil speaks of “holy Sunday, honored by the Lord’s resurrection, the first fruits of all other days; and Saint Augustine calls Sunday “a sacrament of Easter.”

2. Every Sunday is the anastisimos hemera, the day of Resurrection, and this is why it stands at the heart of all worship.

3. This is what the Christian Sunday does, leading the faithful each week to ponder and live the event of Easter, true source of the world’s salvation.

4. “the first day after the Sabbath”

a) the resurrection of Jesus takes place

b) appeared to the two disciples at Emmaus and to the 11 Apostles gathered

c) the day of Pentecost [first proclamation and first baptisms and epiphany of the Church]

The First Day of the Week

1. the day upon which the faithful of Troas were gathered for the breaking of the bread

2. For Christians, it was very difficult to observe the Lord’s Day on a set day each week. This explains why the faithful had to gather before the sunrise. [based on the NT and tied on the OT]

Growing distinction from the Sabbath

1. The two days began to be distinguished ever more clearly, in reaction chiefly to the insistence of those Christians whose origins in Judaism made them inclined to maintain the obligation of the law.

2. there have always been groups within Christianity which observe both the Sabbath and Sunday as “two brother days”.

The day of the new creation

1. resurrection as the beginning of a new creation, the 1^st fruits of which is the glorious Christ, “the first born of all creation” and “the first born from the dead”

2. Sunday is the day above all other days which summons Christians to remember the salvation which was given to them in baptism and which has made them new in Christ.

The 8^th day: image of eternity

1. it is not only the 1^st day, it is also the 8^th day, set within the sevenfold succession of days in a unique and transcendent position which evokes not only the beginning of time but also its end in the “age to come”

2. Saint Basil: Sunday symbolizes the truly singular day which will follow the present time…It is the ceaseless foretelling of life without end which renews the hope of Christians and encourages them on their way.

3. Saint Augustine: eschaton as the “peace of quietness, the peace of the Sabbath, a peace with no evening.

5. Saint Basil speaks of “holy Sunday, honored by the Lord’s resurrection, the first fruits of all other days; and Saint Augustine calls Sunday “a sacrament of Easter.”

6. Every Sunday is the anastisimos hemera, the day of Resurrection, and this is why it stands at the heart of all worship.

The day of Christ-Light

1. Christianization of Sunday as the day of the Sun: direct the celebration of the day to Christ, humanity’s true sun

2. Saint Justin: Christians gathered on the day named after the sun; but new meaning which is: Christ as the light of the world.

The day of the gift of the Spirit

1. it is the “day of fire” in reference to the HS

2. Pentecost is not only the founding event of the church, but is also the mystery which forever gives life to the Church.

3. “weekly Pentecost”

The day of faith

1. This is stressed by the fact that the Sunday Eucharistic liturgy, like the liturgy of other solemnities, includes the Profession of Faith (recited or sung)

2. the Creed declares the baptismal and Paschal character of Sunday

3. a day on which in a special way the baptized renew their adherence to Christ and his Gospel in a rekindled awareness of their baptismal promises

An indispensable day!

1. what began as a spontaneous practice later become a juridically sanctioned norm

2. given its many meanings and aspects, and its link to the very foundations of faith – indispensable

CHAPTER 3: DIES ECCLESIAE – The Eucharistic Assembly: Heart of Sunday

The presence of the Risen Lord

1. Sunday is not only the remembrance of a past event: it is a celebration of the living presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of his own people.

2. not saved as individuals and so it is important that they come together to express fully the very identity of the Church, the eklesia, the assembly called together [reunite the scattered children of God]

3. this unity becomes visible when Christians gather together

The Eucharistic Assembly

1. The Eucharist is not only a particularly intense expression of the reality of the Church’s life, but also in a sense its “fountain-head”.

2. The Eucharist feeds and forms the Church.

3. CCC: the Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life

The Sunday Eucharist

1. by its very nature, the Eucharist is an epiphany of the Church, and this is most powerfully expressed when the diocesan community gathers in prayer with its Pastor.
2. the Sunday Eucharist expresses with greater emphasis its inherent ecclesial dimension. It becomes the paradigm for other Eucharistic celebrations.

