What is considered a sin to work on Sunday?

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dizzy_dave

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What kind of work (if any) is allowed on Sunday. I work Monday - Friday and if it rains on Saturday can I cut my grass Sunday? Can I do laundry on Sunday? If so how much? What is allowed on Sunday what is not? When does it become mortal sin?
 
you are looking for an attitude here, of keeping the Lord’s day holy, not counting mortal sins. Anything that is a change from your regular work week, that is refreshing, relaxing, rejuvenating. Mass comes first of course. Even if you are in a job that requires Sunday work – police, health care etc. - you can usually find a church that offers Mass at times you can make it with a little effort. Then family time. The whole family doing yard work together could be great. Kids running off to the mall or friends house while you cut the grass and your wife does laundry, doesn’t sound like it is helping anybody, but you be the judge. In general servile work breaks the Sabbath, especially if you do servile work (manual labor) all week. For somebody stuck in front of computer all week, some outdoor activity could be just what they need. Try for family time that is the hardest thing to find nowdays. Just don’t make the kids hate Sunday, they should look forward to it.
 
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dizzy_dave:
What kind of work (if any) is allowed on Sunday. I work Monday - Friday and if it rains on Saturday can I cut my grass Sunday? Can I do laundry on Sunday? If so how much? What is allowed on Sunday what is not? When does it become mortal sin?
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Can you cut the grass on another day later in the week? Can Laundry be done in the evenings on another day? If not then do it on Sunday after returning from Mass and spending some time with family or neighbors.
 
As a Baptist, I read “The Life of D. L. Moody by His Son” (the Authorized Biography). And I also read another long biography of D. L. Moody. And I have always looked for more antique D. L. Moody books (I read all I found).

D. L. Moody’s mother and D. L. Moody strictly observed the Sabbath Day. It seems to me that the way the Sabbath Day was observed by many Americans in the 1850’s to 1890’s is far, far different than how Christians observe it today.

My mother’s cousin was a Presbyterian Sunday school teacher. If she were alive today she would be about 100. Her husband (who seemed cynical) would never mow their large lawn on Sunday. Out of respect for his wife’s deep belief and strict observance.
 
I must agree with Brother Rich…

My sister is a nun and every time she hears of any of us doing our laundry on Sunday that is always her first question. Can that be done any other day of the week? Mowing the lawn never unless that was the only possible day to do it. But I was told by a priest if you enjoy gardening and want to go out for an hour and garden then go ahead but don’t make an all day afair out of it. I have learned that it is a wonderful day to rest or post or play with your family.😃
 
I don’t understand why Sunday is considered a day of rest at all. It was the Sabbath during which the Jewish Law forbade work, because it was the Lord’s day of rest. But on Sunday, the Lord worked the hardest! First, He created existence as we know it. Then, He defeated death at the Resurrection. We are called to keep the Lord’s Day holy, through our participation in the Holy Eucharist. But, so long as this is done, how can work be considered sinful?
 
I remember my grandpa had a farm, and one of the crops was strawberries. This was back in the days when gradeschool kids did much of that type of hand-harvesting work. He was adamantly against working on Sundays, but the field was ripe, heavy rains were due Monday, and we weren’t able to finish on Saturday.

First, he asked for volunteers. He gave a season-end bonus to any picker who showed up every day, but he said that anyone who missed working that Sunday would still be eligible for the bonus. But the big surprise was that he made no profit on the crop. After the expense of paying the hourly workers, he split the remaining profits among the pickers, based on how much we’d picked. (I think it was in the neighborhood of 5-6 times our usual compensation.)

That made a big impression on me.

His rule was no unnecessary “servile” labor, except charity work, since Sunday is also for giving alms. He also avoided activities that required someone else to work Sundays. “Necessary” meant… milk the cow, do the dishes, make your bed, stuff like that. “Servile” was something you’d pay somebody else to do. If you were expending energy in recreation, that was okay.
 
My “pension-expander” job is that I am a weekend night security guard. Almost by definition, security guard work happens during the hours that the institution (in this case, a factory) is not operating, which would include Sundays. I work 13 hours Friday night and 10 hours each Saturday night and Sunday night, with all shifts ending at 0600.

Since switching from Baptist to Catholic as of 1 July, I have tried the 0830 Mass on Sunday mornings, but it just did not work; I was so sleepy my eyeballs were falling out on the floor. However, I can sleep during the day Saturday and go to a very nice evening Mass, and then sleep during the day Sunday. So I have to work for 10 hours (0000-0600, and 2000-2400) of the calendar day Sunday, but I’m still getting to Mass.

