UNIT II

LESSON 6
We Love God; We Love Our Neighbor

How do we follow the commands of God? Jesus tells us how in two simple ways-
love God above all and love our neighbor as ourselves.

The life story of the priest narrated below shows us what it means to love God by loving our
neighbor.

We Celebrate Life
Loving God, Loving the Poor

To love God means to love our neighbor. This command of Jesus is lived to the fullest by a German
who has been living in the Philippines for a very long time and who eventually opted to become a Filipino
citizen. Rev. Fr. Leo Schmitt was assigned as a parish priest to the Philippines more than 60 years ago and
from that time on has dedicated his life helping the poor.
Fr. Schmitt founded the Samahang Bagong Bahay Foundation for the purpose of helping very poor
Filipino families. Through this foundation, he was able to purchase lands to be used as relocation sites and
to date, helped more than 1,000 families by providing them houses in five different relocation sites.
Fr. Schmitt’s dedication to help the poor has earned for him the St. Teresa Award. Half of the prize
money he got was donated to a home for old people.

We Celebrate God’s Word

God’s Love and Christian Life
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God
and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God
was revealed to us; God sent His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. In this is
love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved,
if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another,
God remains in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us.
If anyone says, “I love God” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother
whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from Him:
whoever loves God must also love his brother.

We Celebrate Holiness

St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph

 Jesus teaches us that whatever we do to the least of our brothers and sister, we also do it to Him. So
if we love the least among our brothers and sisters by caring for them, we also show our love for Jesus.
This love for others out of love for Jesus was shown by St. Giles.
St. Giles wanted to be priest but he was not able to study so he was accepted as lay brother in the
monastery and was assigned as porter and gate-keeper. His work gave him the chance to be close to the
poor and the sick, especially the lepers. According to some accounts, whenever he would run out of food to
be given to the poor, St. Joseph would help him to make sure that he would have enough for all those who
are unhappy.
St. Giles was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 2, 1996.

Let’s Pray

Dear God our Father,

Thank you for the gift of life, thank you for loving me and for making me feel special and
important.
Thank you also for the people who show me their love.
Though I am still young, I want to love you in return,
by loving the people around me.
Help me, dear Father, to love you back by being
sensitive to the needs of others especially the poor.
Like St. Giles grant me the courage to serve others.
These I ask in Jesus’ name through the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My Faith Words
Begotten- “begotten” is the past participle of the verb “beget” which means “to father or produce as
offspring”
Expiation-the act of making amends or repairing the damage of our wrong actions
Genuine-authentic; sincere; something that is true
Ten Commandments-a list of do’s and don’ts that tells us how we can show our love for God and for
others
Activity 1

1. What words would describe Fr.Schmitt? Check them all.

_____ kind _____ greedy

_____ loving _____ faithful

 _____ helpful

2. What foundation did Fr. Schmitt create / start? How does the foundation help him achieve what he
wants for the poor?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the other ways of helping the poor aside from what Fr. Schmitt is doing? Give three simple
ways that a Grade 4 pupil like you can do.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Homework

Answer the following questions in a complete sentence.

1. How can the following actions that show love for God be actions that show love for neighbor?

Praying _____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Participating in the Mass ___________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________
Teaching young children about God’s Love

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

LESSON 7
We Love Like Jesus

There is only one perfect model who shows us the way to love God the Father and our neighbor.

What does it mean to love like Jesus? The quotes from St. Teresa of Calcutta tell us how.

St. Teresa’s Quotes

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without
getting tired”

“Good works are links that form a chain of love”.

“I am little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”

“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I do know that when we die and it comes time for God
to judge us, will NOT ask, “How many good things have you done in your life?” rather He will ask, “How
much LOVE did you put into what you did?”

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
“I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn’t touch a leper for
a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.”

“If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep
putting oil in it.”

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one”.

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

“Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”

Activity

1. Choose there from St. Teresa’s quotes that you like best. State the reason why
you chose them.

● __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

● __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

● __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

◘ __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Describe one sacrifice that St. Teresa endured in order to give comfort to the poor.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

We Celebrate God’s Word

In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus tells us how we can live like Him and love like Him.

