Traditional Teaching Regarding Going Out to Eat on Sundays

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ready said:
My question has been answered by a traditionalist priest from the Audio Sancto Sermon Series. He says that eating out at restaurants on Sundays has ALWAYS been accepted. Thanks, everybody, for your good feedback! My question has been answered.
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Which homily? I love a good recommendation from their homilies. 😃
 
I often eat out sundays since I go to another town for Mass, and I do it with impunity since hardly anyone in West Texas is Catholic. This heres Baptist and “non denominational” country.
 
andrewstx said:
I often eat out sundays since I go to another town for Mass, and I do it with impunity since hardly anyone in West Texas is Catholic. This heres Baptist and “non denominational” country.
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A traditional priest says in his sermon that eating out on Sundays has ALWAYS been allowed. If it has always been allowed I definitely should not have a problem with it - no matter what state or country I live in.
 
I have a friend who is visiting in my area with some friends. She has asked me to drive her to Mass on Sunday and then to an amusement park afterwards, where she will meet her friends. I’m happy to drive her to Mass, but can I drive her to the amusement park afterwards? Is it a sin for her to go, and am I an accomplice to the sin by driving her? And if I do drive her, do I have to say something to her about how she is breaking the Sabbath by going?
 
When it comes to going out to eat on Sundays, I look at it this way: Restaurants will always be open for the simple reason that folks will always have a reason they can’t eat at home, whether it’s because they are travelling, they are working at other types of work and don’t have time to cook or whatever. So, I figure if I go out to eat and thus give someone more tips than she might otherwise have received if I hadn’t gone I’m doing a good thing.

But it’s strange that in our town, most restaurants are open on Sundays but are closed on Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day (Nov. 11), Christmas, etc. One restaurant is run by Pentecostals and they don’t open on Sunday until Church is over in all parishes.
 
Joan832 said:
I have a friend who is visiting in my area with some friends. She has asked me to drive her to Mass on Sunday and then to an amusement park afterwards, where she will meet her friends. I’m happy to drive her to Mass, but can I drive her to the amusement park afterwards? Is it a sin for her to go, and am I an accomplice to the sin by driving her? And if I do drive her, do I have to say something to her about how she is breaking the Sabbath by going?
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If you know any priests who are orthodox you should run your questions by them. They’ll be able to help you. Peace!
 
Joan832 said:
I have a friend who is visiting in my area with some friends. She has asked me to drive her to Mass on Sunday and then to an amusement park afterwards, where she will meet her friends. I’m happy to drive her to Mass, but can I drive her to the amusement park afterwards? Is it a sin for her to go, and am I an accomplice to the sin by driving her? And if I do drive her, do I have to say something to her about how she is breaking the Sabbath by going?
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There is no sin in your friend’s going to an amusement park on Sunday–we are supposed to use the day for leisure as well as prayer. And what makes you think driving someplace on Sunday is a sin? We have to be very careful not to fall into scrupulosity here and impose unnecessary burdens on ourselves or others regarding Sunday. As Jesus said, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

In fact, why don’t you join your friend at the amusement park and have a fun day with her?
 
Joan832 said:
I have a friend who is visiting in my area with some friends. She has asked me to drive her to Mass on Sunday and then to an amusement park afterwards, where she will meet her friends. I’m happy to drive her to Mass, but can I drive her to the amusement park afterwards? Is it a sin for her to go, and am I an accomplice to the sin by driving her? And if I do drive her, do I have to say something to her about how she is breaking the Sabbath by going?
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I will venture to say (and I could be wrong in this) that we are not observing the Jewish Sabbath. but celebrating the Christian Lord’s Day.

An observent Jew will not drive,cook or even turn the lights on during sabbath. They employ pay. non jewish people to do things like turn electricity on and off. Those people are called “Shabbos goyim”. They live within walking distance of a synagogue.
 
andrewstx said:
I will venture to say (and I could be wrong in this) that we are not observing the Jewish Sabbath. but celebrating the Christian Lord’s Day.

An observent Jew will not drive,cook or even turn the lights on during sabbath. They employ pay. non jewish people to do things like turn electricity on and off. Those people are called “Shabbos goyim”. They live within walking distance of a synagogue.
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I’ve always wondered how expoiting a Shabbos goy gibes with Exodus 20:8-10 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.” Sounds to me like the Shabbos Goy is also prohibited from working, eh?
 
DaveBj said:
I’ve always wondered how expoiting a Shabbos goy gibes with Exodus 20:8-10 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.” Sounds to me like the Shabbos Goy is also prohibited from working, eh?
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No, it sounds more like the Amish (God love them), who refuse to use electricity or drive machinery, and consider it sinful, but hire others to drive them and provide phone and electricity when needed.

Not a criticism, just an observation.
 
DaveBj said:
I’ve always wondered how expoiting a Shabbos goy gibes with Exodus 20:8-10 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.” Sounds to me like the Shabbos Goy is also prohibited from working, eh?
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The very word Goy means they are not Jewish, and so do not fall under the Jewish shabbos restrictions.
 
andrewstx said:
The very word Goy means they are not Jewish, and so do not fall under the Jewish shabbos restrictions.
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But they’re still “strangers within your gates” and thus restricted from working on the Sabbath.

