Should Sunday rest be a requirement from the Church?

[Luvtosew]

So my husband is hauling 2,000 gallons of raw yogurt that needs to get to the processing plant 500 miles away by 5:00 a.m. Monday, or else it has to by law be dumped.

Does he spend Sunday sitting in his cab at a truck stop while thousands of dollars of food spoils in his tanker? Is wasting all that food the the morally right thing to do? And he’s 500 miles from his family, spending the day cooped up in an 8x6 foot sleeper, knowing that as soon as he’s got this load dropped he can come home to his wife and his daughters. Is that’s relaxing his mind and body?

Luna

I should think your husband has no choice if hes on the road. This is easy if one has a job Mon- Fri.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

if u are not a medical professional and not an artist i think your work on sunday is still a sin despite the fact that it supports your family because most work i can think about does not lead to the ‘relaxation of mind and body’, it is not a sin if your family will starve on monday if u donot work on sunday, if there is no immediate danger of starvation or maybe loss of job then you are not permitted to throw sunday rest thru the window.
Ubenedictus

Police? Firemen? Communications technicians? Power plant staff and utility workers? Pilots? Cab drivers? Bus drivers? Airport staff? Long-distance truckers? So you’re saying that basically society has to shut down on Sunday to avoid sin?

 

[Luvtosew]

I think all stores and resturants are open on Sundays also,and gas stations thank goodness.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

Police? Firemen? Communications technicians? Power plant staff and utility workers? Pilots? Cab drivers? Bus drivers? Airport staff? Long-distance truckers? So you’re saying that basically society has to shut down on Sunday to avoid sin?

And I could add to this all support services- what good is medical care if you do not have techs, housekeepers and food service workers who supply needed support? Do we tell all those in hospitals, living centers and other institutions, sorry you can’t eat or have clean clothes/rooms, etc. because today is Sunday is and it is a day of rest?

if u are not a medical professional and not an artist i think your work on sunday is still a sin despite the fact that it supports your family because most work i can think about does not lead to the ‘relaxation of mind and body’, it is not a sin if your family will starve on monday if u donot work on sunday, if there is no immediate danger of starvation or maybe loss of job then you are not permitted to throw sunday rest thru the window.
Ubenedictus

 

[Swiss_Guy]

I’m undecided about this question. As it stands, CCC 2185 sounds more like a recommendation:

"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**. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

The charity of truth seeks holy leisure - the necessity of charity accepts just work"

Thoughts?

If what you are doing doesn’t hinder the worship owed to God (i.e attending Mass), make you angry (not having proper joy) or a jerk (works of mercy), and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body (this is subjective), then you are fine.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

If what you are doing doesn’t hinder the worship owed to God (i.e attending Mass), make you angry (not having proper joy) or a jerk (works of mercy), and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body (this is subjective), then you are fine.

Excellent response. As a prior poster said, even in the pre-Vactican II days, rest did not mean doing nothing and exceptions have always been made for necessary work - many examples given here - but even in the past, there was work that needed to be done every day (feed animals, etc.)

We should not take our own idealized view and try to make it law over what the Church teaches us. We have the Catechism for a reason. Anyone who have a question about their specific situation should speak to their own priest who will have more knowledge about the circumstances and has the pastoral duty to guide his folk.

 

[asia53]

We should not take our own idealized view and try to make it law over what the Church teaches us. We have the Catechism for a reason. Anyone who have a question about their specific situation should speak to their own priest who will have more knowledge about the circumstances and has the pastoral duty to guide his folk.

Very well said, Mrs Sally! A little common sense goes a long way.

 

[Catholic90]

if u are not a medical professional and not an artist i think your work on sunday is still a sin despite the fact that it supports your family because most work i can think about does not lead to the ‘relaxation of mind and body’, it is not a sin if your family will starve on monday if u donot work on sunday, if there is no immediate danger of starvation or maybe loss of job then you are not permitted to throw sunday rest thru the window.
Ubenedictus

In addition to what others have already stated (all excellent responses), what about farmers?

