Thank you… but then we come into grayer areas.
What if you ran out of food and have to shop on Sunday? Or your child is not critically ill, but uncomfortable enough and you have no cough medicine or whatever she needs to comfort her?
What if a neighbor needs noncritical help?
What if someone invites you to dinner and you’ve already fulfilled your obligation? Or you want to take a drive to a faraway restaurant that you like?
I’m sure people can think of other examples.
An Israeli visitor nearly burned down a friend’s house by lighting a candle and placing it near the curtains. She could not blow it out due to such restrictions. Luckily someone else caught it in time. It’s an extreme example to be sure, but where does a Catholic draw the line?
At first I did not understand what people meant by ‘legalism’ but now I may begin to see.
I think that you have answered your query!
If we stick to a legalistic view of God’s Commandments we will ignore the greater good over strict observance of what we perceive to be the Law.
Here’s where Catholics must draw the line:
Ignoring God to accumulate greater and greater wealth.
Giving to the world what belongs to God.
Rejecting God’s Command over the world’s.
Making creatures into gods.
Thinking that we can fool God by circumventing His Commands and minimizing our obligations to God.
I will attempt one of your analogies:
…say I must work extremely long days and I am required to to assist my parent/s and my sibblings with the little free time I may have… come Sunday my three year old runs out of cold syrup… do I stay in bet till 11:00 am then rush out of the house to the nearest pharmacy/suppermarket (missing Sunday Mass) or do I pray for patience, strength, and ability… jump out of bed, take a quick shower, and hit the store/market early enough to allow me to return home with the necessary groceries and meds… get the rest of the kids ready and tell the wife that I’ll keep them out for an extra hour or two so that she would need to deal only with the sickly 3 year old?
…as far as already having fulfilled your obligations and traveling… are you not aware that the limits were set to keep people from violating the Law?
If a friend asks me to diner or some other actrivity (as long as I am not being drawn away from God) I would violate God’s Law only if I chose to visit/associate with the afluent while rejecting the poor… or if I know that someone is going through some tough times and I chose to go to a game or some other event rather than to accept an invitation to spend some time with him/her… and traveling? …I remember, as a kid, trying to get one of the dunkies to take me across the river with a light load… that joker knew I was from the city and refused to comply… after much toil, sweat, and tears it might let me ride for a few minutes before dropping me on my sit–today, I can travel through several towns in the time that it got me to move a few feets on dunky power!–the Sabbath was never meant to hinder our lives!
Maran atha!
Angel