Dear readers! 
When we reflect on God's Commandments with faith, we understand that these are not dry instructions, but the voice of a loving Father calling us to the fullness of life. After a deep awareness of the greatness of God's Name, which cannot be used in vain, the Lord leads us further – to an invitation to meet Him in the time that belongs to Him.
"Remember the holy day to celebrate" – this third Commandment sounds like a gentle but firm call: stop! Get out of the flow of daily bustle, put things on the back burner and open your heart to God, to yourself, to your neighbor.
This is not just a prescription for rest. It is an invitation to love. It is an opportunity to return your soul to the source of life – to God.
So I invite you, dear in Christ, to reflect together on what it really means to celebrate the Lord's Day. How can we experience it not only as an obligation, but as a blessing? And why Sunday is more than a day off.
 

ABOUT THE CELEBRATION OF SUNDAY
Imagine a day when God himself calls you to stop, to take off the burden of daily worries and simply be with Him. Such a day exists – it is Sunday, given to us by the Third Commandment of God.
This commandment is not limited to the prescription to refrain from work. It is like an invitation to a festive meeting with the Creator, Who wants to be not only in our prayers, but also in our time. That is why Sunday has become for Christians the "Lord's day" – a special space for unity with God.
The Church has long taught that the celebration of Sunday has two key dimensions:
- participation in the Holy Liturgy,
- abstinence from heavy physical labor.
In this reflection, we will focus on the first – the deepest: meeting with Christ in the Liturgy in the Eucharist.
 

SABBATH OBSERVANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 
To better understand the meaning of Sunday, we need to go back to the origins – to the Sabbath in the Old Testament. This day was for the Israelites a reminder of God’s great works: the creation of the world, liberation from slavery, and the covenant with God.
The Lord clearly spoke to His people: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth… but on the seventh day He rested; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (Ex. 20:8-11).
The Sabbath was not just a break – it was a sign of trust in God, that everything is held in His hand, even when man is resting.
 

CELEBRATION OF SUNDAY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
But with the coming of Christ, a new day comes – the day of light, the day of victory over death. It is Sunday, the first day after the Sabbath, that becomes a symbol of the new creation and the new Covenant in Christ.
On Sunday, Jesus gloriously rose.
On Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles.
On Sunday, Christ's disciples began to break bread – to celebrate the Eucharist.
Therefore, according to the words of the Second Vatican Council: "According to the apostolic tradition... the Church celebrates the Paschal Mystery every eighth day, which she rightly calls the Lord's Day, or Sunday."
For the first Christians, Sunday was a day of a living encounter with the Risen One. On this day, they did not simply remember the event – they experienced it: in Confession, in Communion, in community. And that is why Sunday was joyful: without fasting, without kneeling – because it was a day of light, a day of life.
For centuries, Christians have passed on this holy understanding of Sunday as a “little Easter.” And today it remains a time when we can break away from everything temporary and turn to the eternal. Because Sunday is not just a rest. It is an encounter with the Living God.
 

