Is it wrong to do online shopping on Sunday?

[Patri]

I give up. If you dont want to shop on sundays, dont. But telling others it’s wrong is not Catholic or charitable. Especially on a website that does it! It seems so hypocritical to me.

This topic has made me take a closer look at my Sunday activities, and now reading some answers I wonder is it wrong to order takeaway on Sundays? Sometimes I feel like not cooking or washing up but restaurants do open on Sundays.

 

[MagdalenaRita]

This topic has made me take a closer look at my Sunday activities, and now reading some answers I wonder is it wrong to order takeaway on Sundays? Sometimes I feel like not cooking or washing up but restaurants do open on Sundays.

The thread has made me think again even beyond what I don’t do already on Sundays. You make a very good point about eating out. Many times I don’t want to cook on Sundays and have ate out, but is it right to go somewhere and have someone else cook for me? How many people work in restaurants that probably wish they had Sundays off? How many people miss Mass or church attendance because the job in the restaurant they have requires them to work on Sundays?

Something I need to think about.

 

[Patri]

what I don’t do already on Sundays. You make a very good point about eating out. Many times I don’t want to cook on Sundays and have ate out, but is it right to go somewhere and have someone else cook for me? How many people work in restaurants that probably wish they had Sundays off? How many people miss Mass or church attendance because the job in the restaurant they have requires them to work on Sundays?

Yes, it is true. I have long working hours during the week and do house chores on Saturday but try to rest on Sundays (except a few times I’ve edited or worked on a book), but the takeaways I order are possible because someone works. I know they will continue working whether I order food or not. It just has made me stop and think.

 

[imo]

Another possibly is that these people would be unemployed…

But, yes, it is a difficult reflection, with various points of view.

 

[MagdalenaRita]

Another possibly is that these people would be unemployed…

But, yes, it is a difficult reflection, with various points of view.

Agreed, if you refuse to work on Sundays you may not get hired.

There are companies who do refuse to be open on Sundays but there are not too many anymore.

In our rural area there is a restaurant owned by a Catholic family that is not open on Sundays but all the other restaurants nearby are.

 

[mythbuster1]

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act forbids monopolies on labor, just as it forbids monopolies on goods. Labor unions can cover multiple trades and industries, but they are prohibited by law from putting workers who are not party to a labor dispute on strike. Individual workers participate in sympathy and general strikes at their own risk; they cannot be arrested for doing so, and may be able to avoid punishment, depending on their employer and how they go about participating, but their employer is not required to take them back after participating in a general or sympathy strike.

 

[Bird_lover]

Some points to think about regarding Sunday shopping: Some people have no time but weekends to do their “big box store” shopping or errands, because weekends are their only free days with enough hours to spend grocery or clothes shopping.

Another point: I see many Catholics go out for breakfast with fellow parishioners after Sunday Mass (or for dinner after the Saturday vigil). Somebody is working to feed those Catholics who want to connect over a meal at a restaurant after Mass.

Finally, you might order something online Sunday, but the order might not be processed by a human until Monday. On Sunday it might just be sitting in a computer system, waiting for a human to work with it.

About the holidays and working on those days: some people do not mind working holidays if those are not their holidays (ex. not everyone celebrates Christmas - non-Christians might be fine working Christian holidays so that their Christian coworkers don’t have to work). My husband didn’t mind working the late shift of some holidays as a waiter because he was paid a higher wage those days than normal.

 

[twf]

On the other hand, going out for dinner or a drink with family and friends can facilitate the relaxation we are commanded to partake of on Sundays.

I’ve seen a young priest at our cathedral (who is quite traditional) go out to the pub after the 8 pm Mass with the young adults of the parish. It’s both fellowship and evangelization.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

We are not Hasidic Jews. We do not have to go to heroic lengths to organize our whole lives, schedules, and calendars to accommodate doing no physical labor, cooking, or commerce on the Lord’s Day.

Life is complicated — I have been warned more than once on these forums against seeing things “in black and white” (an admonition that I will consider to a greater or lesser extent, depending upon the subject) — and we are not required to hijack our entire lives on Sundays under the rubric of “keeping the Sabbath holy”. As a general rule, I err towards liberty when it comes to doing work or engaging in commerce on Sundays. We do not live in a medieval European Catholic farming village. I am perfectly OK with places such as Chick-fil-a and Hobby Lobby closing on Sundays — many private businesses in my part of the country do likewise. But there are certain things that have to be done, and certain other things that, no, they do not strictly “have to be done”, but it is inconvenient and irritating to have to refrain from them, they are not major acts of work or commerce, and places of business will continue to be open whether I patronize them or not. And there are some people whose lives require so much of them that, for all practical purposes, Sunday is the only day they have to do certain things.

For instance, I do not run out at 10 pm on Saturday night to put a tank of gas in the car, if I suddenly recall “oh, no, I need gas to get to Mass tomorrow”, and I do not avoid getting a quick fast-food meal through the drive-through on Sunday saying “this would be unnecessary commerce, I’ll just wait till I get home to eat something”. That sort of thing. (And Waffle House will continue to be open until about 5 minutes after the Second Coming.)

 

[StephenBales]

Is a missal good enough for you?

From the Fr. X Lasance 1973 New Roman Missal, upon which the St. Edmund Campion missal leaned heavily: (Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[Margaret_Ann]

This topic has made me take a closer look at my Sunday activities, and now reading some answers I wonder is it wrong to order takeaway on Sundays? Sometimes I feel like not cooking or washing up but restaurants do open on Sundays.