Cow must be milked several times per day. Animals must be fed. Pens must be cleaned. Crops must be planted, tilled, and harvested when the weather cooperates! If rain is forecast on Monday, you do as much fieldwork as possible on Sunday before the rain comes on Monday.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

I should think your husband has no choice if hes on the road. This is easy if one has a job Mon- Fri.

Well, that’s pretty obvious; Not all jobs are Monday to Friday. I used to work in a minimum wage quick service restaurant. I could not for the life of me get hired because I put that I was unavailable to work on Sundays. Frustrated and in need of a job, I opened up Sundays and I had a job within days of applying to the same place again. I live in a country that has so many immigrants who are willing to work long hours every day of the week for low wages. No one is going to hire someone not available Sundays when there’s plenty of other people willing to work open availability. To make matters worse, my previous priest would come through the drive-thru on his way to the Church on Sundays!

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

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.

 

[Catholic90]

To make matters worse, my previous priest would come through the drive-thru on his way to the Church on Sundays!

Well, priests gotta eat too! Why would that make you mad?

 

[puzzleannie]

if u are not a medical professional and not an artist i think your work on sunday is still a sin despite the fact that it supports your family because

what you or I think is irrelevant. The Church has said necessary work can be done on Sunday and it is a matter of prudential judgment for the individual to determine if the work is necessary, so comments from us are not needed.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Well, priests gotta eat too! Why would that make you mad?

All he ever ordered was coffee. I should have bought him a Keurig Coffee maker. It’s frustrating because really, the company could have given me Sundays off, but my manager used the argument that because my priest came through on Sundays it was not really necessary for me to have Sundays off. All the Mennonites got to have Sundays off.

With the invention of pay-at-the-pumps, a lot of gas stations would probably make more money by remaining closed on Sundays and leaving the pump set to pre-pay.

The only employer who would give me Sundays off was the Mormon company I worked for.

 

[Ubenedictus]

So my husband is hauling 2,000 gallons of raw yogurt that needs to get to the processing plant 500 miles away by 5:00 a.m. Monday, or else it has to by law be dumped.

Does he spend Sunday sitting in his cab at a truck stop while thousands of dollars of food spoils in his tanker? Is wasting all that food the the morally right thing to do? And he’s 500 miles from his family, spending the day cooped up in an 8x6 foot sleeper, knowing that as soon as he’s got this load dropped he can come home to his wife and his daughters. Is that’s relaxing his mind and body?

Luna

i’ve been away for sometime, hope i can respond to all the posts. Sorry if my post was misleading i wasn’t trying to discuss every possible work. Your husband should certainly work. It is important he does and i think the church is clear on that. All i was trying to do was talk about the importance of the rest, i was actually responding to a particular post. Anyone with a family will certain say ‘i’m working for my family’, if that alone is an excuse then everybody with a family will shop and do any work on sunday even though shopping could be done on saturday and there is an available, viable alternative to working on sunday.
Ubenedictus

 

[Ubenedictus]

My friend, my line of work will not give me any room to dictate the days and hours I work. I will also disagree on your insistence on an “immediate danger of starvation or loss of job” as a litmus test for whether one is permitted to work. It is simply not sufficient and comes dangerously close to the Pharisees’ obsession with literal interpretations of Mosaic Law. Shall I wait before my boss threatens to drop me from the payroll? Shall I wait before my family tells me that the refrigerator is empty? What of the upkeep of my house? My children’s college education? My retirement fund? The maintenance of my aging parents? These are not matters we can easily pass judgement from behind a keyboard, and that is why God has given us the Holy Church, that we can seek clarity from the enlightened reason and faith of the Magisterium.

I thank you for your perspective, but until the Church produces a more definitive guideline in this regard, I would prefer to follow the advice of my spiritual director and continue in prayer and meditation.