I suppose I have to thank God for this job, because it was having all that time to read and study that allowed me to read so much about the Catholic Faith and brought me to my decision to come home. The job also gives me much time to pray, so I really don’t feel that I’m missing out on anything by having to work Sundays.

DaveBj
 
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dizzy_dave:
What kind of work (if any) is allowed on Sunday. I work Monday - Friday and if it rains on Saturday can I cut my grass Sunday? Can I do laundry on Sunday? If so how much? What is allowed on Sunday what is not? When does it become mortal sin?
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It is a mortal sin to do work on the Sabbath not of necessity. The Church defines that to mean that if you do something everyday (laudry, for example), then it is OK to do it also on Sunday (of course, within reason–if you work everyday, that does not make it permissible to work on Sunday). Basically, unless you absolutely must, you should not do any physical work on Sunday. If you live on a farm, obviously, you have to take care of the animals or they will die (or become sick). I don’t think it’s necessary to do laundry on Sunday, even if you do it every other day of the week. Certainly you cannot mow the grass or wash your car. God bless.
 
Could you please point us to where in the Catechism it says “work on Sunday” is a mortal sin?
 
Dizzy-Dave…laundry? Really? Com’n up to our home!!! 😃

I found that I was coming home from Mass and getting tucked into doing chores that I did the rest of the week, making Sunday just another day of the week, which happened to have Mass included. .

About ten years ago, I decided that I wanted the Sabbath to be focused on Christ and that I wanted it to be a special day, even after I got home. So, I stay in my Mass clothes, unless they are uncomfortable and I can’t stand them. (it’s a girl thing). If I change out of my Mass clothes, then I try to make sure that I do not do anything that I would not do in my Mass clothes.

It takes discipline for me to relax. Yesterday, I blew my Sabbath by shampooing the carpet and ironing, BUT, the day before I had been a lounge lizard, so I pray it evened out!

It is about the attitude as some other poster mentioned. Are we keeping God in mind in a special way on the Sabbath, or are we treating the day just like any other day.

And, Dizzy-Dave - anytime you want to come and do laundry …
 
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chimakuni:
Are we keeping God in mind in a special way on the Sabbath, or are we treating the day just like any other day.
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This is the perfect summary of this question for me–thank you, Chimakuni! Ultimately I have no idea what is a bad part of your Sunday routine and what should be added–you can decide for yourself what you need to work on. There is no “certainly.” Something that sounds silly but is sometimes difficult for me is when I have social obligations on both Friday and Saturday. As St. Francis De Sales says, even social obligations are part of our lay vocation and must be honored. They are also fun and wonderful recreation, but they can push chores to Sunday if I’m not careful.
 
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DaveBj:
My “pension-expander” job is that I am a weekend night security guard. Almost by definition, security guard work happens during the hours that the institution (in this case, a factory) is not operating, which would include Sundays. I work 13 hours Friday night and 10 hours each Saturday night and Sunday night, with all shifts ending at 0600.

Since switching from Baptist to Catholic as of 1 July, I have tried the 0830 Mass on Sunday mornings, but it just did not work; I was so sleepy my eyeballs were falling out on the floor. However, I can sleep during the day Saturday and go to a very nice evening Mass, and then sleep during the day Sunday. So I have to work for 10 hours (0000-0600, and 2000-2400) of the calendar day Sunday, but I’m still getting to Mass.

I suppose I have to thank God for this job, because it was having all that time to read and study that allowed me to read so much about the Catholic Faith and brought me to my decision to come home. The job also gives me much time to pray, so I really don’t feel that I’m missing out on anything by having to work Sundays.

DaveBj
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You are doing necessary work, as do people working as police, firefighters, hospital care professions, and so on. And way to go on getting to a Mass that you can truly be “there” for.
 
This is always an interesting question to me. I play for Mass on Sunday, so it’s not any sort of day off. However, I once talked to an Amish bishop (who I deeply respect) about what type of work is permissible on Sundays. Specifically, I asked him about whether, given the urgency of certain field work, and the uncertainty of weather, it would be permissible to, say, cut hay on a Sunday. (As in, it’s been raining all week, it’s predicted to rain the following week, hay needs a couple of days to dry before it’s stacked or baled, etc.) He just smiled and said that God would always provide and cutting the hay would be a sign that we didn’t trust in God’s providence. I try to keep that in mind for those times that I think we’ve just (seemingly) GOT to do something on Sunday, or we’re in some bind.
 
jmm08 said:
My mother’s cousin was a Presbyterian Sunday school teacher. If she were alive today she would be about 100. Her husband (who seemed cynical) would never mow their large lawn on Sunday. Out of respect for his wife’s deep belief and strict observance.
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So “working” as a Sunday school teacher doesn’t count? 😉

What about the person who organizes the Sunday school program? That sure is work.
 
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