I used to go out to eat with my late mother 2, 3 even 4 times a week. Since mom passed away last month, I’ve pretty much cut out going to the restaurant on Sunday and go out maybe once a week.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

I’m 21 years at my job. When I interviewed with the owner (my boss) I had 2 conditions: 1) that I would not work on Sundays and 2) I would not be on the cash register. He agreed to both (he’s Catholic too! ) and we have a good relationship.

 

[thistle]

I’m 21 years at my job. When I interviewed with the owner (my boss) I had 2 conditions: 1) that I would not work on Sundays and 2) I would not be on the cash register. He agreed to both (he’s Catholic too! ) and we have a good relationship.

That is fine. You are free to choose not to work on Sundays. However, the Church says we are allowed to work on Sundays.
In short, one Catholic should not be telling another Catholic that they should not be working on a Sunday.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Missals are not authoritative documents of the Church on teachings of Sunday shopping.

My previous responses stand.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

However, the Church says we are allowed to work on Sundays.

Provided one is still able to attend Mass/Liturgy in order to worship God and fulfill their Sunday obligation.

[/quote] In short, one Catholic should not be telling another Catholic that they should not be working on a Sunday.
[/quote]

Fraternal correction is part of the virtue of charity towards one’s neighbor and has been since Apostolic times (e.g. Gal. 2: 11-14, James 5: 10-20). If I truly love someone, I want to help him/her to get to Heaven. (And we’re doing it on CAF all the time! )

 

[thistle]

Fraternal correction is part of the virtue of charity towards one’s neighbor and has been since Apostolic times (e.g. Gal. 2: 11-14, James 5: 10-20). If I truly love someone, I want to help him/her to get to Heaven. (And we’re doing it on CAF all the time! )

But you are telling us something that contradicts Church teaching. We ARE ALLOWED to shop on Sundays and no Catholic should be telling us otherwise because that would be saying the Church teaching is wrong!!

 

[Windmill]

It seems to me that it is very simple to get shopping done on one of the other six days of the week. Are we compromising the observance of our faith by caving into secular culture? God will reward your sacrifice. If you CAN avoid shopping (ie. shop beforehand), then do it so as to prepare for the Lord’s Day. If you have a kid that gets sick on Sunday and needs medicine, you do not sin by buying medicine and needed supplies for the sickness. If you are sincerely poor and need to work through Sunday to put food on the table and keep a roof over your family’s head, then you suffer through it on Sunday and work to remove this regrettable barrier to proper observance.

But the key question is: What is your orientation? Where is your heart? If you are constantly asking, “Where is the line so that I can ride as close as possible to sin, pleasure, and worldliness without technically sinning”, then your heart is really oriented toward those sins. If you are striving to live for God, then you look at virtue as a limitless sky which you are free to soar as high as possible.

When it comes to the Lord’s Day, you must ask yourself where your heart lies. If you are finding creative ways to get around the Catechism’s call to refrain from shopping or working on these days (putting off shopping during the week or avoiding work shifts on other days besides Sunday in order to artificially create a “need” for Sunday shopping/work), then maybe you should re-examine your weekly habits and re-orient yourself toward observing Sunday’s and holy days with trust in God’s providence.

If we all did our part, we could lessen the demand in our materialistic culture for businesses to even be open on Sunday.

 

[SPBlitz]

I understand why the church teaches what it does, and I’m not necessarily saying that I disagree with the church’s teaching on keeping Sundays holy, but I think that many people who want to work/shop on sundays aren’t doing because they wish to “blow God off” or shirk their responsibilities. Sometimes it can be hard to get everything done during the week or on Saturdays. Sometime I have to work long hours during the week, go to the gym (to stay healthy) cook myself dinner, and then find some time to unwind. The last thing I want to do on a work day is add grocery shopping or chores to the list. Which leaves it all to be done on one day - Saturday. Hopefully there aren’t any events planned for Saturday, or I hope I dont get called into work, cause that’s my one day to get everything else done. This turns Saturday into a day of panic, because if I don’t get any shopping or chores done then (and it can’t be done on Sunday) it’ll very likely have to be put off for another week, leading to an even busier Saturday the next week. And sometimes after a busy week I do t want to have to rush to get everything done on Saturday - it be nice to be able to spread it out to Sunday. But the strict rules about no shopping/working on sundays turns what supposed to be a day of rest into a day of stress and worry - worry about everything I still have to do, worry about the ever growing list that I’ve just added to my workday or Saturday. Worry that if I try to do something on Sunday I’ll be sinning. It really stresses me - and probably a lot of other people - out.

I didn’t always know about the church’s strict rules about no work/shopping on Sundays, and to be honest when I didn’t those Sundays ended up being far more restful then they are now. The strict rules ironically and counterproductively turned what was supposed to be a day of rest into a day of stress.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Please see the replies by Thomas Ball and Windmill. They explain it much better than me.

 

[thistle]

Please see the replies by Thomas Ball and Windmill. They explain it much better than me.

The only thing that counts is what the Church actually teaches (read the CCC for the teaching).
It teaches we are permitted to shop on Sundays (assuming we participate in Mass and devote time to our family). Anyone (including the names you mentioned) are wrong if they say we may not shop on Sundays.