The Five Precepts of the Church

 There are the Five Precepts of the Church, law promulgated by the Church for our benefit. Precepts are rules or laws that we are called to follow, in this case to better live a strong Catholic life, and to grow closer to God through His church. 

"The Five Precepts"

1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation, and rest from servile labor.
2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
3. You shall receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.

The Precepts, as some may seem to think are extra rules, unnecessary rules. However, when you begin to investigate the precepts, their intent, and the benefit for having followed the precepts as set forth, you will see that they are of immense benefit to your spiritual life, and that you most likely have been following them your whole life. 

"You shall attend Mass on Sundays, and on Holy Days of Obligation, and rest from servile labor."

So as with the rest of the precepts this is pretty straight forward in that you must attend Mass on all Sundays, and on all Holy Days of obligation. Sundays people are ok with, but what are Holy Days of Obligation? Well Holy Days of Obligation, are days in which something very important in Church history, from the Annunciation of Our Lord to the Ascension, from the Immaculate Conception of Mary to her Assumption (both of which will be discussed in module 2 and 3). They are days which represent something very important, and what do we do on those days? Well we celebrate of course. As an aside, in English we get the word holiday from the term Holy Day as in the ye old days, people had those days off from servile work (field labor, hard work, etc.) to go to Mass and celebrate those times in Salvation history. On Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, we celebrate with the highest form of public prayer that the Church has, and that is the Mass.

"You shall confess your sins once a year."

This is very important, as you cannot observe the third precept without having first observed this precept. As the precept says, you must confess at least once a year, but every Saint ever has always suggested frequent confession. The reason being is that to confess your sins sins, with proper sorrow and contrition, is to be in a state of sanctifying grace with the Lord your God. We are sinful people, by result of the Fall of Man from Adam and Eve, and by such we often sin. Venial sin is more common for most people, as to mortally sin requires full knowledge and consent of the will relating to grave matter. That said, even though people may know that mortal sin is bad, people still mortally sin. So confession is how you are cleansed of mortal sin, and then you return to God. 

"You shall receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter Season."

Just as Confession is good and necessary for repairing the damages to your soul after sinning, receiving the Eucharist is the source and summit of graces to nourish and strengthen your soul. The Easter season is an important note in that keep us active in the Faith, and to keep in mind Who it is we are receiving when we receive the Eucharist, namely Jesus Christ Himself. 

"You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church."

Fasting is not just a means that people use to lose weight. Fasting has its origins in religious practices, and as Scripture points out fasting and prayer is very efficacious. But why are there many days of fasting established by the Church? Well fasting in conjunction with prayer, is what is called for by the church. As Christ fasted in the desert for 40 days we fast and abstain from meat, from warm blooded animals (Beef, pork, chicken, etc.), to grow closer to Christ in our mortification of fleshly desires. We also, traditionally, abstain from meat on every Friday through out the year; current Church law allows the consumption of meat when an appropriate penance is done instead. This is because Our Lord Jesus Christ gave up His life, dying in the flesh, for our salvation. 

"You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church."

The first thing that comes to mind when people read this it tithing, tithing, tithing! While tithing is a great thing, as the church and the charitable acts done by the church are dependent on tithes, this also means that we care for the needs of the church in any capacity. The common phrase for this is time, treasure, and talent. Do you have time to volunteer to help at the church? Well that's a need met. Do you have the talent to fix those broken pews, or paint the walls, etc.? Well that is a need that is met too. And of course there is treasure. As I said tithing is great and all, but there isn't a set percentage on tithing, if you can give then please do so.