"When I was a child, Sunday was a day of
faith and family. The day centered around the 11:15 Mass at St.
Anthony’s, which we attended with my grandparents. Then Nana and Papa
would come back to our house for a large family dinner. Dinner was
always of the big roasted thing or huge pot of sauce variety. Cousins,
aunts and uncles attended, all bringing a dish or bottle of something
to round out the celebratory feel of the day"
Read the rest of my column at The Long Island Catholic here..
I wholeheartedly agree. The times we feel like not going are the very times we need to be going to Mass the most. It is then at that point in time the devil is trying to keep us too busy or overworked (or inconvenienced) to be with God. The weeks I miss Mass with no reason linked to illness, it’s a bad week for me. I’ve had occasions where I have resorted to watching it on EWTN or listening to it on the radio. It’s not the same, and I feel like the devil’s still distracting me but some things really are worth the fight.
I agree with your point about Sunday Mass, but I think making Sunday a sacred family day again should also be a priority. We are all so disconnected because of all the activities that don’t really form the fabric of family life (i.e. soccer, little league, etc.). We picked up a flyer on just this subject two weeks ago. We are trying to make Sunday truly a day of rest again and a day for the family like it was back in the day.
Love this! It reminds me of what life was like when we were stationed in Germany. Everything was closed on Sunday, except if you wanted to go have a picnic on the grounds of the town castle, go on volksmarches and drive around seeing the sites.
I remember when I was a kid and the grocery stores first started the 24 hour thing, and thinking “Wow! I didn’t know they could do that.” And then it went on from there.
I loved the article, though, and so did the boys. It was a nice read-aloud to close out our Sunday. : )
Very nice! We call my parents Nana and Papa around here too. I remember reading once that Ruth Bell Graham tried very hard to make Sundays special at her house: picnics, family hikes, big meals etc. It couldn’t have hurt since all of her children are now in the ministry in some form. We try to do the same but for me it’s the busiest, most harried day of the week! Your column is a good reminder of how important it is to make it something set apart and holy. Thanks for the baby congrats too!