A Roman Catholic Bishop Expresses Regret for the Abandonment of Sunday Rest in Our Culture and Prays for its Restoration

Richard Garth Henning is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island. On September 7, 2023, he published an article in the Rhode Island Catholic, lamenting the fact that Sunday worship has been replaced by shopping and sporting events in our culture. He calls for this day to be devoted to Bible reading, introspective thought, prayer, and the Eucharistic Mass. In addition, he prays for the revival of Sunday in our lives and exhorts us to "reconsider" how we spend our Sabbaths.

The bishop expressed the following in part:

• "In our own setting, the secular culture has abandoned any special consideration for Sunday. Faithful Catholics understand that Sunday is the day for the celebration of the Eucharist, but relatively few live Sundays as the Sabbath gift. Errands, shopping, sports and a host of other work and leisure activities have filled Sundays. The former customs of family dinners, Bible reading, quiet, reflection and prayer beyond Mass itself have fallen away." [1]

• "I do not imagine that I can inspire us to recreate that past, but I do hope and pray that we might find ways to recognize and revive Sabbath in some way in our lives. The command to Sabbath observance forms part of the commandments that govern our relationship with God. These commandments proclaim the truth that our relationship with God is foundational to our own well-being and all other relationships. God is not demanding devotion, but revealing the truth of who we are and who we were made to be. This gift is partly about proper worship, but it is also about God's desire that we find proper rest and renewal." [1]

• "If you find yourself anxious, harried, busy all the time or struggling with the demands of work or family life, then consider that God asks you to find a way to pause, to reflect and to revive. Maybe it's time for all of us to reconsider how we might make our Sabbath holy - set apart for God and the things of God." [1]

God never changed the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week. It was the spirit of rebellion and defiance toward God's law that brought about this change-the teaching that the first day, instead of the seventh, is the Sabbath, which we are divinely commanded to observe. Men not only dare to teach this, but there are also attempts to incorporate this doctrine of Sunday rest into civil law, forcing us to observe the first day of the week or face civil penalties.

It was the Roman Emperors Constantine and Charlemagne who imposed the worship of Sunday by law throughout the Roman Empire to compel people to be in church. On this day, they also prohibited secular work and sports:

• "The first direct evidence of the religious character of Sunday laws is to be found in the Sunday law of Constantine which was issued March 7, 321 A. D ... There is no evidence that in the earliest years of Christianity there was any formal observance of Sunday as a day of rest or any general cessation of work ... The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A. D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday." (Dr. Alvin W. Johnson, "Sunday Legislation" p. 133, Kentucky Law Journal Vol. 23 Issue 1, Article 4). [2]

• "Subsequent laws were passed in 386, 401, and 425. These laws had for their principal purpose the forbidding of the people to engage in sports and amusements on Sunday by prohibiting both work and, play on Sunday. Later still Sunday laws, such as that of Charlemagne, in 800 and 813, compelled all people to attend mass and church on Sundays and refrain from all servile labor." (Dr. Alvin W. Johnson, "Sunday Legislation" p. 133, Footnote #4, Kentucky Law Journal Vol. 23 Issue 1, Article 4). [2]

The first person to set his will against the God of heaven was Satan. The papacy, driven by the same spirit, has acted in a similar manner. During the long reign of papal supremacy, her false doctrine has so permeated the world that the nations are now intoxicated on it (Revelation 14:8; 17:4; 18:3). And now, under the influence of this wine of false theology, Protestants are following their mother, the first beast of Revelation 13.

Today, the world continues to disobey God's law in the same manner as earlier generations did. Catholic Bishop Richard Garth Henning is acting no different. He is basically expressing the same sentiments and using the same language to highlight the need for restoring Sunday rest in society. This should serve as a signal to us that Rome is about to take action, whether or not others are fully ready. Certainly, they are conveying a sense of determination to move forward with the push to restore Sunday as the day of rest for the world.

"The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones" (Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 11)

Sources

[1] https://thericatholic.com/stories/sabbath-rest-forms-part-of-the-commandments-that-govern-our-relationship-with-god,13902

[2] https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol23/iss1/4/

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