Pope Leo XIV is reminding Catholics that Sunday is far more than simply another day of the week. It is the day when the Church gathers around the risen Christ, celebrates the Eucharist and enters anew into the saving mysteries that unfold throughout the liturgical year.
During his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo continued his catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, turning his attention to the meaning of the liturgical year and the central place of Sunday in Catholic life.
According to Vatican News, the Pope explained that the liturgical year should not be understood merely as an annual calendar commemorating events that happened centuries ago. Rather, it allows the Church to remain united to the saving work of Jesus Christ as His mysteries are celebrated throughout the year.
“The encounter with Jesus, who died and rose again for us, is the purpose that the Church always pursues, placing the celebration of the Paschal event at the centre of every moment,” Pope Leo said, according to Vatican News.
This understanding places Sunday at the center of the Church’s rhythm of worship.
Drawing upon Sacrosanctum Concilium, Pope Leo recalled the Council Fathers’ description of Sunday as “the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year” and “the original feast day.”
Sunday is the dies Domini, or Day of the Lord, and each Sunday directs Christians back to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Pope Leo also recalled the teaching of Pope St. John Paul II that Sunday is the day of the Lord, the Church and humanity, as well as the “day of days.”
“Since Sunday is the weekly Easter,” Pope Leo said, it makes Christ’s Resurrection present and points believers toward the ultimate fulfillment of history in the Lord’s return.
For Catholics, the sanctification of Sunday is inseparably connected with the Eucharist.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo said “it is fundamental to celebrate the Eucharist,” emphasizing that Christians gathered for Mass make their communion with Christ visible through their common worship, their hearing of the Word of God and their participation in the Eucharistic celebration.
The Pope also stressed the importance of physically gathering as a Christian community.
Such an assembly “cannot be substituted by a solely virtual presence,” Pope Leo warned, according to Vatican News. Neither should Catholics understand the liturgy as something they simply watch or receive passively.
Instead, the celebration calls for the active participation of the faithful, gathered together as brothers and sisters to give thanks to God for the “living hope” received through the Resurrection of Christ.
Recognizing that work obligations can make Sunday Mass attendance difficult for some people, Pope Leo encouraged Christian communities to seek “the best possible conditions” so that those unable to take Sundays off from work can participate in the Eucharistic celebration.
The Pope also reflected on how the Church’s liturgical year developed over the centuries.
According to Vatican News, the weekly celebration of Christ’s Resurrection was eventually accompanied by an annual Easter celebration beginning in the early centuries of Christianity. The fifty-day Easter season culminating in Pentecost developed alongside the preparatory season of Lent.
The Church’s calendar later expanded to include the Christmas cycle, centered upon the Incarnation, birth and manifestation of Jesus Christ, as well as celebrations honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, the martyrs and the saints.
Together, these celebrations do more than mark the passage of time. They lead Catholics through the mysteries of salvation, from humanity’s expectation of the Messiah through Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection and toward the Christian hope of eternal glory.
For Pope Leo, this rhythm of worship is therefore not peripheral to the Church’s mission. By continually drawing Christians more deeply into the mystery of Jesus Christ, the liturgical year becomes, in his words, “the guiding principle and the essential framework for all pastoral action.”
At its heart stands Sunday — the Church’s weekly celebration of Easter, when Catholics gather around the altar and proclaim through their worship that Christ is risen and remains present among His people.
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