All men and women are called to participate in God’s creative power by perfecting the world through their work. They should also cease working on the seventh day, to dedicate it to divine worship and rest. Sunday is sanctified primarily by participating in Holy Mass. The Church establishes this obligation so that her children do not lack the essential nourishment they need to live as children of God. 

Before the coming of Christ, the seventh day was the Sabbath. In the New Testament it is Sunday, Dies Domini, the day of the Lord, because it is the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. The Sabbath represented the end of creation; Sunday represents the beginning of the “new creation,” which took place with Christ’s resurrection (cf. Catechism 2174).

Participation in Holy Mass on Sunday

Since the Sacrifice of the Eucharist is the source and summit of the life of the Church,[1] and therefore also of every member of the faithful, Sunday is sanctified primarily by participating in Holy Mass. “For us Christians, the centre of the Lord’s Day, Sunday, is the Eucharist, which means ‘thanksgiving.’ It is the day to say to God: thank you Lord for life, for your mercy, for all your gifts” (Pope Francis, General Audience, 5 September 2018).

Believers know that united and persevering prayer can achieve anything. The Pope has often emphasized trust in the power of prayer and asks us to pray for particular intentions. At the same time, prayer and action are inseparable: the intentions of our prayer overflow into intense apostolic work in various contexts.