Is doing laundry servile work?

[GordonP]

This question might sound a bit strange at first glance but for many, myself included, the weekend is the only time that we have the time to do laundry.

It’s actually not strange at all. In Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, the name for “Saturday” translates directly as “laundry day”. This implies that doing the laundry was once something forbidden on Sunday.

 

[CurtisHouse]

I’m just going off what it says in the CCC, paragraph 2042. "The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor”) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the Mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.

The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.

The third precept (“You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season”) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy. "

It seems that it implies we can’t be doing those servile works or labor if it stops us from attending Mass and partaking in the Eucharist.

 

[CRV]

My 2nd edition of the Catechism says “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body.”

Agreed.

Another point which I don’t think has been mentioned is unnecessary work. So I ask myself is it necessary that this be done today, or can it wait until tomorrow. I also think things like cooking meals for oneself or family, taking the washing off the line if it rained yesterday & you were unable to bring it in before it rained, etc are all necessary so therefore permitted. I think it is the unnecessary chores that can be problematic, especially if they hinder our worship of God ie Mass, appropriate rest and relaxation to our needs, spending time with friends and family or visiting the sick or lonely etc.

This has come up twice on previous threads -
What is servile work?
What Can I Do On Sundays?

And then there is this homily by Fr. James Faraglia THE SUNDAY HOMILY: Back to Basics - Living the Sabbath

 

[Convert3]

Reconciling a badly out-of-balance checkbook

You use a checkbook? How quaint!

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Reconciling a badly out-of-balance checkbook

I do, though I rarely actually write checks. I reconcile monthly on a spreadsheet, and use either my debit card or online payment, as the case may be. And I carry cash.

I am very retro when it comes to personal finance. I still download a paper Federal and state tax return, fill it in, and return it by postal mail.

 

[Convert3]

Is doing taxes or other financial paperwork servile work? Or is servile work more like housework or yard work?

 

[Sarcelle]

I enjoy household chores.

I put on music or a podcast and clean away.

 

[Jessie]

In Germany and Switzerland, if you live in an appartment building you are generally not allowed to do laundry on a Sunday, nor jobs like mowing the lawn, washing the car etc. So yes, over here it is considered servile work.

 

[Jessie]

It is because of biblical teaching. Shops are also not allowed to open on Sundays, and lorries not allowed to drive either, so the roads are mostly large - vehicle - free on Sundays. Sundays are generally family days and free from work. My husband had to get special permission the rare times he needed to go into the office in a Sunday.

Unfortunately, despite all this, my experience of the church in Switzerland and Germany had been very poor. Could certainly do with a (miracle) Mass-reversion!

 

[Pitcairn17]

Is doing taxes or other financial paperwork servile work? Or is servile work more like housework or yard work?

Some here like to stretch the definition of “work” to basically mean any physical exertion at all, even if one’s hobby is gardening, and finds that relaxing. I don’t think that’s what the church teaches at all. Labor for pay done for someone else is very different from taking care of your own things.

 

[blackforest]

Should we try to abstain from doing it on Sundays and just try to have it finished sometime on Saturday so we can focus on God as much as possible on the Lord’s Day? Thank you.

Oh goodness gracious - quite the opposite! I just installed a clothesline. I never knew I could love a “chore” so much! Hanging clothes forces me outdoors, where I listen to bird songs and carve out time for prayer and meditation. The clothes disinfect in the fresh air and sunlight, and they smell heavenly. And because running a dryer in 90-degree heat is an exercise in insanity, I get to stick it to the power company every month.

If you live in a strict HOA (check those covenants and codes!) or don’t have much of a yard, consider at least a retractable clothesline.

Another consideration about “servile” work: A day of rest never happens without somebody else’s labor. SOMEBODY is cooking, serving, sweeping, and doing dishes so that others may enjoy that Day of Rest.

 

[Socrates92]

I’ll clean your house if you clean mine
Doing someone else’s dishes is always more fun than doing your own.

I’ll let you wash my dishes for a small fee… (It becomes recreation if you’re paying to do it, right?)

 

[dochawk]

And it can be enjoyable in its own way and offered up

In my case, it would be the clothes being offered up as a sacrifice.

OK, it was my clothes that were sacrificed.

For some reason, my wife hasn’t let me tough the laundry machines for about thirty years now, except to install or repair them . . . .

Did you know that if you leave the permanent press in for too long, not only do they come out wrinkled, but the wrinkles can be permanent wrinkles?