THE OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HOLY LITURGY
Participating in the Holy Liturgy is the first and most important feature of honoring the Lord's Day. The center of worship in the Church of Christ from apostolic times to the present day is the Most Holy Eucharist. The Most Holy Eucharist culminates in the Holy Liturgy. Without the Liturgy, there is no Holy Eucharist, there is no Holy Communion. Therefore, the Holy Liturgy is the most important, most valuable, and most holy thing that the Church of Christ has.
Jesus Christ offered only one bloody Sacrifice on the cross. But out of love for us, He desired to sacrifice not once, but thousands of times, therefore He established at the Last Supper the bloodless Sacrifice of the New Testament – the Holy Liturgy.
In the first centuries, Christians often participated in the Holy Liturgy, even daily, but Sunday was the day of the general assembly of the Christian community. In the work "The Teaching of the 12 Apostles", dating from the second century, we read: "On the Lord's Day, come together and break Bread and give thanks, having previously confessed your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure".
From what has been said, it follows that even then there was a practice of frequent confession and Holy Communion and the obligation of the Sunday Holy Liturgy.
The initial participation of all the faithful in the Sunday Holy Liturgy was not an obligation imposed by the Church; custom and zeal were for them an unwritten law. Church laws regarding Sunday appear somewhat later, when Christian zeal began to cool down.
The first laws of the Western Church, which required being in church every Sunday, originate from the Synod of Elvira (Spain, early 4th century). This Synod decided to excommunicate from the Church for a short time those who had not been to church for three Sundays. The Synod of Agde (France, 506) imposed an express obligation to participate in the Sunday Holy Liturgy.
In the Eastern Church, the local Synod of Sardis (Bulgaria, 347), in the 11th canon, recalls that there is a law from the Holy Fathers to exclude from the Church those who, living in a city, had not been to church for three weeks.
In the decisions of the Zamoyski Synod of 1720 regarding Sunday duty, we read: "The Synod has decreed regarding the parish Divine Service that for the better benefit of the parishioners a certain hour should be appointed, and that it should begin no later than noon" (Tit. III, § 4).
St. John Chrysostom, teaching about Sunday duty, says: "The week has seven days. God has divided those seven days with us in such a way that He did not take more for Himself, but gave us less, and did not even divide them equally – He did not take three for Himself and did not give us three, but He set aside six for us, and took one for Himself. And you do not want to refrain from worldly affairs on this day, but as sacrilegious people do, so you dare to act with this day, stealing and using it for worldly affairs, when it is sanctified and intended for listening to spiritual teachings."
Sunday Holy Liturgy should be valuable, holy and desirable for us, because it is an inexhaustible source of God's grace and blessings. It teaches us to love God and our neighbor, gives us the spirit of prayer and understanding of sacrifice, and sanctifies our whole life. Whoever neglects to attend the Holy Liturgy on Sunday loses a great deal. That is why the Holy Church insists so strongly on the obligation to participate in the Holy Liturgy on Sunday. So let it be something most precious and most holy for us.
 

ABOUT SUNDAY REST
The first duty that the Third Commandment of God imposes on us is the celebration of Sunday through participation in the Holy Liturgy. The second duty is to observe Sunday rest, to abandon heavy physical labor.
Just as participation in the Holy Liturgy is of great importance for the glory of God and our spiritual life, so Sunday rest is of great importance, first of all, for the physical life of our family, children, and social life.
So let's take a closer look at the history of Sunday rest and its significance for us, at the work prohibited on Sunday, and the reasons that may exempt us from Sunday rest and the obligation to be in church. 
 

HISTORY OF SUNDAY REST
Sunday rest is the second feature of the Christian holy day. Christianity was persecuted in the early centuries, so for the first Christians Sunday was an ordinary working day. They had to work during the week, and had their Sunday services in the evening or morning in the catacombs.
Sunday rest began to gain increasing importance only when Christianity received complete freedom under Emperor Constantine the Great in 313. The first laws on Sunday rest did not come from the Church, but from the state. Emperor Constantine the Great issued a decree in 321, which stated: "On the highly revered day, let all judges, the city population and all kinds of artisans rest."
The historian Eusebius (c. 340) testifies that Emperor Constantine the Great made Sunday a day of prayer and rest, and obliged all his subjects to leave their occupations on this day, and gave freedom to soldiers so that they could participate in church services. Similarly, Emperor Theodosius the Great issued a decree in 386 on the celebration of Sunday. Violation of this law was punished as sacrilege.
Obviously, the aforementioned state laws highly exalted the sanctity of Sunday. On the basis of state laws, the Church also began to increasingly order its faithful to refrain from physical labor on Sunday. The Synod of Laodicea (Asia Minor, 364) prescribed, if possible, to rest on Sunday. Emperor Leo the Wise (886-911) forbade farmers from working on Sunday.
From the 8th century onwards, more and more local Councils prescribed Sunday rest. In the Western Church, the law of Sunday rest became general under Pope St. Gregory IX in 1234. Metropolitan Yuri of Kyiv (1069-1072) gave the rule in his Statute: “On Sundays, one may not work until evening.”
 