The day of the Church

1. the dies domini is also the dies ecclesiae
2. none is as vital or as community-forming as the Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist
3. the Sunday assembly is the privileged place of unity: it s the setting for the celebration of the sacramentum unitatis which profoundly marks the Church as people gathered “by” and “in” the unity of the 3 persons.
4. Christian families: Sunday is one the most outstanding expressions of their identity and their ministry as domestic churches
5. at Sunday masses in parishes, insofar as parishes are “Eucharistic communities”, it is normal to find different groups, movements, associations and even the smaller religious communities present in the parish [no private masses on Sundays]

A pilgrim people

1. reminds us of the pilgrim and eschatological character of the people of God
2. the expectation of Christ’s coming is inscribed in the very mystery of the Church and is evidenced in every Eucharistic celebration
3. the Lord’s day recalls with greater intensity the future glory of his return

The day of hope

1. to share in the Lord’s supper is to anticipate the eschatological feast of the marriage of the lamb
2. Christian hope becomes the leaven and light of human hope.

The table of the word

1. the table of the word offers the same understanding of the history of salvation and especially of the Paschal Mystery which the Risen Jesus himself gave to his disciples
2. table of the bread of life: the risen Lord becomes really, substantially, and enduringly present through the memorial of his passion and resurrection and is offered as a pledge of future glory
3. Vatican II: LOW and LOE are so closely joined together that they form a single act of worship.
4. council also urged that the TOWG be more lavishly prepared for the faithful, opening to them more abundantly the treasures of the Bible.
5. 2 Aspects in the Growth and love of SS:

a) level of celebration: possible to proclaim the WOG in the language of the community awakens a new sense of responsibility towards the word, allowing the distinctive character of the sacred text to shine forth even in the mode of reading or singing

b) level of personal appropriation: the hearing of the WOG must be well-prepared in the souls of the faithful

6. liturgical proclamation of the WOG is not so much for meditation and catechesis as a dialogue between God and his people, a dialogue in which the wonders of salvation are proclaimed and the demands of the Covenant are continually restated.

The table of the Body of Christ

1. it is the great thanksgiving in which the spirit-filled Church turns to the Father, becoming one with Christ and speaking in the name of all humanity.
2. this Eucharistic rejoicing which lifts up our hearts is the fruit of God’s descending movement towards us, which remains forever etched in the essential sacrificial element of the Eucharist – kenosis.
3. the Mass truly makes present the sacrifice of the Cross.
4. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of His body.

Easter Banquet and fraternal gathering

1. sharing in the Lord’s supper is always communion with Christ
2. communion with Christ is deeply tied to communion with our brothers and sisters
3. The Sunday Eucharistic gathering is an experience of brotherhood, which the celebration should demonstrate clearly, while ever respecting the nature of the liturgical action.

From Mass to “mission”

1. Christians who gather each Sunday to experience and proclaim the presence of the Risen Lord are called to evangelize and bear witness in their daily lives
2. once the assembly disperses, Christ’s disciples return to their everyday surroundings with the commitment to make their whole life a gift, a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God

The Sunday obligation

1. Justin – Diocletian: defy the imperial decree and accepted death rather than miss the Sunday Eucharist
2. Code of Canon Law of 1917: “on Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to attend mass”
3. because the faithful are obliged to attend Mass unless there is a grave impediment, pastors have the corresponding duty to offer to everyone the real possibility of fulfilling the precept

A joyful celebration in song

1. given the nature of Sunday Mass and its importance in the lives of the faithful, it must be prepared with special care.
2. the celebration has the festive character appropriate to the day of commemorating the Lord’s resurrection.
3. singing is a particularly apt way to express a joyful heart, accentuating the solemnity of the celebration and fostering the sense of a common faith and a shared love

A celebration involving all

1. to offer it to God in the name of the whole people
2. common priesthood received in baptism, they participate in the offering of Eucharist

Other Moments of the Christian Sunday

1. the Lord’s day is lived well if it is marked from the beginning to end by grateful and active remembrance of God’s saving work
2. Church is unwilling to settle for minimalism and mediocrity at the level of faith

Sunday assemblies without a priest

1. objective must always remain to be the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass
2. arrange the presence of priest from time to time
3. by taking every opportunity to organize a gathering in a central location accessible to scattered groups

Radio and Television

1. sickness and disability or some other serious cause (readings and prayers of the day from the Missal)

2. this kind of broadcast does not in itself fulfill the Sunday obligation, which requires participation in the fraternal assembly gathered in one place, where Eucharistic communion can be received.