The Conditions of Discipleship

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will
find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one
give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with His angels in His Father’s glory, and then
He will repay everyone according to his conduct.”
Mt. 16: 24-27

Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy

Jesus is our best example for loving God and others. To love like Jesus is to love and serve our
neighbor without asking for anything in return. There are two concrete ways by which we can be like Jesus-
the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The seven corporal works of mercy are the following:

1. To feed the hungry.

2. To give drink to the thirsty
3. To clothe the naked
4. To visit the imprisoned
5. To shelter the homeless
6. To visit the sick
7. To bury the dead

The seven spiritual works of mercy are:

1. To admonish the sinner

2. To instruct the ignorant
3. To counsel the doubtful
4. To comfort the sorrowful
5. To bear wrongs patiently
6. To forgive all injuries
7. To pray for the living and the dead
 All these actions are invitations for us to be loving like Jesus. Some of these may be hard to do, but
we can always join the members of our family in performing them. We can also pray that there will be
more followers of Jesus who will be happy to perform these works of mercy.

Activity

Draw a happy face on the space before the number if the children show that they are disciples of
Jesus.

________ 1. John and Carrie join their parents in bringing clothes and food to
prisoners in the city jail.
________ 2. Salve and William are saving part of their allowance so that they
will have money to buy toys for the children in the orphanage whom they will
visit on Christmas day.
________ 3. Rod and Susan lead their friends in posting made-up stories
against a classmate who defeated them in the declamation contest.
________ 4. Dinah and Ted spend their time at home playing computer
games even if they know that their mother need help in the kitchen.
________ 5. Filomena and Bernard visit the school chapel every day to pray for their
family and friends and to dedicate the day to Jesus.
Homework

Which of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy are you eager to do? Give concrete actions that
will show the corporal and spiritual works of mercy you have chosen.

Corporal/ Spiritual Works of Mercy Concrete Actions I will Perform

We Celebrate Holiness

St. Vincent Liem de la Paz

 St. Vincent was born in Vietnam. Both his parents were Catholics. They lived in a village in
Vietnam where the Dominican preached about the Catholic faith. At a young age, his parents
brought him to a Dominican missionary center where he learned about the Catholic Faith.
When King Philip V of Spain opened the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the University
of Santo Tomas in the Philippines to Chinese and Tonkinese students in 1738, St. Vincent was sent
by the Dominican fathers to study in the Philippines. He took his elementary and secondary
education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and finished a degree of lector of humanities. He
finished his college degree at the University of Santo Tomas. After his studies, he entered the
Dominican order and was ordained priest in 1758. On October 3, he started his journey back to his
native place.
When St. Vincent went back to Vietnam, he began preaching about the Catholic faith but the
authorities opposed him. He did not stop preaching so he and his two assistants were arrested and
beaten up. They were put in prison where they still continued preaching the Catholic faith to the
prisoners. They were tried and given a guilty verdict with beheading as punishment. They were
executed on November 7, 1773.
He was beatified by Pope Pius X and Pope John Paul II announced his canonization on June
19, 1988.

3:00 O’clock Prayer to the Divinemercy

You died Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fountain of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for
us, I trust in You!

(Repeat 3 Times)
Holy God, Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Amen.

My Faith Words

disciple - a person who listens to and obeys Jesus

 moral norm - Jesus is our moral norm which means that He is the standard we
following knowing and doing what is good
works of mercy - are charitable actions which we come to help our
neighbor in his or her spiritual and bodily needs.
LESSON 8

We Celebrate Life
We Love God above All

God made us and gave us gifts to make us happy. We show our thanks to God by praising,
worshipping, and loving Him above all.

It is to say that we love Jesus. but if Jesus were to ask you,” How much do you love me?” what will
be your answer? The artwork below was painted by Paul Gaugin in 1819. It shows how much Jesus loves
us. Look closely at the painting and reflect on the question below it.

God our father show His love for us through His Son, Jesus, who died on the Cross to save us. We show
our love to God through the small sacrifices we make.

