Grocery shopping on Ash Wednesday?

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Is it permitted? Even if so, would it be a poor witness to be seen pushing a shopping cart around with ashes on one’s forehead? (I tend to be scrupulous about such things, but just checking what other people do.)
 
genevieve2K said:
Is it permitted? Even if so, would it be a poor witness to be seen pushing a shopping cart around with ashes on one’s forehead? (I tend to be scrupulous about such things, but just checking what other people do.)
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Not only is there NO problem shopping or going about regular activities on Ash Wednesday, it is a GREAT witness to be doing so while being seen wearing ashes. Ashes in the public marketplace have virtually disappeared and wearing them is a testimony.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Not only is there NO problem shopping or going about regular activities on Ash Wednesday, it is a GREAT witness to be doing so while being seen wearing ashes. Ashes in the public marketplace have virtually disappeared and wearing them is a testimony.
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👍
 
genevieve2K said:
Is it permitted? Even if so, would it be a poor witness to be seen pushing a shopping cart around with ashes on one’s forehead? (I tend to be scrupulous about such things, but just checking what other people do.)
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Why do you think grocery shopping (or anything else for that matter) would be prohibited on Ash Wednesday?

Why do you believe it would be a “poor witness”?
 
It’s true that we are not supposed to do servile work or other stuff that interferes with worship on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. However, there are lots of exceptions to this “for grave reasons,” and it’s basically left to your own prudence to determine what “interferes with worship” means.

However, Ash Wednesday is a day of penitence and fasting, but not a Holy Day of Obligation. So you don’t even have that much regulation.

In this case, there’s no “should.” There is your own prudent judgment, and your own way of expressing your love for Jesus.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Not only is there NO problem shopping or going about regular activities on Ash Wednesday, it is a GREAT witness to be doing so while being seen wearing ashes. Ashes in the public marketplace have virtually disappeared and wearing them is a testimony.
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Ok, thanks! 👍
1ke said:
Why do you think grocery shopping (or anything else for that matter) would be prohibited on Ash Wednesday?

Why do you believe it would be a “poor witness”?
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I know it’s not a HDO but maybe we should be focused on prayer and penance instead of regular activities? Food shopping on a day of fasting could be confusing to non-Catholics who see us, even if we don’t plan to eat the food we buy today. It sounds sillier as I type it, but inside my scrupulous mind things like this get confusing. 😊
 
Well, if it bothers your mind, then when you go grocery shopping today, pick a few things up for the poor and donate it to them. You will not only be spreading the Gospel with the ashes on your forehead but spreading the Good News with your kind act to our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

God bless!
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Not only is there NO problem shopping or going about regular activities on Ash Wednesday, it is a GREAT witness to be doing so while being seen wearing ashes. Ashes in the public marketplace have virtually disappeared and wearing them is a testimony.
Click to expand...
Agreed!

Last year after receiving our ashes we (Wife, 3 kids and myself) went to the grocery store and got a couple strange looks from yourger people (20-somethings) and smiles from elder folk 40’s+. One man stopped and smiled at the boys and asked “Oh! you got ashes today?” I look back and think that it wasn’t a spectacle, but a witness that we had our ashes.
 
You know, I had the same thought ;).
But then I told myself, just buying it doesn’t mean I will eat it, as far as other people are concerned, they do not know whether or not I am exempted from fasting for health reasons, whether or not I have small children at home who must eat, weather or not I am buying this for tomorrow… plus anyway, the small things I bought would not break he fast.

Must admit though, in the line at the grocery store before me, a person bought something that to me looked like sausage. And I did kind of hope he/she wouldn’t eat that today. So… blush… we do notice what other people buy… (but of course a wise person like me 😉 😉 immediately comes up with excuses for the other person - buying it for tomorro,w buying it for children who are not bound by abstience yet, etc).
 
genevieve2K said:
Is it permitted? Even if so, would it be a poor witness to be seen pushing a shopping cart around with ashes on one’s forehead? (I tend to be scrupulous about such things, but just checking what other people do.)
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Do you believe that all the Catholics who went into a store today have given poor witness or done something not permitted? Why are you condemning of others?
 