3. encourage for the exempted: TV Mass + extraordinary ministers who bring the Eucharist

CHAPTER 4: DIES HOMINIS – Sunday: Day of Joy, Rest and Solidarity

The full joy of Christ

1. Maronite liturgy: ”blessed who raised the Sunday above all other days.”
2. St. Augustine: “fasting is set aside and prayers are said standing, as a sign of the Resurrection which is also why the Alleluia is sung on every Sunday
3. it expresses the joy that Christ communicates to His Church through the gift of the Spirit.
4. Sunday is the day of joy in a very special way, indeed the day most suitable for learning how to rejoice and to rediscover the true nature and deep roots of joy
5. this joy should never be confused with the shallow feeling of satisfaction and pleasure (senses and emotions)
6. Joy is much more enduring and consoling; it can hold firm even in the dark night of suffering. (a virtue to be nurtured)
7. Paul VI: “In essence, Christian joy is a sharing in the unfathomable joy, at once divine and human, found in the heart of the glorified Christ.”

The fulfillment of the Sabbath

1. Christocentric perspective: seen in the light of God’s plan to unite all things in Christ
2. more than a replacement for Sabbath, Sunday is its fulfillment, and in a certain extent its extension and full expression in the ordered unfolding of the history of salvation, which reaches in culmination in Christ.
3. The constant return of the Shabbat ensures that there is no risk of time being closed upon itself, since. In welcoming God and his kairoi – the moments of his grace and his saving acts – time remains open to eternity.
4. Christ came to accomplish a new exodus, to restore freedom to the oppressed

The day of rest

1. the link between the Lord’s day and the day of rest in civil society has a meaning and importanc which go beyond the distinctly Christian point of view.
2. rest is something sacred because it is man’s way of withdrawing from the sometimes excessively demanding cycle of earthly tasks in order to renew his awareness that everything is the work of God
3. Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum: “Sunday rest as a worker’s right which the State must guarantee.”
4. through Sunday rest, daily concerns and tasks can find their proper perspective: the material things about which we worry give way to spiritual values
5. In order that rest may not degenerate into emptiness or boredom, it must offer spiritual enrichment, greater freedom, opportunities for contemplation and fraternal communion
6. Sunday rest then becomes “prophetic” affirming not only the absolute primacy of God, but also the primacy and dignity of the person with respect to the demands of social and economic life, and anticipating in a certain sense the “new heavens” and the “new earth” in which liberation from slavery to needs will be final and complete.

A day of solidarity

1. Sunday should also give the faithful an opportunity to devote themselves to works of mercy, charity and apostolate.
2. it is a moment of fraternal sharing with the poor
3. demanding culture of sharing, to be lived not only among the members of the community itself but also in society as a whole
4. the eucharist is an event and programme of true brotherhood. (not happy on our own)

CHAPTER 5: DIES DIERUM – Sunday: The Primordial Feast, Revealing the Meaning of Time

Christ the Alpha and Omega of Time

1. In JC, the Word made flesh, time becomes a dimension of God, who is himself eternal.
2. the years of Christ’s earthly life truly constitute the center of time; this center reaches its apex in the Resurrection.
3. Christ is the Lord of time; he is its beginning and its end; every year, every day and every moment are embraced by his Incarnation and Resurrection, and thus become part of the “fullness of time.”
4. Keeping Sunday holy is the important witness which they are called to bear, so that every stage of human history will be upheld by hope.

Sunday in the Liturgical Year

1. linked to Jewish Passover and Pentecost
2. feast of Easter – “solemnity of solemnities” – became the day par excellence for the initiatin of catechumens
3. BVM and saints (extols Christ: demonstrates power of redemption)
4. Sunday emerges as the natural model for understanding and celebrating those feast days of the LY, which are of such value for the Christian life that the Church has chosen to emphasize their importance by making it obligatory to the faithful
5. Pastors should encourage the faithful to attend Mass on other important feast days celebrated during the week.

CONCLUSION

1. Sunday becomes a synthesis of the Christian life and a condition for living it well.
2. The Eucharist is the full realization of the worship which humanity owes to God, and it cannot be compared to any other religious experience. Thus, all the faithful should be convinced that they cannot live their faith unless they take part regularly in the Sunday Eucharistic assembly.
3. Sunday, the day on which they are called to celebrate their salvation and the salvation of all humanity, the day of the risen Lord.
4. Sunday becomes the soul of other days.
5. Sunday is a true school, an enduring programme of Church pedagogy
6. Sunday has the additional value of being a testimony and a proclamation.
7. Sunday resounds throughout society, emanating vital energies and reasons for hope,
8. It is the proclamation that time is not the grave of our illusions but cradle of an ever new future – seeds of eternity.
9. It is an invitation to look ahead.
10. It awakens memory and makes present for every generation the event of the resurrection.
11. It is the day of listening to the Spirit.
12. BVM as Mater domini and Mater ecclesiae

From the Vatican, on 31 May, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in the year 1998, the 20^th of my Pontificate.