Edit: Checked the Hebrew, and the word translated “stranger” in the translation that I quoted specifically refers to aliens/non-Hebrews. In another word, goys.
 
I would say we must all eat but someone must prepare the food whether it be at home or at a restaurant. We must have people available in places like emergency services, gas stations, and medical professions always working (just listing a few jobs where 24 x 7 ) is a must.

Unfortunately, many US employers & companies do not recognize that some of their Christian employees of any denomination to attend Sunday services. Yes, business needs have to be met too but at the same time, employers need to find out how many employees wish to observe the Lord’s Day and try to accommodate as many as they can without affecting business. In more culturally diverse areas, it may be easier to ask Jewish and Muslim employees to work Sundays as an example so that Christians can observe that day, and that other groups be allowed to observe their respective days also with coverage on those days with different sets of days off for each group with one of the days allowed for religious services/prayer.

I am privileged enough to be able to go to Saturday evening Mass to fulfill Sunday obligation but I had to take time from my Saturday scheduled lunch time to be able to leave early to be on time at the church of my choice. Until things change where I am able to have either Sunday and/or Saturday off, that is the way things have to be for me.
 
I am not a Jew but I think the answer to the SG issue lies in the phrase, “your gates”.

The gate was, of course, the entrance to a Biblical city. They can still be seen in Old Jerusalem.

If a stranger entered the gates, he was entering a Jewish community. As such, he was required to observe with the community. Using a SG would be verboten in a Jewish society (or in Modern Israel).

But non Jews are subject only to the Noahide law, which does not include the Sabbath. They do not keep the Sabbath in any event, so a Jew living in “Diaspora” would not break the Law by employing the SG.

Just my MX$2.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA
 
And modern Jewish communities go thru all sorts of contortions to create a virtual wall (I don’t remember the Hebrew word) around a physical space so it will all fall into the legal definition of an area in which people could travel without breaking the “Sabbath day’s journey” restriction. If it’s a virtual city, then anyone who lives there in “within the gates.” The Goyim themselves aren’t responsible for keeping the Mosaic, but I still think that Jews who hire them to do on the Sabbath to do what they themselves are forbidden to do are guilty of breaking the Sabbath by proxy. Obvioiusly they don’t think so; they’ve been hiring Sabbos goyim for a long time.

Anyway, 'nuff said from me; we’re off topic.
 
ready said:
My question has been answered by a traditionalist priest from the Audio Sancto Sermon Series. He says that eating out at restaurants on Sundays has ALWAYS been accepted. Thanks, everybody, for your good feedback! My question has been answered.
Click to expand...
CORRECTION:

I need to say that I believe this traditionalist priest must have been talking about going out to restaurants out of necessity - not for leisure. We are not supposed to do any unnecessary commerce on Sundays, which would include buying food at restaurants for leisure, not out of necessity.
 
DaveBj said:
And modern Jewish communities go thru all sorts of contortions to create a virtual wall (I don’t remember the Hebrew word) around a physical space so it will all fall into the legal definition of an area in which people could travel without breaking the “Sabbath day’s journey” restriction. If it’s a virtual city, then anyone who lives there in “within the gates.” The Goyim themselves aren’t responsible for keeping the Mosaic, but I still think that Jews who hire them to do on the Sabbath to do what they themselves are forbidden to do are guilty of breaking the Sabbath by proxy. Obvioiusly they don’t think so; they’ve been hiring Sabbos goyim for a long time.

Anyway, 'nuff said from me; we’re off topic.
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I believe the word is ‘eruv’
 
ready said:
CORRECTION:

I need to say that I believe this traditionalist priest must have been talking about going out to restaurants out of necessity - not for leisure. We are not supposed to do any unnecessary commerce on Sundays, which would include buying food at restaurants for leisure, not out of necessity.
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I disagree. He probably was talking about going out to eat on Sundays as family leisure. I have never, and I mean never, heard from any priest that this is not acceptable, and you can find many themselves in restaurants on Sundays enjoying dinner with their families and friends.

We Catholics are permitted leisure on Sundays, and that includes such activities as going out to eat, going to amusement parks, going to the movies, golfing and other sports, etc. all of which entail people having to work on Sundays. These people need to support their families, too, and probably many of them don’t have any religious beliefs about working on Sunday, and there is no need to push ours on them. It is no sin on us if they desire or have to work.

Why is it that some people are always trying to make the Catholic religion so difficult for people to follow by trying to impose unnecessary things on them? It makes us sound as if we are a religion of “don’t do this, and don’t do that” which certainly is not the Good News we are trying to spread.
 
I work at Starbucks, and am required to work almost every Sunday, especially as a shift manager. I really don’t like working on Sundays. I feel it prevents me from keeping the Sabbath as I ought. I work from 1:30 in the afternoon to 9:30 at night. Its very tiring, definitely not restful at all. Fortunately we have a new shift manager who doesn’t mind working Sunday night, so I should be scheduled less often.

I personally try not to do any unnecessary shopping on Sundays because I don’t feel right supporting working on Sundays.

edited: added as I ought
 
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