We Celebrate God’s Word

The First Commandment

I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall
not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky
above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth, do not bow down before them or worship
them.
Deuteronomy 5: 6-10

We Celebrate God’s Message

The First Commandment: It’s Significance

 How much does God love us? God loves us so much that He created us in His image. This means
that like Him we have the power to know, to decide, and most importantly to love. He loves us so much He
gives us people who love and take care of us. He loves us so much he gives us talents that we use for us to
become healthy and happy and for us to give joy to others. But the best proof of God’s love for us is found
on the Cross where Jesus Christ is crucified. God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to be human
like us--- to live among us, and to die like a criminal even if He did not have any sin—in order to save us
from sin.
Knowing that God loves us moves us to love Him back. How do we show our love for God? There
are many ways but the first among these is found in the First Commandment of God to His people as told in
the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. In the book of Deuteronomy, He gave the Ten Commandments.
The first commandment is this: “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that
place of slavery. You shallnot have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the
shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth, do not bow
down before them or worship them”
The First Commandment retells the wonderful acts God did for His people. He brought them out of
slavery, protected them from their enemies, and gave them the land He promised them. Therefore, God told
them to be faithful to Him as He is faithful to them. He told them to worship no other gods except Him. He
told them to love Him above all.
Today, God tells us the same things. Our life and everything that we have come from God. It is God
who created us and who continues to give us what we need in order for us to have a happy and meaningful
life. It is God who saved us from sin through His Son Jesus Christ and who continues to save us through
the sacraments. It is God who gives us communities that take care of us--- our family and the Church. No
one could do what God is doing for us. We owe everything to Him. We are God’s people and He tells us to
love Him above all, to worship and serve Him. He alone deserves our adoration because there is no other
God but Him. We love God above all not because He commands us so but because He loved us first and
our love for Him is simply our response to His love. We love Him to show how thankful we are for all that
He gives us.

We love God not because He commands us so, but because He loved us first and He created us and
continues to give us what we need to live happy and meaningful lives.

Obeying the First Commandment

To obey the First Commandment needs specific actions. It is not enough that we always say,” I love
you; Lord” or “I love you Jesus”. There are specific actions we must do consistently and actions we must
always avoid to show that we love God.
First, we need to put God first in our life. This means that in all that we do, we should always ask
the questions. “Is this what God wants me to do? And “Will my action make me God happy?” not “Is this
what I want to do” and “Will my action make me happy?” A specific example of putting God first is when
we wake up early every Sunday so that we can participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass even if we
want to stay longer in bed and sleep.
Second, we worship no one except God. God alone deserves to be worshipped. This may seem easy
but some of us would rather worship other things than God. There are those who worship money and
consider it as the most important thing in their life. They forget about God, about praising Him and loving
others because all that they work for is money. There are those who worship other people, like their idols or
their love ones that they forget about God. They do everything that will please the people they love and
admire even if what they do is against the commandments of God.
Third, we need to put trust in God completely. This means not worrying so much about our future—
about what to eat or wear because God will take care of us. Sadly, there are those among us who turn to
fortune telling, magic, superstitious beliefs, and other ways of giving us assurance for the future. There are
also those who demand for signs from God to convince them that He really cares. The First Commandment
tells us to do our best while at the same time trusting that God knows what is good for us and will reward
our efforts with His blessings.
Lastly, we love God above all. God does not prevent us from loving the people around us and even
from loving ourselves. Jesus Himself said that we love others as we love ourselves, but loving others comes
second only to loving God. Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Sadly,
there are those who love themselves so much they forget that all that they have--- their intelligence, beauty,
wealth, and power---come from their own effort without any help from God. They believe that there is no
need for them to believe in God because they have the power to get whatever they want.

We Celebrate Holiness

St. Jeanne Delanoue (St.Joan of the Cross)

The love of God is so powerful it can make us change our ways. This is what the story of Jeanne
Delanoue is all about. She used to be a self-centered, greedy, and ill-tempered child. She had a comfortable
life because her parents owned it. When her parents died she took their place in running it. She was
successful in making the business grow because of her hard work and intelligence.
Near her place was a shrine where many people went. She provided these people a place to stay not
because she wanted to show them kindness but because she knew that it would do her business good. This
is the reason why her store was open even in Sundays.
It was one of the pilgrims to the shrine that God used in order to make Jeanne change her ways.
Frances Souchet was a widow who talked powerfully about the love of Jesus. Her words and her holy life
helped Jeanne see the love of God for her and this changed her. She closed her shop and spent her time
caring the poor, the sick, and those who did not have anyone to care for them. She was no longer concerned
about her and business and instead she opened a house for orphans that people called “Providence House”.
Her changed life attracted other women and soon they began to help her in serving the poor. They began to
call themselves the Sisters of St. Anne of Providence.
St. Joanne showed that she love God above all by giving up her wealth in order to obey His
command to love other as she loved herself.

