Dear father Angelo,

I might disturb you to ask for clarification about two issues I recently discussed with family and friends, and for which I have found  out I don’t have many certainties. 

First of all, we were wondering  about the necessary actions required to effectively respect the third commandment  on holy days of obligation.

Is it enough to participate in the Mass and to abstain from work?

Or are there other things to be done to respect the third commandment?

Moreover, if somebody carries out activities related to the cleansing and care of the body on a holy day of obligation is he acting in contrast with the third commandment and therefore sinning? 

The second question is related to prayer. Is it considered a sin not to pray at all during the day?

In particular, is it true that if you don’t pray at least in the morning after waking up, in the evening before going to bed and before and after meals you commit a sin? Or shall one pray at least once during the day to avoid sinning?

I hope you will find the time to read this email.

Thank you in advance for your always precious advice; I take the opportunity to wish you, your dear ones and your brethren a happy and merry Christmas (2017).

Sincerely,

Mattia C.

The answer from father Angelo

Dear Mattia,

I have finally found time to read your email, buried by all the other messages I received during Christmas time. I apologize for my delay in answering you.

1- Now, coming to your questions: I will answer the first one by saying that to observe the holy days you shall attend Mass and recover energies (get some rest). However, some other things are recommended. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life” (CCC 2186).

2- Regarding prayer, I must say this: what we have here is not a simple precept, but a need of the soul. Our soul has needs that are analogous to the ones of the body. 

The first need of the body is to breathe. 

That’s why Saint Benedict said: “As for us breathing is necessary for the life of the body, so continuous prayer is absolutely necessary for the health of the soul”.

Another irrepressible need of our bodies is nourishment. That’s why Saint Augustine affirmed that “as the body can’t live without the soul, likewise a soul without prayer is dead and emits a really bad smell”; and also: as the body feeds on food, so the soul feeds on prayer.

Without daily prayer, God becomes more and more a concept, an idea, an abstract thing rather than the central point of our existence.

3- Referring to the guilt of neglecting daily prayer, here’s what was written by a professor of moral theology of our time:

“The spirit of Christian morality has established the tradition of specific prayers in the morning, in the afternoon and at meals. Although these prayers aren’t expressively commanded, they’re so intimately related with Christian piety that Christians consider completely natural the fact of not neglecting them. 

Even though neglecting them occasionally isn’t a sin, neglecting them totally or not considering them for prolonged periods damages interior life and consequently becomes a sinful matter.

If one can’t find a quiet and convenient place for his morning and evening prayers, nothing impedes him from choosing a different and more suitable time.

Even in these cases, a certain routine is required.

However, as a general rule the prayer should be offered at particular times of the day -at least in the morning and in the evening- for the specific reason that human frailty could lead to complete forgetfulness”. (K. H. Peschke, Etica Cristiana, p.158).

4- Concerning prayer as a need of the soul which is comparable to the need of nourishment for the body, here is what John Paul II writes: “it would be wrong to think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow prayer that is unable to fill their whole life. Especially in the face of the many trials to which today’s world subjects faith, they would be not only mediocre Christians but “Christians at risk”. They would run the insidious risk of seeing their faith progressively undermined, and would perhaps end up succumbing to the allure of “substitutes”, accepting alternative religious proposals and even indulging in far-fetched superstitions” (Novo millennio ineunte 34).

5- Moreover, we must not forget what can be read in the Gospel: “Jesus told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (Luke 18,1).

He also said to the apostles: “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.” (Matthew 26, 41).

In his turn, Saint Paul said: “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5,17).

6- Being able to pray is a grace!

God gave great dignity to man: the ability to talk to Him.

Saint John Chrysostom writes: “consider how much happiness is bestowed, how much glory is conceded to you in prayer: talking familiarly with God, converse as a friend with Christ, to choose what you want, to ask what you desire” (Gen. Hom. XIII).

Therefore I encourage you to go offshore in prayer.

Indeed, ask the Lord that the grace of prayer may become for you the highest, most desired and precious moment of the day.

I bless you and assure you of remembrance to the Lord.

Father Angelo

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