Pope, in Austria, says Sunday must be protected as day of worship

Published: 2007-09-10

VIENNA, Austria (CNS) -- Celebrating Mass in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral, Pope Benedict XVI urged Austrian Catholics to protect Sunday as a day of spiritual focus in an increasingly busy world. Modern Christians need an appointment with the Lord to give them a sense of direction and help them move beyond "the bustle of everyday life," the pope said Sept. 9. And in an innovative touch that seemed to reflect the pope's recent attention to "green" issues, he suggested that Sunday be celebrated not only as a day of rest but as "the church's weekly feast of creation." Referring to the biblical account of creation, the pope said that Sunday, as the first day of the week, saw the dawning of the created world, the day on which God said: "Let there be light." For the early church, he said, Sunday gradually assimilated the traditional meaning of the seventh day, the Sabbath, the day God rested. But Sunday is also "the feast of thanksgiving and joy over God's creation," he said.

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