Servile labor / Was this a mortal sin?

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I recently became aware of the Precepts of the Church (I was a non-practising Catholic for much of my life and didn’t know of the Precepts until recently…)
2042 The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on 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.82 (1389, 2180, 1457, 1389)
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So I’m wondering, what exactly does “servile labor” mean?

Today (Sunday) I went in to school to work on an assignment (that I didn’t to do today). Does that fall under the category of “servile labor”?

Now here’s my other question… assuming that schoolwork is not considered “servile labor” and that I did not sin by doing it on a Sunday, is it possible that my decision itself was a mortal sin? I deliberately chose to do something that I knew might be in violation of church law, with full knowledge that breaking church law is a grave sin. Or am I thinking too far into this?
 
You’re thinking too far into this. Servile labor basically means harder labor; academic pursuits are not considered part of this. And traveling so that we might do said academic pursuits would also not fall under this. Would you drive an equal distance to engage in leisure, i.e. go to the library for pleasure reading or going to the park to go fishing? You’re thinking too far into this–we have to be careful that we don’t become too legalistic in how we look at these things. Remember too that if you have a job that requires you to work on Sunday, and you need the work and can’t possibly get out of it, then it’s perfectly fine to work on a Sunday–so surely going in to school to work on an assignment is also fine.

-ACEGC
 
Thanks.
For future reference, do you know where I could find information on what sort of activity is considered “servile labor”? Is this explained in the Catechism?
 
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