1.

THIRD COMMANDMENT
The book is a complete explanation of
the Ten Commandments.
THIRD COMMANDMENT:
REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY
THE LORD’S DAY.
To purchase the Book, or for theological
inquiries (e-mails only), contact the author:
AUTHOR Rev. Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI
1st Edition, Manila, July 16, 2016
EDITION Our Lady of Mount Carmel
PUBLISHER Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
Quality Catholic Publications
Isabella De Rosis St.,
Multinational 1708 Parañaque
City, Philippines
Tel. (02) 828-2338
(02) 828-9509
Tel.
sonsmaryphil@yahoo.com

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 2. A CATECHIST’S PRAYER
Loving Father, giver of all that is,
help me to remember that every gift
I have comes from you. Expand my
vision so that I can appreciate your
goodness in the world around me.
Jesus, our Redeemer, you are
the path to the treasures of my
heart and soul. Strengthen my
commitment to be a catechist and
deepen my capacity to share your
truth with those in my care.
Holy Spirit, Love Divine, all life
and energy flows from you.
Illuminate my thoughts and
intensify my desire to grow ever
deeper in my faith.
I lift up my prayer to you, God—
Father, Son, and Spirit—in humility
and hope. Amen.
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 3. THE SABBATH DAY
What is the
Sabbath?
The Sabbath is a day
of holiness and rest,
where all
unnecessary servile
work must be
avoided.
 The term “Sabbath”
comes from the Hebrew
word shavath, which
means, “rest.”
 It is also called the
Lord’s Day, because it
is a day reserved for
God; and Sunday,
Unnecessary work on Sunday makes
which means, “Day of the soul as dark as a blacksmith shop.
the Sun.” Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
 4. THE SABBATH DAY
Who instituted the Sabbath?
 The Sabbath was instituted by God who, having created the
universe in six days, rested on the seventh (cf. Genesis 2:3).

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 5. THE SABBATH DAY
Why is the Sabbath a foretaste of
Paradise?
Paradise is described as  The Sabbath is the
the endless Sabbath, anticipation of
or the “eternal rest.”
eternal life in
Paradise.
 According to a Jewish
tradition, God said to his
people: “My children, I
have something
precious that I would
like to give
you: it is the Sabbath,
which is a sample of the
world-to-come, for
Paradise will be one
long Sabbath.”
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 6. THE SABBATH DAY
Why do we celebrate the
Sabbath on Sunday instead of
Saturday?
THE JEWS celebrate the Sabbath WE CHRISTIANS celebrate on
on Saturday to commemorate the Sunday to commemorate the gift
wonder of creation, because of redemption, because Jesus
God rested on that day. resurrected on Sunday morning.

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 7. THE SABBATH DAY
How did the shifting of the
Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday
happen?
1) EARLY 2) COUNCIL OF 3) EMPEROR
CHRISTIANS: JERUSALEM: CONSTANTINE
For the first sixteen years (33- The Council of Jerusalem of 49 In 321 AD, Emperor
49 AD), Christians were mostly AD decreed that the non-Jew Constantine proclaimed Sunday
Jews, and they kept a double Christians were exempted from as a legal holyday throughout
weekly celebration: one on the Old Testament regulations, the Roman Empire, in line with
Saturday, in obedience to the including those on the the teaching of the Church.
Law of Moses; and one on Sabbath; they were to Ever since, Sunday has been
Sunday, to celebrate the participate only in the Eucharist celebrated as the Lord’s Day by
Eucharist. on Sundays. all Christians.