Sorry i wasn’t very clear, i wasn’t setting any test, what i meant by ‘loss of job and stavation’ was a grave reason. All i’m saying is ‘i have to support my family’ can be used as an excuse by anybody but the question is: is it really necessary? Will the sunday work significantly adversely affect your family? Is it really a reason? I guess my position is not still clear, following the the church, prayer and meditation are good signs.
Ubenedictus

 

[Ubenedictus]

Police? Firemen? Communications technicians? Power plant staff and utility workers? Pilots? Cab drivers? Bus drivers? Airport staff? Long-distance truckers? So you’re saying that basically society has to shut down on Sunday to avoid sin?

i didn’t say that, u think i did. I was responding to one excuse, i’m not condeming necessary work.
Ubenedictus

 

[Ubenedictus]

And I could add to this all support services- what good is medical care if you do not have techs, housekeepers and food service workers who supply needed support? Do we tell all those in hospitals, living centers and other institutions, sorry you can’t eat or have clean clothes/rooms, etc. because today is Sunday is and it is a day of rest?

i didn’t say that. Pls read my post in its context and its context only.
Ubenedictus

 

[Ubenedictus]

If what you are doing doesn’t hinder the worship owed to God (i.e attending Mass), make you angry (not having proper joy) or a jerk (works of mercy), and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body (this is subjective), then you are fine.

this is what i’m saying. Is it necessary? Give God glory? Does it allow relaxation( depend on d situation)?
Ubenedictus.

 

[Ubenedictus]

Excellent response. As a prior poster said, even in the pre-Vactican II days, rest did not mean doing nothing and exceptions have always been made for necessary work - many examples given here - but even in the past, there was work that needed to be done every day (feed animals, etc.)

We should not take our own idealized view and try to make it law over what the Church teaches us. We have the Catechism for a reason. Anyone who have a question about their specific situation should speak to their own priest who will have more knowledge about the circumstances and has the pastoral duty to guide his folk.

now are you accusing me of making my ‘idealised view’ law over what the church teaches? That is so not fair, i think i should leave it at that. I really dislike the statement.
Ubenedictus.

 

[Ubenedictus]

In addition to what others have already stated (all excellent responses), what about farmers?

Cow must be milked several times per day. Animals must be fed. Pens must be cleaned. Crops must be planted, tilled, and harvested when the weather cooperates! If rain is forecast on Monday, you do as much fieldwork as possible on Sunday before the rain comes on Monday.

okay, i was into farming, while taking care of animals have to be done daily tilling, harvesting etc can be done anytime within the season if there is rain on monday, was there rain on saturday? One should do all necessary work that can’t be postponed but in the tilling case there are very few times when it is absolutly necessary to work on sunday. It is wrong to be too strict (pharisee) and wrong to be too lax.
Ubenedictus.

 

[Windmill]

Unbenedictus,

I think, since this particular Commandment is not talked about anymore it is touchy.

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The Lord calls us to make His day holy precisely by not working (it imitates His own rest on the Seventh Day, work is for material gain, so we rest to focus on spiritual things and acknowledge that material work only takes us so far). Too often, all we hear is, “Keep the Lord’s Day holy,” and that’s it. We aren’t told how God told us to make it holy. We think all this means is “go to Mass.” That’s part of it, but the Church is clear in the Catechism that we are to refrain from unnecessary work. Jesus did make the point that necessary work is a different matter (healing, truly unavoidable “emergencies”, etc…). But to extract from that that Jesus was doing away with one of the Ten Commandments is silly.

No, we should not become Pharisees, but don’t lash out at poor Ubenedictus either. If you are upset with him, take a good look at yourself and see if the truth is that you are uncomfortable with your own observance of this Third Commandment.

There are many examples. I’m a dentist. If I get an emergency call from a patient on a Sunday, of course I go in, even though I will charge the patient and earn money. It’s an emergency. However, that’s an exception - not the rule. My wife and I try to do all our grocery shopping, gas re-fueling, bills paid, on and before Saturday so we don’t have to do it Sunday. There are a ton of things you can do ahead of time to “keep Sunday holy” and not turn it into “just another day” with all it’s busy-ness.

God doesn’t just want His hour at Mass. He wants the whole day for rest, prayer, family time, spiritual reading, etc.