Keep holy the Sabbath

I have always struggled with how to keep holy the Sabbath. I have never quite mastered the art of having a restful Sunday and wondered exactly what I was supposed to do in order to have a truly holy Sunday. But my pastor gave us a brief explanation on how we as Christians view the Sabbath much differently than the Jewish people before Christ did.

When Jesus came, He said that He came to fulfill the Law. One of the Laws He fulfilled was "resting" on the Sabbath. When He died on the cross, He died on Good Friday, "rested" in the tomb on Saturday, and was raised Easter Sunday. He fulfilled the command to rest on the Sabbath.

That is why we do not celebrate the Sabbath on Saturdays anymore, because Jesus fulfilled that Law by being dead and "resting" on Holy Saturday. The early Christians began celebrating Sunday as The Lord's Day to celebrate His Resurrection and the breaking of the bread (the Eucharist). Because of Jesus' fulfillment of the Law, the early Christians did not put as much emphasis on "resting" on Sundays as the Jewish people did for the Sabbath. Our requirement now to "keep Holy the Sabbath" is not the same as it was for those who lived before Christ. Our main requirement is to go to Mass, receive the Eucharist and remember the Resurrection.

However, I still think it is a great idea to have as peaceful a Sunday as possible to make the day holy and reflective. I'm just glad for the clarification.