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 8. THE SABBATH DAY
When does the Sabbath begin and
end?
 For the Jews, the Sabbath starts
The Sabbath begins with
at the sunset of Friday, with three evening stars.
the appearance of three
stars, and ends at nightfall of
Saturday. For us Christians, the
Lord’s Day starts at the sunset
of Saturday, and ends at
nightfall of Sunday.
 According to the Jewish
calendar, the days of the week
begin at sunset, because God
used the expression: “Evening
came, and morning
followed” (Genesis 1:5);
implying that each day started
with the evening.
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 9. THE SABBATH DAY
How do the Jews sanctify the Sabbath?
FAMILY EVENT:
After cleaning the house and
wearing the best clothes, the Jews
partake of a special meal, and
chant the blessing while drinking a
chalice of wine. They also set
apart a donation for the needy.
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION:
The worship in the synagogue
consists of prayers, Scripture
readings, a sermon, and songs.
Having blessed wine and bread,
the people exchange the
Greetings: Shabbat Shalom.
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 10. THE SABBATH DAY
Why are two candles required at the Sabbath
meal?
 The two candles represent The two candles represent
the two-fold declaration remembrance and
of the Third Commandment: observance of the
Sabbath.
one in Exodus 20:8
(“Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy”), the
other in Deuteronomy 5:12
(“Observe the Sabbath day
to keep it holy”).
 For the same reason, two
candles are required on the
altar for the Mass: one is
called the Candle of
Remembrance; the other,
the Candle of
Observance.
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11. SUMMARY OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

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 12. PARTICIPATING IN THE EUCHARIST
When are we required to participate in the Eucharist?
 We must participate in the Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of
Obligation, unless excused for a very serious reason, such as
sickness, old age, or distance from the Church.
 Those who cannot attend should do one of the following: 1)
participate in the Liturgy of the Word; 2) listen to the Eucharist
through any mass media; 3) recite five mysteries of the Rosary.

Jesus commands us to attend the Sunday Mass in

order to worship God and to build the
community. Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
13. PARTICIPATING
IN THE EUCHARIST
What are the ten Holy
Days of Obligation?

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 14. PARTICIPATING IN THE EUCHARIST
Is it a sin to neglect the Sunday Mass?

 Neglecting the Sunday

Mass without a serious
reason is a mortal
sin, because it is
against the Third
Commandment of God.
 The participation to
the Eucharist is
necessary for the
spiritual
nourishment of
the soul and for the
building of the
Those who neglect the Eucharist,
parish community. like Judas, expose themselves
to eternal damnation.

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 15. PARTICIPATING IN THE EUCHARIST
What are the clergy’s
obligations concerning the
1) DECOROUS Sunday2)Mass?
RESPECTABLE 3) DIGNIFIED
CHURCHES: PRIESTS: LITURGIES:
The churches must by Priests must properly The Eucharist must be
beautiful and clean; perform the functions of celebrated with dignity and
proportionate to the number sanctifying, teaching and propriety, and great
of people, and convenient in governing. Zealous vocation importance must be given
matter of distance and promotion and seminary to the homily, in order to
accessibility. formation are the first and be relevant and well
basic duties of the clergy. prepared.

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 16. FOSTERING FAMILY LIFE
How do we foster family life?
 Family life is promoted by spending quality time with
the spouse, children and relatives.
 On Sunday,
the family
members
should partake
of the main
meal together,
enjoying
each other’s
company,
along with
common games
and activities.

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 17. FOSTERING FAMILY LIFE
Is it important to pray together as a family?
 Common prayer is essential for the spiritual, emotional,
and material well-being of the family. As the saying goes:
“The family that prays together stays together.”
 Most families
that pray
regularly are
happy and
united; while
those who
devote little or
no time to
prayer, are likely
to become
dysfunctional
or broken.

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18. ENJOYING REST AND HONEST RECREATION
Why do we need to rest on Sunday?
 Aside from the daily
eight-hours sleep,
the body also needs
a weekly day of
rest to recharge
and recreate.
 Sunday is the day for
the much-needed
rest for the body and
the soul, when we
should enjoy
adequate leisure to
cultivate our
familial, social,
and religious life.
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19. ENJOYING REST AND HONEST RECREATION
What is the meaning of Honest Recreation?
 Honest recreations are those wholesome activities that
promote physical and spiritual health, as well as family and
social values, such as sports, outings, and parties
 On Sunday, we
must promote
happiness by all
means, as the
Scripture says:
“This is the
day which the
Lord has
made; let us
rejoice and be
glad in it”
(Psalm 118:24).