Let’s Pray
Psalm 116:1-2

I love the Lord for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will
call on Him as long as I live.

My Faith Words
Deuteronomy-This is the fifth book in the Old Testament. The word means “second law” because it
repeats the law contained in the books before it. It also retells Israel’s future as they are about to enter the
land of Canaan and begin their life as a people there.

Exodus- This is the second book in the Old Testament. The word means “departure”, because the main
event it narrates is the departure of the Israelites form Egypt. It also tells about the covenant that God had
with them and the giving of the Ten Commandments to them.

Worship- To worship God means to give Him the reverence and adoration that He alone deserves. There is
no one who deserves worship except God.

Activity
Complete the text from the Book of Deuteronomy that tells about the First Commandment.
Write the words on the lines provided.

I, the Lord, am your___________________, who brought you out of the land of

________________, that place of ___________________. You shall not have other ___________

beside me. You shall not carve ________________ for yourselves in the shape of anything in

the __________________ above or on the _________________ below or in the _______________

beneath the earth, do not _______________ down before them or ________________ them.

Assignment:

With the help of your family, Write two important activities that your family engages in that show you
worship God and love Him above all.
Lesson 9

We Respect God’s Name

The second commandment strongly reminds us that God’s name is holy, therefore we have to give it
the respect that it deserves.

We Celebrate Life

Our name tells other people who we are. We know how important our name is but few of us know
why it is important for us to have not just any name but a Christian name. FR. Roger Landry in his article
“The Importance of the Christian Name” quoted Pope Benedict’s strong appeal to Christian parents to
choose a Christian name for their children.

My Name, My Christian Identity

In choosing a name for their children, parents are reminded not to choose one “by chance” or whim
because a child’s name is one of the important marks of the Sacrament of Baptism and the Christian life.
A Christian name manifests that through baptism a child is called by God to holiness and heaven. It
communicates in a sense a child’s identity and can influence his or her development. A name is not just for
a birthday; Pope Benedict reminds us that this name is meant for an eternal lifetime. He tells us that “God
calls each of us by name, therefore everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It
demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.
We Celebrate God’s Word

The Second Commandment commands us to give reverence to God’s holy name as expressed in the book
of Deuteronomy.

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished him
who takes His name in vain.

Deut 5:11

The Importance of Names

Imagine if we do not have names, how are we going to call one another? How will we know who we
are if we do not have a name and how are we going to identify ourselves if we will be asked who we are?
Names are so important in our life as members of our community, because they set us apart from others.
We need our name in all the activities we do as members of our community--- when we go to school, join
clubs, join contests, run for election of classroom officers, do volunteer work, introduce ourselves to new
friends, and many more. When we are cold enough to have our own family, we can even pass on our names
to our children to identify them as members of our family.
Our name is important not only because we are members of a community but because we are
children of God. The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord’s name. Like the First
Commandment, it belongs to the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in
sacred matters.
The Second Commandment forbids false oaths. Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as
witness to what one affirms. It is to invoke the divine truthfulness as a pledge of one’s own truthfulness. An
oath engages the Lord’s name. “ You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and swear by His
name.”

Homework:

1. What the second commandment tells us to do?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. How do you show respect for God’s name?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What will you stop doing to show that you respect the name of God?
 _________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

We Celebrate Holiness

St. Manuel Moralles

Whatever our situation may be, by our baptism, we have been given by the Holy Spirit the power to
obey the commandments of God. Manuel Moralles belonged to a poor family. He entered the seminary to
become a priest but he left because he needed to support his poor family. He later on married, and had three
children. Despite being poor and being a lay person did not prevent him from showing respect to God’s
holy name.

