Would it be justified in my situation to work on Sunday?

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moonlight87

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Thanks for reading my post.
I am in a difficult situation and I can’t make up my mind.

A month ago I became jobless. I applied for several positions and the only job offer I got requires me to work on Sunday once a month or such. They are not willing to sign my Sundays off on religious grounds. I accepted the offer and will start working about 10 days.
I am writing some other letters of application and might get a job offer that doesn’t require working on Sunday.

I wonder what would be the best choice in case I get a job offer that doesn’t require Sunday working. I have no good feeling about working on Sunday but accepting a job offer and declining it later isn’t very polite either.

Ideally I did not accept the offer at all because I can actually financially afford it to be jobless, but I do feel pressure from my environment, my parents think it is not good for me to be jobeless and they ask every time I call how it worked out with the applications which gives me a lot of pressure.
 
As long as you can make it to Mass on Sunday, take the job. Remember you can attend Mass on Saturday evening at the vigil and Sunday evening also to fulfill your obligation. You can also go to another parish if the time works for you. Congratulations on the job!
 
I work for a major retailor and I have to work on Sundays sometimes but I either go on saturday evening or sunday evening.
 
I work for a major retailor and I have to work on Sundays sometimes but I either go on saturday evening or sunday evening.
 
My husband is actively making a decision to go on orders again for the military and we know the job will require him to work every other Saturday and Sunday. In other words…very little chance to make it to Mass as his work days go for about 13-14 hours.

Technically he has a choice but we are in a situation with another child on the way…financially, we need to take the opportunity.

He’s already spoken to our Priest and we’ve prayed about it. We aren’t turning it down.

That being said…try to find another Mass to get to. Once a month my husband and I have military drill the entire weekend. But we’ve found a late Mass on Sundays at a nearby parish. It works for us.

Look into different parishes for times, including Vigils on Saturdays and late night Masses on Sundays. Sometimes college campuses (if you live near one) have Churches that do late night Masses for students to make it to.

Otherwise…speak to your priest about your situation.
 
I work in a store which requires some Sunday availability. My bosses have been good about me getting to Mass; I’ve been able to remain a Eucharistic Minister and 1 other ministry which takes 1 late Sunday morning a month. I’m flexible the other days of the week and when I switched locations, I changed Masses. My bosses have seen that I live my faith and that I’ll work with them about my schedule, so, they respect my commitment to Mass and work with me about my weekend schedule. I’m often at Mass in my work uniform and my priest knows that I get to Mass even going straight from work. He’s happy that I’ve found a good job that I enjoy and that still allows me to get to Mass even with working weekends.
 
I think that would definitely be something to ask your priest. I also have to work Sundays. I was working Sundays before I converted and now I have been Baptized almost 4 months and I still work Sundays. You have to have about 10 years at my company to get weekends off. We do laundry service for hospitals. They need people working everyday.

I called a priest the Sunday after I was Baptized and asked if I was in mortal sin because I had worked that day and explained that my job requires me to work Sundays. I was told that I have to do what I have to do to make a living. I think he told me that as long as I make it to mass I am ok. I don’t remember exactly. But I do remember him telling me that God understands that I have to make a living. Actually, two priests told me almost the same thing. I was quick to throw in both times that I never miss Mass because of working Sundays though 🙂 One did tell me to be sure to get at least one day of rest though.

I might be getting into construction soon. I asked one of the instructors at the job orientation how being a practicing Catholic and not wanting to work Sundays would affect me. He told me that it should not be a problem because they rarely work Sundays. Hope it all works out for you, and myself! 🙂
 
thank you all. I spoke to a priest today which brought me a lot of peace.
 
I am not aware of the specifics of your situation but that sounds like discrimination on the basis of religion. See the following.
  1. Can my employer prevent me from taking off religious holidays or my day of worship?
    You should start by letting your employer know that there is a conflict between your religious observances and your work schedule. When your employer’s workplace policies interfere with your religious practices, you can ask for what is called a “reasonable accommodation:” a change in a workplace rule or policy which would allow you to engage in a religious practice without conflicting with your work obligations. Your employer is required to provide you with such an accommodation unless it would impose an “undue hardship” on the employer’s business, defined as an accommodation that is too costly or difficult to provide. It is important for you to work closely with your employer to find an appropriate accommodation.
    If the accommodation would impose a burden on the employer that cannot be resolved, the employer is not required to allow the accommodation. Many accommodations, however, do not require any monetary or administrative burdens. Whether your employer can accommodate your religious practices will depend upon the nature of the work and the workplace. Usually, your employer can allow you to use lunch or other break times for religious prayer. If you require additional time for prayer, your employer can require you to make up the time.
    Employers must give time off for the Sabbath or holy days except in an emergency, unless the employee works in key health and safety occupations or the employee’s presence is critical to the company on any given day. This time off does not have to be paid, however. If employees don’t come to work, employers may give them leave without pay, may require the amount of time to be made up, or may allow the employee to charge the time against any other leave with pay, except sick pay.
 
I am required to work a few Sundays a year out of town. As others have mentioned, speak to your Priest about it. He is your shepherd. When I have to travel for work, I look up the Catholic Parishes in the area and find a Mass to attend that will fit my schedule, and offer the work I do as a sacrifice, asking God to work through me in some way. Something always comes up and there are occassions to do good works of charity in one way or another. God will not lead you astray. Perhaps He has put you there for a specific purpose. Put Him first in your work and let Him lead you through what you are doing.
 
As a registered nurse, I have worked every other weekend for the past 30+ years. I have attended mass on my way home on Sunday mornings, Saturday evenings, Sunday evenings and times in between. Some hospitals offer mass once or twice each weekend. In the event I couldn’t attend, I trust that God understood.
 
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