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 20. PRACTICING WORKS OF CHARITY
Can we perform Works of Charity on Sunday?
 Following the
example of Jesus, As Jesus
who healed on the healed on the
Sabbath (cf. Matthew Sabbath, so we
12:11-12), we should do
make works of Charity charity
on Sunday, especially works on
for the sick, the poor, Sunday.
and the elderly.
 Indeed, we will not be
judged on how many
Masses we have
attended on Sunday,
but on the good deeds
we have done for
our neighbors (cf.
Matthew 25:34-40).
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 21. UNNECESSARY SERVILE WORK
What kind of work is prohibited on Sunday?

 God prohibits
any
unnecessary
servile work on
Sunday.
 A work is
considered
unnecessary when
it can be postponed
to weekdays
without any serious
inconvenience; and it
It is a mortal sin to do an unnecessary
is called servile if servile work on Sunday.
it is done for a fee.
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 22. UNNECESSARY SERVILE WORK
What is the meaning of the proverb:
“God does not pay on the Sabbath”?
 It means that the money one earns by making an
unnecessary servile work on Sunday is not blessed
by God, and will bring more pains than gains.

Whatever profit one makes by unnecessary servile

work on Sunday will bring more pains than gains.
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 23. UNNECESSARY SERVILE WORK
What are the works permitted on Sunday?
 Only necessary works are permitted on
Sunday, such as providing food, health care, and
security.
 Also permitted are all kinds of work connected with
the divine worship, such as the services of janitors,
musicians, florists, and priests.

The work of the firemen is Arranging flowers for a Sunday

obviously necessary on Sunday. Mass is also a necessary
work.
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 24. UNNECESSARY SERVILE WORK
What are the Sunday obligations of Christian
employers?
 Christian employers must allow their employees
to sanctify the Lord’s Day.
 Although social necessities - such as sports, restaurants and
public services - require some people to work on Sundays,
they must be given proper time for rest and worship.
“If the mountain will not come to
Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to
the mountain.”

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 25. UNNECESSARY SERVILE WORK
Did Jesus ever break the Sabbath?
 Jesus never broke the
Sabbath, because on the
Lord’s Day he never did
any unnecessary
servile work, and all his
miracles were works of
charity.
 To the Pharisees who
complained because his
disciples had picked up
and eaten grain heads on a
field on a Sabbath, Jesus
replied: “The Sabbath
was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath” “The Sabbath is for man,
(Mark 2: 25-27). not man for the
Sabbath.” Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
 26. SECULARISM & HEDONISM
What is Secularism?
 Secularism is the attitude of spending the Lord’s
Day concerned only with material things and
physical pleasure, neglecting the worship of God
the care for souls.
and
 In themselves, material
things and physical
pleasure – such as
sleeping, eating,
partying and shopping -
are not wrong; but
they become vicious
when enjoyed to the
excess and in total
disregard for spiritual
The Sabbath was not meant to
matters. become a day of debauchery and
sloth.
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27. SECULARISM
& HEDONISM
What is the
secularization of
Christian Holy Days?

 Secularization is the
process of
converting
Sundays and
Christian Holy
Days into pagan
festivities,
dedicated to
material hedonism,
such as shopping,
debauchery and
sloth.
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 28. SECULARISM & HEDONISM
How was Saint Nicholas secularized into Santa
Claus?
Saint Nicholas was a 3rd century Santa Claus is the secularized
Bishop of Myra, in Turkey, adulteration of Saint
renowned for his kindness and Nicholas.
generosity. In northern Europe, his
was venerated as San Nikolaus.
 Some 19th century American
writers contracted his name into
Santa Claus, and associated him
with reindeer from the North Pole,
and the climbing down of
chimneys to leave Christmas
presents.
 Since 1931, when the Coca-Cola
Company adopted him as a world-
wide marketing tool, he became
completely secularized as a
symbol of shopping and
commercialism.

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