Reflections online

Sunday Eucharist

It was in the year 304 when the Emperor Diocletian forbade Christians, on pain of death, from possessing the Scriptures, from gathering on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist and from building places in which to hold their assemblies. In Abitene, a small village in present day Tunisia, 49 Christians were taken by surprise one Sunday while they were celebrating the Eucharist, gathered in the house of Octavius Felix, thereby defying the imperial prohibitions. They were arrested and taken to Carthage to be interrogated by the Proconsul Anulinus. Significant amont other things is the answer a certain Emeritus gave to the Proconsul who asked him why on earth they had disobeyed the Emperor's severe orders. He replied, "Sine dominico non possumus": that is, we cannot live without joining together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. We would lack the strength to face our daily problems and not to succumb. After atrocious tortures, these 49 tortures of Abitene were killed. Thus they confirmed their faith with bloodshed. They died, but they were victorious: today we remember them in the glory of the risen Christ.

How seriously do you take your obligation to take part in the Sunday Mass regularly?
Would you be ready to face martyrdom like the martyrs of Abitene and be a witness to the importance of the Sunday Eucharist in your life?