I don’t get out that much these days, but back when I was working I always wore my ashes to work, shop etc. Many times, sometime during the day, someone would say, “Oh, it’s Ash Wednesday. I’ll have to get to church this afternoon.”
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Do you believe that all the Catholics who went into a store today have given poor witness or done something not permitted? Why are you condemning of others?
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Would you react the same way to someone who asked if shopping were permitted on a Sunday? I had a doubt, so I asked a question, that’s all. Now if it were true that shopping was forbidden on Ash Wednesday, then I would have to objectively judge that any Catholic who knowingly went shopping anyway did indeed give poor witness, as anytime we sin (especially in public?) we are giving poor witness and doing something that’s not permitted. But that wouldn’t be anything personal against anybody in particular, and I would only be judging the act, not the people doing it. And unfortunately these days, many Catholics seem unaware even of the prohibition on Sunday shopping, so I always assume that anyone who does so is acting out of ignorance and not malice.
 
Kathrin said:
You know, I had the same thought ;).
But then I told myself, just buying it doesn’t mean I will eat it, as far as other people are concerned, they do not know whether or not I am exempted from fasting for health reasons, whether or not I have small children at home who must eat, weather or not I am buying this for tomorrow… plus anyway, the small things I bought would not break he fast.

Must admit though, in the line at the grocery store before me, a person bought something that to me looked like sausage. And I did kind of hope he/she wouldn’t eat that today. So… blush… we do notice what other people buy… (but of course a wise person like me 😉 😉 immediately comes up with excuses for the other person - buying it for tomorro,w buying it for children who are not bound by abstience yet, etc).
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I told myself a lot of the same things :D. And I did have my 5yr old with me, so anyone could assume that we were shopping for her (in fact the main reason for going was that we were out of sandwich bread for her school lunches - and though we bought other things than just bread, we did not buy meat).
 
KD8TZC said:
Well, if it bothers your mind, then when you go grocery shopping today, pick a few things up for the poor and donate it to them. You will not only be spreading the Gospel with the ashes on your forehead but spreading the Good News with your kind act to our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

God bless!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion, we did do that 🙂
 
genevieve2K said:
Would you react the same way to someone who asked if shopping were permitted on a Sunday? I had a doubt, so I asked a question, that’s all. Now if it were true that shopping was forbidden on Ash Wednesday, then I would have to objectively judge that any Catholic who knowingly went shopping anyway did indeed give poor witness, as anytime we sin (especially in public?) we are giving poor witness and doing something that’s not permitted. But that wouldn’t be anything personal against anybody in particular, and I would only be judging the act, not the people doing it. And unfortunately these days, many Catholics seem unaware even of the prohibition on Sunday shopping, so I always assume that anyone who does so is acting out of ignorance and not malice.
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Yes, I would react the same way. There are a whole host of scrupulosity questions on the forums lately. If one either employs logic, or the theology of the Church or simply turns the question around so it asks the question of others, then the scruples can be dealt with in most cases. I will say that I am absolutely confounded by the nature of the issue of scrupulosity. In my experience it either comes from a pride about holiness or an issue similar to OCD. I did not mean to come across snippy, it is just that it is a common and sometimes frustrating issue on CAF. Most of the time I have to believe it is just a form of writing the question out for it to make sense to the poster who is struggling with it. But I probably could use the reminder that I should be a tad more patient and charitable. So thank you. I apologize if I came across a certain way. It is just an illogical question to me.
 
Sensitive topic, scrupulous questions and how to deal with them.
From my own experience with scruples, I must say that I do not believe that they come out of a kind of pride. Scruples are an anxiety issue. I don’t think a scrupulous person asking a question has an intention to be judgmental(condemning toward others. If anything, then toward him/herself.