Manuel is known for being prayerful and for leading two important Catholic organizations in
peacefully petitioning the government to change the laws that prevent people from practicing their religion.
He led Catholics to gather in peaceful rallies on order to request the government to respect their right to
practice their beliefs. His persistence caused the government to take him and the other officers of the
organizations to the state capital to explain their position. After leaving town, the soldiers stopped the cars
and accused them of plotting armed revolt against the government.

Manuel was offered freedom if he would stop what he was doing but he did not take the offer. For
this he was sentenced to death. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 21,2000.

My Faith Words

Reverence - to show reverence to honor and respect

Oath - to make an oath is to call on God to witness the truth of what we say.
When we make false oaths, we call on God to be a witness to a lie.

LESSON 10

We Respect the Lord’s Day

 Sunday is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. It is the day when we celebrate our victory over sin and
death. Therefore we keep this day holy.

We Celebrate Life
Sunday is family day. It is the day when families gather together to do fun activities. What are these
activities? The article that follows tells what these activities are.

Our Family Day

Sunday is the day when my father and mother do not have work. It is the day when our family can
share all our meals together--- breakfast, lunch, and supper. In between, we also have snacks prepared by
my mother.
It is the day when we do not do heavy work and we would just spend the day doing the activities
that bind us closer as a family like watching movies, catching up on our individual activities as we sit
around in the family veranda every afternoon, or simply lying in one bed watching our favorite television
shows. We also use this free day to visit our relatives who are sick or who may need our help.
In all these activities we never ever forget the most important one. All of us would wake up very
early, put on our best clothes, and walk all the way to our parish. We make sure that we arrive for the first
Mass 15 minutes before it starts so that we will still have time to recite the Rosary together. Participating in
the Mass as a family is our most important activity every Sunday. We may miss watching a movie or our
favorite television show but we will never ever miss the Sunday Mass. It is what makes our family day
truly fun and complete.

We Celebrate God’s Word

Sunday is not only a family day, more importantly it is the day of the Lord. How do we keep the day of the
Lord holy? The text from the Book of Deuteronomy tells us how.

The Day of the Lord

Observe the Sabbath day--- keep it holy, as the Lord, your God, commanded you. Six days you may
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any
work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your donkey or any
work animal, or the resident alien within your gates, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do.
Remember that you, too, were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, brought you out
from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the Lord your God, has commanded you to
observe the Sabbath day.

We Celebrate God’s Message

Sunday Is the Lord’s Day

Most of us look forward to Sunday. First, it is the day when family members do not go to work or
school. Second, it is the day when we do fun activities together, those that we do not normally do on the
other days of the week like sharing family meals, going to the mall, park, or recreational centers. Third, it is
the day when we could choose to just hang out together at home watching TV or catching up on one
another’s stories.
As members of God’s family, we look forward to Sundays not only because we are free from work
or we can do the fun activities we could only do on Sundays. We look forward to Sundays because it is the
Lord’s Day. Why is Sunday considered to be the Lord’s Day? The answers can be found in the Bible--- in
the Old and new Testaments.
The observance of Sabbath as the Lord’s Day is affirmed when God gave the Ten Commandments
to Moses. The Third Commandments states, “Observe the Sabbath day--- keep it holy as the Lord, your
God, commanded you. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave,
your ox or donkey or work animal, or the resident alien within your gates. “Sabbath is then referred as the
seventh day of the week which is Saturday. The Sabbath therefore is the day we dedicate to God.
In the New Testament, the observance of the Lord’s Day changed from Saturday to Sunday. The
reason for this is that our Lord Jesus rose on a Sunday. The Gospel of St. Mark tells us, “Very early when
the sun had risen, on the first day or week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another,’ Who
will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone
had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right
side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek
Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid Him’
(Mk 16:2-6).”
We are the new people of God, as such; we celebrate the Lord’s Day on Sunday. It is the day when
Jesus rose from the dead, when He won over sin. It is also the day of our victory from sin. We look forward
to Sunday as we celebrate Jesus’ precious gift of salvation.

Sunday is the Lord’s Day. It is the day when we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead; His victory
over sin. On Sundays, we celebrate Jesus’ gift of salvation to us.

Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy

In the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, God gave instructions to the Israelites to keep the
Sabbath day holy. It is a day of holiness and rest from all kinds of work because it is the day reserved for
God. Resting on Sabbath day comes from the story of the creation found in the Book of Genesis. After
creating everything in the world the including human person, God rested on the seventh day. This is what
the Book of Genesis says, “For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that
is in them, but on the seventh day, he rested (Ex 20:11).” As God rested on the seventh day, we, too, are
called to do the same.
The Third Commandment tells us to keep the Lord’s day holy. How do we keep Sunday the Lord’s
day holy? The same commandment tells us how. First, just like what the God did in the story of creation,
we are to rest on this day. “Rest” on Sunday does not only mean keeping ourselves from doing heavy work
or simply sleeping and doing nothing the whole day. It means doing activities will draw us closer to God.
Doing charity work such as visiting s sick relative or volunteering in our parish, attending a Bible sharing
activity, reading spiritual books, and attending a recollection are just some of the activities that will keep
our Sunday holy.
To keep Sunday holy also means to actively participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass. The
Holy Mass is the most important activity we have on a Sunday. In the Holy Mass we thank God for all the
blessings He gives us. We also tell God we are sorry for the sins we have committed and ask Him to be
with us always and to protect us from all harm, most especially from sin. The center of the Holy Mass is the
Holy Communion where we become one with Jesus and with the other members of the Church. As we are
dismissed from the Mass, the priest asks us to spread the Good News of Jesus’ love.
Watching movies, going to the mall, eating out, and doing other activities that we do on Sundays
with our family are not really prohibited by the Third Commandment. What is important is that these
activities do not replace our participation in the Holy Mass and our commitment to do activities for our
spiritual growth.
We keep Sunday, the Lord’s Day, holy by participating actively in the celebration of the Holy Mass
and by doing activities that move us closer to the Lord.

“Remember to keepholy the Sabbath day” (Ex 20:8, Dt 5:12) is usually formulated for Christians as:
“Remember to keep holy the Lord’s”. The Third Commandment enjoins us to keep holy the day set aside
for the worship of God and for recreation. When grounded in its Old Testament context, it binds together
the two tablets of the Law. For two basic sources are given for this Commandment, one stressing our direct
relationship to God, the other focusing on its human, liberating effects. Both dimensions are firmly rooted
in our Filipino religious belief and cultural values tradition.

St. Oliver Plunkett

By the holy work that we do on Sundays, we give glory to God and keep the day holy. Oliver
Plunkett kept each day of the week, not only Sunday, holy by the kind of life he lived. He was a priest who
later on became a Bishop of Ireland.
We Celebrate Holiness

We Celebrate Holiness
Archbishop Plunkett was native of England and though it was dangerous for him to return to his
hometown during the time of religious persecution, he still did. Returning to his home town, he began
visiting his people, establishing schools, ordaining priests, and confirming thousands. His actions caused
his arrest and false charges were made against him by the government.
During his trial, false witnesses were presented to show that Archbishop Plunkett committed
treason, a crime punishable by death. He was hanged on July 1, 1681. He was the last Roman Catholic
martyr to die in England. Even in death he publicly forgave all those who were responsible for the
punishment he did not deserve.

Let’s Pray

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Dear Jesus, the Bread of Life, at this moment I know you are in front of me, quietly present in that
simple, small piece of bread. You chose bread, Lord, to remind me that you are my food to give me the
strength to carry on; that you and I are to become more and more one with each other, almost as the food I
eat becomes a part of my body and my life.
In memory of you, the priest takes bread in his hands, and through these same hands, and the
priest’s lips, it is you in him who whispers: “This is my body”.
I wish I could now receive you in Holy Communion so I could once more feel that oneness with
you.
My Lord and my God, my heart is full of joy and gratitude for all you have done and given me.
I pray for your mercy for the many times I displeased you because of my selfishness and for failing
to do my duty to my neighbor.
Forgive me, Lord, for all my sins and grant me the courage to fight the evil that surrounds me, so
that I may be worthy of receiving you again in Holy Eucharist. Amen.

My Faith Words

Book of Genesis- the first book in the Bible where the story of creation is found
Sabbath- The term “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word shavah, which means “rest”