THE MEANING OF SUNDAY REST
The Lord God, giving the Commandment to celebrate the holy day, had in mind not only His glory, but also the good of man, which consists in spiritual and physical renewal. Every work, especially hard physical work, exhausts our limited strength. Just as after a day's work we need a few hours of sleep to restore energy, so after six days of work we need a separate day for complete rest. Even a machine must stop from time to time, otherwise it will stop working.
Sunday rest is of great importance for our daily life. It gives us time to fulfill those duties and affairs that we cannot do during the week while working. On Sunday, after participating in the Holy Liturgy, we have more time for private prayer and reading useful literature.
Sunday rest is directly related to unity and love in the family and the good upbringing of children.
"It is obvious," says the Servant of God Metropolitan Andriy Sheptytsky, "that the celebration of Sunday brings great and overwhelming benefits for moral life. Keeping the third commandment of God protects people from being preoccupied with the material side of life... Sunday rest for workers is also of great importance in raising children. For a worker, particularly one who works in large factories, Sunday reminds them of the duties and joys of family life, raising children, and the comfort that well-bred children bring to parents. The educational power of the Church also includes the fact that on Sundays and holidays everyone gathers in church, just as children of one family gather in their father's house. Rich and poor, learned and simple people, old and young, through the wise guidance of the Church, come closer together. The Church reminds everyone of their mutual duties and proclaims the law of love. Approaching the Most Holy Eucharist together, Christians learn to respect each other as brothers and remember that it is not the one who has the most expensive clothes who is worthy, but the one who is more worthy in the eyes of the Most High God" ("On the Celebration of Sunday").
 

WORKS PROHIBITED ON SUNDAY
Work can be physical, mental, or mental-physical. Physical work, that is, work performed by the power of our body, is prohibited on Sunday. Such work was often called service work, because in ancient times it was performed by servants or slaves.
However, mental work is permitted, for example: reading, writing, drawing, embroidery, singing, playing musical instruments (if this is not the purpose of earning money). Mental-physical work is also permitted, such as: walking, driving, dancing, fishing, playing games (not gambling), etc.
 

REASONS THAT EXEMPT FROM SUNDAY OBLIGATION
What can exempt us from participation in the Holy Liturgy and observance of Sunday rest? There must be good reasons for this.
The sick or those who are recovering are exempt from Sunday duty. An obstacle to the fulfillment of Sunday duty can be works of mercy, such as: caring for the sick at home or in hospitals; helping neighbors in unexpected troubles – during a fire or flood. These include military personnel, mothers or nannies who cannot take small children to church and have no one to ask for help.
However, the circumstance does not exempt from Sunday duty if someone went for a walk and returned exhausted or stayed late at a feast, entertainment or received guests at their home.
The first Christians, even during persecutions, participated in St. Liturgy in the catacombs, even putting their own lives at risk. Our Church also prayed the Liturgy underground under the threat of deportation of the faithful to Siberia, or even death.
The celebration of Sunday is the oldest and most sacred Christian tradition, because it comes from the Apostles themselves. Therefore, participation in the Sunday Holy Liturgy and observance of Sunday rest should be natural, obvious, a real need of the soul and body for us.
 

SPIRITUAL CONCLUSION
Sunday is not just a break in the hustle and bustle or another day off on the calendar. It is our personal charge from God, a moment when we have a chance to disconnect from the noise of the world and connect to the true source of strength – the Living Christ.
On Sunday, God invites us not just to come to church, but to enter His presence, to feel that we are not alone, that we are part of a big family united by love and light. Here we receive strength that no cup or gadget can give.
Sunday rest is not "lost time", but an investment in ourselves: in our soul, in our relationships with God and loved ones, in our true happiness. By refusing unnecessary noise, we learn to listen to our heart and hear the voice of God, which calls for peace, joy and freedom.
So, let's not just "mark" Sunday on the calendar – let's live it! Let us open our hearts to God, rest our bodies and souls, allow ourselves to be filled with light, so that we can carry God's grace into our world and the world of others all week long.
Sunday's encounter with God is our personal key to true freedom and the strength to live truly.
 