It is good that you dicsussed this out; I see now that Hoosier Daddy’s remark wasn’t a judgment about another’s judgmentalness, but - as you explained - rather a wake-up call to get real: Don’t be stricter with yourself than you would be with others, right?
I have also made the experience that, with scrupulous questions, it is good to ask myself what I would advise a good friend, or another person with this problem, to do in a specific situation. (often though in real situations I am too afraid to say something wrong 😉 😊)
genevieve2K said:
And unfortunately these days, many Catholics seem unaware even of the prohibition on Sunday shopping, so I always assume that anyone who does so is acting out of ignorance and not malice.
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Is it really strictly prohibited, Sunday shopping, I mean?
I was of the opinion that it was recommended, better, to do the shopping for the weekend on Saturday, but I remember needing something on a Sunday and afterward asking a priest whether it had been a sin that I went and bought it, and he said it wasn’t… (maybe it was a specific case). I was of the opinion that it was better not to, but if something is necessary, it is not that big a deal. Maybe that is another discussion.

Also recently I had indeed though I had bought enough food for the weekend, but then toward Sunday evening was running out of food and was hungry, so I went to a store and got something… I went all the way to a store by the bus station because I thought at least that is a kind of shop that “has to” be open for travellers… don’t know now if that was exaggerated.
I did not buy any fresh bread because then at least the bakers didn’t have to bake for me on Sunday morning. :)))
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Yes, I would react the same way. There are a whole host of scrupulosity questions on the forums lately. If one either employs logic, or the theology of the Church or simply turns the question around so it asks the question of others, then the scruples can be dealt with in most cases. I will say that I am absolutely confounded by the nature of the issue of scrupulosity. In my experience it either comes from a pride about holiness or an issue similar to OCD. I did not mean to come across snippy, it is just that it is a common and sometimes frustrating issue on CAF. Most of the time I have to believe it is just a form of writing the question out for it to make sense to the poster who is struggling with it. But I probably could use the reminder that I should be a tad more patient and charitable. So thank you. I apologize if I came across a certain way. It is just an illogical question to me.
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No offense taken, and no apology necessary :). I know that scrupulosity can be extremely frustrating to those not afflicted with it. From what I understand it can stem from pride, or be a type of OCD or anxiety, as well as other causes. If you want to understand it better this article is excellent: fatherdoyle.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/scruples-and-their-treatment.pdf
 
Kathrin said:
Sensitive topic, scrupulous questions and how to deal with them.
From my own experience with scruples, I must say that I do not believe that they come out of a kind of pride. Scruples are an anxiety issue. I don’t think a scrupulous person asking a question has an intention to be judgmental(condemning toward others. If anything, then toward him/herself.

It is good that you dicsussed this out; I see now that Hoosier Daddy’s remark wasn’t a judgment about another’s judgmentalness, but - as you explained - rather a wake-up call to get real: Don’t be stricter with yourself than you would be with others, right?
I have also made the experience that, with scrupulous questions, it is good to ask myself what I would advise a good friend, or another person with this problem, to do in a specific situation. (often though in real situations I am too afraid to say something wrong 😉 😊)

Is it really strictly prohibited, Sunday shopping, I mean?
I was of the opinion that it was recommended, better, to do the shopping for the weekend on Saturday, but I remember needing something on a Sunday and afterward asking a priest whether it had been a sin that I went and bought it, and he said it wasn’t… (maybe it was a specific case). I was of the opinion that it was better not to, but if something is necessary, it is not that big a deal. Maybe that is another discussion.

Also recently I had indeed though I had bought enough food for the weekend, but then toward Sunday evening was running out of food and was hungry, so I went to a store and got something… I went all the way to a store by the bus station because I thought at least that is a kind of shop that “has to” be open for travellers… don’t know now if that was exaggerated.
I did not buy any fresh bread because then at least the bakers didn’t have to bake for me on Sunday morning. :)))
Click to expand...
From what I’ve read, scruples can have multiple causes. Read the article I linked in the above post, and pray for a spiritual director to help you with your scruples if you don’t have one already. Definitely agree that the scrupulous person judges himself far more harshly than he judges others (and for me too it helps to imagine advising others, though in real life I don’t give good advice in those situations).

If you search this forum you will find a lot of threads about Sunday shopping. This article may help to clarify the issue (or, if you’re scrupulous, make it more confusing 😉 ): catholicism.about.com/b/2008/08/22/reader-question-sunday-as-a-day-of-rest.htm.
This sermon convinced me not to do any Sunday shopping or unnecessary labor : files.audiosancto.org/20040104-The-2nd-and-3rd-Commandments-Our-Lady-of-La-Sallette.mp3
 
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