The Dominican Fathers of Manila have issued, for use during 1948, what they term in English the National Catholic Almanack of the Philippines. Its Spanish title is Almanaque de Nuestra Senora del Rosario. A bilingual work, it is published "with ecclesiastical approval."
The 128-page booklet contains a calendar and much other useful information. On page 14 there appears in English an article entitled "Origin of the Months and the Days of the Week," written by the "Rev. Fr." Gregorio Arnaiz, O.P. In it the author says:
"The Romans dedicated the first day of the week to the Sun ; the second, to the Moon; and the rest to five of their mythological divinities, in this wise: third day, Mars ; fourth day, Mercury ; fifth day, Jupiter thunderous ; the sixth, to Venus ; and, the seventh, to Saturn.
"With the disintegration of the Roman empire, the European nations, that were later formed, followed the same nomenclature, although they modified said names in accordance with the genius and character of each language.
"But the [Roman] Catholic Church never admitted in her liturgy such pagan nomenclature, but designated the first day of the week with the name Dominica (Sunday), in honor of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the following five days were called feria secunda, feria tertia, feria quanta, feria quinta and feria sexta; for the seventh day she preserved the name Sabbatum (Sabbath) of the Jews, transferring to Sunday the day of rest and abstention from servile works."
Thus we have repeated, for the year 1948, for the benefit of all the Roman Catholic population of the Philippines, the papacy's long-vaunted claim that it instituted the observance of Sunday in the place of the Sabbath.