Dear Parishioners, Let us now turn to the precepts of the Church; 1. Keep the Sundays and holy days of obligation holy, by hearing Mass and resting from hard work; the questions to be asked here are; do you go to Church every Sunday and respect days of obligation, like the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Assumption, Ascension, etc. Do you rest from hard work like from washing of dresses and cleaning houses on Sundays and days of obligation?
2. Keep the days of Fasting and Abstinence appointed by the Church; Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholic Christians. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. The norms of fasting is for persons between the ages of 18 and 59 years. Have you been keeping these days? If not, you have sin and is matter for confession.
3. Go to Confession when we are conscious of having sinned gravely. This precept enjoins us that when we commit a mortal sin, we need to go to confession every time. How long have you stayed without confession? This is sinful too because you are calling God a liar by saying that you have not sinned (1 John 1:8). There is no one who can go for one month without sinning in one way or the other. Thus, the frequent use of the sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) is recommended; at least once in a month or two months.
4. Receive the Blessed Sacrament at least once in a year, at Easter or thereabout. I know most of us receive the Blessed Sacrament nearly every time we come to Church and this is good; but we have to be careful that we are not in a state of sin in doing this all the time. When we are conscious of mortal sins in our souls we are not to receive this sacrament. St. Paul tells us that we eat and drink our condemnation if we are in sin (1st Corinthians 11:17-30). Here I will rather say we check our state before going for Holy Communion. However, this precept stands for those who for years have not frequented this sacrament. They have sinned. They need to go for confession and come back to receiving the Blessed Sacrament.
5. Contribute to the support of the Bishops, the Priests and the Church; this is to say that the Christian is the money of the Church and the support for her evangelization mission. The following questions should uncover where we have sinned in this regard; do you help the Bishop? Do you help the priests? Do you give offertory every time you go to Sunday mass or mass on the day of obligation? It seems many persons do not make an effort to go for offertory. No one tells you what to give. You give what you have decided in your heart. However, it must be noted that what you give is transformed by Christ and given to you back in one way or the other. If you don’t give, Jesus has nothing to transform to give you back. Thus, you come for mass but remain impoverish. However, this does not mean if you don’t have money to give to Church you should not come. If you don’t have money come and give of yourself to God and God will transform you. However, when you have and refuse to give, God knows and so what you have is not transformed and multiplied for you. Let us learn to give to our Church. St. Paul again says, God loves a cheerful giver. What is your attitude to giving to the Church? If you have to eat that particular day, then you have what to give to God. Bring part of it to give to God.
6. Keep the Marriage laws of the Church. This precept are for married couples, are you faithful to your marriage vows? (to be continued).