Jesus vs Football on Sunday

[Xantippe]

Mrs Sally said:

“No retail place needs to be open 365 days.”

Pharmacies do. If your baby gets a fever and you’re out of Tylenol, there’s no alternative, short of the ER.

 

[EasterJoy]

No retail place needs to be open 365 days. However on the Sunday openings, the USA is a very diverse place and there are plenty of people whose faith traditions don’t center on Sunday. And plenty of non believers. The craziness of professional sports bothers me more than the local grocery being open.

This is the main thing: that is, that we don’t live in a country where everyone has Sunday as their weekly day of rest, even among the religious, and not everyone is religious.

As for the craziness of sports, that is a matter of personal restraint. Just because there are college games all day Saturday and three games on Sunday does not imply that anyone has to watch *all *of them.

This is the Church’s stance on Sunday work:

***2187 *Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day. Traditional activities (sport, restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public services, etc.), require some people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure. With temperance and charity the faithful will see to it that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine worship. Employers have a similar obligation toward their employees.

IOW, it is specifically allowed to hold and to watch sporting events; relaxation of the mind and body are proper for the day. These also have to give room for the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, and the performance of the works of mercy. (Yes, that means it is proper to give time to that parish or school fundraiser on Sunday, because it provides for works of mercy, such as providing tuition assistance and paying for the works of the parish.)

 

[LaughingBoy1503]

As I said in the above post, I have nothing against people who are working IF they don’t have any other choice or option but for me and maybe a lot of people it is still ideal not to be always working on Sunday

I can assure you that as a practicing Catholic, when I had to work Sundays, It was not 'Ideal" for me either. But my old job (laundry service for hospitals) required me to work on Sundays. Hospitals need fresh linen every single day. People never stop getting sick.

I got the job, when I was still a protestant and not working on Sunday was not really a “Big deal” to me. I worked every Sunday for about 2 years straight. Then when I converted and was Baptized, I was too afraid to ask for Sundays off out of fear of losing my job. My old job did not pay very well so I had no money saved up and I was barely getting by. I could not just quit either. But then 5 months after I was Baptized, I started my career in construction. We never work on Sundays and the pay is so much better, than I am now in a financial place where I can turn down work on a Sunday, if my company asks me to work on a Sunday. Some people who are going to college and need a part time job might need to work weekends to get by too.

 

[pnewton]

I won’t get into the whole ‘work on Sunday’ debate but I will say that I always fulfill my Sunday obligation or go to confession if for some reason I don’t. My job requires me to work on Sunday 3 times per month, but I have plenty of time to go to mass, pray and spend time with family which I do.

As for my husband…guess what? He called me to ask if I was still going to pick up the kids for mass. I told him I was, and he just laughed and said they would all meet me there. I could have nagged, complained, threatened him by saying he would be in sin, etc. However, by refusing to make an issue out of it and still refusing to violate my own conscience, he made the right decision. Moral of the story: being a nagging wife doesn’t work, but a little,prayer and firm resolve work wonders.

Well played. I am glad it worked for you. As a fellow Sunday worker, I assure you, going to Mass last by no means is equivalent to putting God last. If we understand the teachings of Jesus, we see we not only meet him at Mass, but also in people that we serve.

 

[MissRose73]

I go to Mass now on Saturday evenings. I used to either have to rush to Mass from work on Saturdays or leave early from Mass on Sunday mornings due to work schedules as I work in tech support. Now that my type of support is Monday to Friday now, I can go to Mass on Saturday evening and not have to rush there plus during the good weather Sunday afternoons go to the Extraordinary Form parish nearly 30 minutes 1 way.

I still watch sports on Sunday (and Saturdays) but if I have things to do for family, friends, and/or going to Mass, I can live without watching and read the news articles later online.