On the Third Precept of the Decalogue

"Remember that you sanctify the Sabbath day." Exod. 20. 8.

337. The third precept of the Decalogue is natural insofar as it commands that some time be dedicated to public divine worship; but insofar as it determinately designates the Sabbath day, it is ceremonial, and abrogated in the new law, since in place of the Sabbath day the Church has substituted the Lord's day, in memory of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Besides Sunday, the Church instituted other feast days for recalling the benefits of our redemption, or the merits and examples of the Saints, and commands that they, no otherwise than Sunday, be sanctified.

This precept, insofar as it is affirmative, prescribes certain works, and insofar as it is negative, prohibits certain other things ¹; hence a twofold chapter.

¹ To the question whether this precept is affirmative or negative, St. Alphonsus (lib. 3, n. 264), after the Salamancans (tr. 23, c. 1, n. 14-15), responds that it is affirmative, since it does not oblige always and for always. Suarez, Sanchez, Palaus, Leander, Fagnanus with the Salamancans, n. 15, against Cajetan and Filiucci, etc., who maintain that it is negative, since in it nothing positive was prescribed to the Jews; but this is denied. See Roman Catechism, n. 11.

But in this doctrine the Salamancans thrust forward three things sufficiently incongruous. The first is in the reason for defining an affirmative precept, because it does not oblige for always, or, as they say, because many causes are given which excuse from this precept. But even negative precepts admit excusing causes, for example the precept of abstinence.

The second is that they mingle those things which the doctors disputed concerning this precept as it belonged to the Jews, and from this oppose doctors to doctors who can easily be reconciled. Thus they oppose Cajetan to Suarez, when Suarez alleges him on his own behalf and reconciles him excellently by saying (De Relig., tr. 1, lib. 2, c. 1, n. 7): "Formally nothing is prescribed there except a certain dedication of that time to the worship of God, which is called sanctification of it... But this dedication is made formally by cessation from work, which pertains to external worship declared by a negative sign."

The third is that to doctors affirming that this precept, insofar as it was proposed to the Jews, is negative, they oppose the Roman Catechism, where it speaks of the faithful of Christ.