GREAT HOLIDAYS – SPIRITUAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHURCH YEAR
In addition to Sundays, the Church gives us 12 more great holidays – spiritual landmarks that help us to experience the events of salvation more deeply. These holidays are not just historical memories, but a real experience of God’s action in our lives. Through the celebrations, we immerse ourselves in the mysteries of the incarnation, suffering, resurrection and glorification of our Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos.
Here are the 12 greatest holidays:
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8)
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14)
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (November 21)
The Nativity of Christ (December 25)
Theophany (Jordan) (January 6)
The Meeting of the Lord (February 2)
The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 25)
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter)
The Ascension of the Lord (40th day after Easter)
The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost, the 50th day after Easter)
The Transfiguration of the Lord (August 6)
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) 
 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE?
Holidays are not "breaks" from life. They are life itself, illuminated by God's presence. This is a time when we open the doors of our hearts to God's grace. Through these holidays, we build our spiritual identity, learn to live not only for the earthly, but also for the eternal.
Neglecting holidays is a gradual spiritual forgetting of ourselves. And celebration is a choice to stand on the side of the Risen One, to be a witness of light in a dark world.
So, dear readers! Let us not perceive Sunday and holidays as "religious formalities", but as a chance to change, mature, and grow. These are days when our soul breathes fully. They teach us to be free – in God, in truth, in love.
God gives us these sacred days – let us accept them as the greatest treasure.
 

ABOUT THE TEMPLE FEAST – THE HOLIDAY OF OUR PARISH FAMILY
In addition to Sundays and twelve feasts, the celebration of a temple holiday, or, as we also say, a parish holiday, is extremely important. This is a day dedicated to the patron saint or the event in honor of which the temple was consecrated. And although this holiday may not be among the twelve, for each parish community it is a special day of grace, unity and gratitude.
It is like the birthday of our spiritual family, when we gather together not only for common prayer, but also for the renewal of our faith, service, and fellowship. The history, tradition and living faith of the community are concentrated in the temple holiday. This is a holiday of our roots and our future.
Therefore, participation in a temple holiday is an expression of love for our Church, for the parish, for God who works among us.
Like Sunday, like the great holidays, the temple feast is a day of special blessing. 
 

CELEBRATING THE DAY OF OUR BAPTISM AND CHRISTIAN ANOINTING – THE DAY OF BIRTH IN CHRIST AND IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
One of the important holidays in the life of a Christian is the day of Baptism – the day when we become children of God, members of the Body of Christ, heirs of eternal life.
Unfortunately, for many this day remains only a date in the metric or a memory from a photo album. But in reality it is a spiritual birth, the day when the heavens opened above us, when the Holy Spirit descended on our lives, and we were "anointed" for eternity.
"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27).
Baptism is not just a rite, but the beginning of a new life. And just as we celebrate the birthday of the body every year, so we should celebrate the birthday of the soul even more.
A good tradition is to remember the date of your baptism, to give thanks for it, to visit the temple on this day, to confess and receive communion, and to remember the godparents who accompany us in faith.
This is also an opportunity to renew your baptismal vow, to say to God: "I belong to You", to renew faith and love, to remember that Christ lives in me, and I am called to holiness.
 

LET'S SUMMARIZE
Celebrating Sunday, the Twelve Feasts, the Temple Feast, and Baptism is not just a duty. It is a living encounter with Christ, it is a touch of eternity in the rhythm of our time. When we leave our everyday lives and come to the temple, we allow God to enter our lives, change us, strengthen, comfort, and elevate us.
Sunday is the day of the Risen Jesus, the day when life rose from the tomb.
Great holidays are turning points in salvation that we experience anew in prayer.
The Temple Feast is the feast of our community, our spiritual home.
Baptism is a spiritual birth into Eternal Life.
All of these are God's gifts.
And only one thing is required from our side – an open heart and presence in God's temple in His presence.