[Bro. P. H. How sends us the following comment from the (Catholic) Douay Bible on Rev. i, 10. We do not find it in the edition which we have, printed in London, by Simms and M'Intyre, 1852.]
MANY noble points may be marked here. First, that even in the apostles' time there were days deputed to the service of God, and so made holy and different, though not by nature, yet by use and benediction, from other profane (or as we call them, work) days.
Secondly, that the Apostles and faithful abrogated the Sabbath which was the seventh day, and made holy day for it the next day following being the eighth day in count from the creation, and that, without any scripture or commandment of Christ that we read of; yea, (which is more,) not only otherwise than was by the law observed, but plainly otherwise than was prescribed by God himself in the third (fourth) commandment; yea and otherwise than he ordained in the first creation, when he sanctified precisely the Sabbath day and not the day following. Such great power did Christ leave to his church, and for such cause gave the Holy Ghost to be resident in it, to guide it into all truth, even such as in the Scripture are not expressed. And if the church had authority and inspiration from God to make Sunday (being a work day before) an everlasting holy day and the Saturday that before was a holy day, now a common work day; why may not the same church prescribe and appoint the other holy feasts of Easter, Whitsuntide, Christmas, and the rest; for the same warrant she hath for the one that she hath for the other.
Thirdly. It is to be noted that the cause of this change was, for that now we Christians esteeming more our redemption than our first creation, have the holy day which was before for the remembrance of God's accomplishment of the creation of all things, now for the memory of the accomplishment of our redemption; which therefore is kept upon that day on which our Lord arose from the dead to life, which was the day after the Sabbath being called by the Jews, una, or prima, Sabbath, the first of, or after, the Sabbath. Matt. xxviii, 1; Acts xx, 7; 1 Cor. xvi, 2.
Fourthly. It is to be marked that this holy day by the Apostle's tradition also was named Dominicus dies (or Lord's day) or the Dominic which is also an old ecclesiastical word in our language. For the name Sunday is a heathenish calling as all others of the week days are in our language: some imposed after the names of planets as in the Roman time, some by the names of certain idols which the Saxons worshipped, and to which they dedicated their days before they were Christians. Which names the church use not, but hath appointed to call the first day the Dominic after the Apostle here. The others by the name of Ferias until the last of the week, which she calls by the old name, Sabbath, because that was from God, and not by imposition of the heathens.
Lastly. Observe that God reveals such great things rather upon holy days and in times of contemplation, sacrifice, and prayer, than on other profane days; and therefore as St. Peter [Acts x] had a vision, and Zechariah at the hour of incense, [Luke i,] Cornelius at the hour of prayer, [Acts x,] so here St. John noted that he had all the marvelous visions upon a Sunday.