For the people reading here, we toss some clothes into one machine, move it to another then sit on the sofa and fold the surviving pieces ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶u̶n̶d̶r̶y̶. Not quite servile

I fixed that for you . . .

With four children in Pennsylvania, the thing ran multiple times every day . . . and with water and sewer being a full penny a gallon (1/3 cent for water, 2/3 for sewer), and using 25 gallons a load less, the expensive high end thing paid for itself . . .

. I would even argue that for a corporate desk jockey who spends 40-50 hours a week chained to a cubicle (figuratively speaking), answering phones from irate customers, a building with few windows, fluorescent lights overhead, and entirely ventilated by HVAC, it could — could — be therapeutic, relaxing, and good exercise to get out in the yard, fire up the lawn mower, and spend a few hours manicuring his yard. And of course there is the primeval male urge to crack open an ice-cold beer, stand back, and admire his handiwork.

I can confirm that. I missed my lawn while I was away.

I find mowing the lawn, barefoot with my self-propelled mower, stopping to sip my beer which sits in a huge thermos mug of ice water, very relaxing Sunday afternoon. I even keep some lighter beer around for this (OK, my idea of “lighter” beer is a European lager . . .).

Now I just need to finish the sprinkler controller so I can reseed. At least I’ve managed to kill most of the Bermuda while the grass is AWOL.

Anyway, some things can be either servile or rest depending upon time and place. For someone like @thelittlelady, it might be rest, while simply knowing that I was doing it would be stressful to my wife.

so I got to do some laundry the old fashioned way… by hand. It felt pretty servile to me, but you can’t wear dirty cloths in the tropics!

I washed a couple of pair of socks with a bar of soap in my hotel room in Cleveland a couple of months ago, does that count? :crazy_face:

poor kitty . . .

 

[TheLittleLady]

Did you know that if you leave the permanent press in for too long, not only do they come out wrinkled, but the wrinkles can be permanent wrinkles?

Yep, that is why God created steamers.

 

[DaveBj]

I do, though I rarely actually write checks. I reconcile monthly on a spreadsheet, and use either my debit card or online payment, as the case may be. And I carry cash.

I am very retro when it comes to personal finance. I still download a paper Federal and state tax return, fill it in, and return it by postal mail.

You must be a brother from another mother. You just described my own financial practices to a T.

D

 

[dochawk]

I do, though I rarely actually write checks. I reconcile monthly on a spreadsheet, and use either my debit card or online payment, as the case may be. And I carry cash.

I stopped reconciling my regular accounts years ago–but my trust account is a couple of times per week, and I can type in a name to my custom sheets to get an exact balance of both total and cleared for any client as of any day . . .

I am very retro when it comes to personal finance. I still download a paper Federal and state tax return, fill it in, and return it by postal mail.

I’ve had to file on paper for years (although the accountant’s versions of some prep software could handle mine). There are some things not in any of the free versions (such as the depreciation forms), while others aren’t in the paid version, either (straight line depreciation of a vehicle–I didn’t want to trigger the recapture rules or the forever ban on the mileage rate just to accelerate deductions).

That, and my taxes are generally complete already with the last deposit of the year: my spreadsheets have 30 years of development behind them.

I have to write paper checks on my trust account, as I can’t get electronic check writing without a debit card, and bar rules don’t allow it.

hawk

 

[meltzerboy2]

What did Jesus mean when He said “the Sabbath was made for man”? My interpretation, in keeping with Jewish belief, is that the Sabbath was made so that man can reflect on his human BEING rather than his daily, commonplace human activities. After all, we are human beings, NOT human doings. Is this what Jesus had in mind, or something else?

 

[Nikolaite]

Laundry is technically a corporal work done to serve the purpose of material life, but not a corporal work necessary for the preservation of the body (i.e., cooking, eating, bathing, etc.). This being the case, without a dispensation, it would be prohibited on a Sunday as servile labor.

 

[edward_george1]

A dispensation? Do you care to point to a reference to Canon Law as to who may dispense one to perform servile labor? Dispensation is a legal term, so I expect a legal reference to it. Show me where in the law it forbids doing laundry and how a dispensation from this law may be obtained.

-Fr ACEGC

 

[Nikolaite]

A legal reference is unnecessary. I’ll give you an historical one:

Summa Theologiae, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 122, Article 4, Reply to Objection 4

It’s simple custom to ask for a dispensation as such from a parish priest.