458. Subsidiarity

458. What are the duties that society has toward the family? 2209-2213 2250 Society, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity, has the duty to support and strengthen marriage and the family. Public authority must respect, protect and foster the true nature of marriage and the family, public morality, the rights of parents, and domestic prosperity.

457. Foundation

457. What place does the family occupy in society? 2207-2208 The family is the original cell of human society and is, therefore, prior to any recognition by public authority. Family values and principles constitute the foundation of social life. Family life is an initiation into the life of society.

456. Marriage

456. What is the nature of the family in the plan of God? 2201-2205 2249 A man and a woman united in marriage form a family together with their children. God instituted the family and endowed it with its fundamental constitution. Marriage and the family are ordered to the good of the spouses and to the procreation and education of children. Members of the same family establish among themselves personal relationships and primary responsibilities. In Christ the family becomes the domestic church because it is a community of faith, of hope, and of charity.

455. Authority

CHAPTER TWO “You Shall Love Your Neighbour as Yourself” THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER

 455. What does the fourth commandment require? 2196-2200 2247-2248 It commands us to honor and respect our parents and those whom God, for our good, has vested with his authority.

454. Civil

454. Why is the civil recognition of Sunday as a feast day important? 2186-2188 2194-2195 It is important so that all might be given the real possibility of enjoying sufficient rest and leisure to take care of their religious, familial, cultural and social lives. It is important also to have an opportune time for meditation, for reflection, for silence, for study, and a time to dedicate to good works, particularly for the sick and for the elderly.

453. Holy

453. How does one keep Sunday holy? 2177-2185 2192-2193 Christians keep Sunday and other days of obligation holy by participating in the Eucharist of the Lord and by refraining from those activities which impede the worship of God and disturb the joy proper to the day of the Lord or the necessary relaxation of mind and body. Activities are allowed on the Sabbath which are bound. How does one keep Sunday holy? 2177-2185 2192-2193 Christians keep Sunday and other days of obligation holy by participating in the Eucharist of the Lord and by refraining from those activities which impede the worship of God and disturb the joy proper to the day of the Lord or the necessary relaxation of mind and body. Activities are allowed on the Sabbath which are bound up with family needs or with important social service, provided that they do not lead to habits prejudicial to the holiness of Sunday, to family life and to health.

452. Sunday

452. For what reason has the Sabbath been changed to Sunday for Christians? 2174-2176 2190-2191 The reason is because Sunday is the day of the Resurrection of Christ. As “the first day of the week” (Mark 16:2) it recalls the first creation; and as the “eighth day”, which follows the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by the Resurrection of Christ. Thus, it has become for Christians the first of all days and of all feasts. It is the day of the Lord in which he with his Passover fulfilled the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and proclaimed man’s eternal rest in God.