What is it you do?

I understand.......I am a postal carrier and am really struggling with this now; although I want to rest, but for me it's the question of: am I committing a mortal sin by missing Mass and Holy Communion on either Saturday or Sunday. Of course, it is not by my choice, it is not to be idle. I wish someone would answer this truthfully, rationally, and clearly and not sugar-coat the answer

Dear Friend, With all respect, I have to caution you that pursuing such a course (regardless of whether or not you correctly understood your confessor’s advice) would be a grave danger to your soul, as well as a grave scandal to all who witness your working on Sundays. To be precise, the Church’s law - binding under pain of mortal sin - forbids all Servile, Commercial, and Judicial work on Sundays and Holy Days. This would include the farm work and property repairs which you mention, as well as any public buying and selling or any legal proceedings. Cultural and Ordinary works, on the other hand, are allowed on Sundays and Holy Days. This will possibly need more explanation, but it basically means that of course you can feed your animals on Sunday. The various kinds of work are usually easy to distinguish as long as we remain objective, and avoid the trap of supposing that the nature of our actions can be determined subjectively according to our intentions or dispositions. On the contrary, the nature of an act remains what it is regardless of the circumstances in which the act is performed. It doesn’t matter how much a person may enjoy or dislike doing something, or whether he is paid for doing it or if he is doing it as an act of charity, etc. - no such circumstance will change a servile work into a cultural work, or vice versa. Servile works are bodily labors directed to utilitarian ends, such as farmwork and manufacturing. These are entirely forbidden on Sundays and Holy Days, and theologians usually draw the line between venial and mortal sin at about two hours of such labor. The issue of scandal, however, begins at the first moment. Cultural works (also called Liberal works, being the opposite of Servile works) are “free,” meaning done for their own sake rather than as means to other ends. These may or may not involve remuneration or physical exertion, but it is easy to recognize that even the most vigorous ball-game does not for that reason become an example of servile work. Ordinary works, finally, are those tasks which people of all classes must do to accommodate the ordinary daily needs of the body (such as cooking, traveling/driving, and caring for the sick), as well as those tasks which certain individuals in every society must do to accommodate the ordinary daily needs of the community (such as to provide police and fire protection, and, again, to care for the sick and injured). Cultural and ordinary works are permitted on Sundays and Holy Days, but not to the exclusion of fulfilling our Sunday obligation to assist at a public Mass and to nurture our spiritual lives. (Thus, for example, restaurant workers need to be assigned fewer hours on Sundays and Holy Days, in shifts that allow each worker to attend Mass.) In fact, our Sunday obligation consists of cultural works, the highest form of which is prayer, including the public worship that we give to God especially on Sundays and Holy Days in our parish churches and monasteries. Other cultural acts such as attending to our spiritual instruction and edification through catechetical and spiritual reading, are lifelong Sunday duties as well. All other examples of cultural works - study, reading, writing, music, games, etc. - are permitted on Sundays regardless of whether or not a person is paid to do those things, as in the case of teachers, writers, musicians, and professional athletes. But we must not lie to ourselves about what constitutes a leisure activity. The “big lie” of our day and age in this respect is to pretend that the satisfaction which we all feel in getting our work done somehow makes our servile work into a leisure work. God will not be mocked. The spiritual blindness which has now overwhelmed so many people and led to the enormity of sins of our time is surely an effect of so many mis-spent Sundays. God bless you. Father Gruner

TheFatimaCenter

TheFatimaCenter why is it that restaurant going is ok but not shopping? It’s the same context of money for goods isn’t it? Especially when joy becomes a good pass time for a group of friends or family don’t you think? I feel the issue may lie when it becomes overdone

No, not in itself. Unlike servile and commercial tasks, studies are not a forbidden kind of work on Sundays and holy days. Nevertheless the first obligation of the day -- giving the best of your energies to worship and your spiritual edification -- must not be neglected. God bless you.

TheFatimaCenter God bless you!

In our Catholic Church we were encouraged not to shop on Sundays sometimes I have to make a quick store trip but I tried to do it on Saturdays I actually agree that we shouldn’t unless it is food we are going to eat at the time and serve to our families for the most part because I think more people would be able to go to church if less people used the business on Sunday

It might be useful to clarify the division of kinds of work, and to speak about which kinds are forbidden on Sundays. All human activities can be categorized under five broad headings -- 1) cultural / intellectual works (done as an end in themselves, such as prayer, reading, writing, or playing a game), 2) ordinary works (addressing daily needs; tasks that each of us, or any society, must continually engage in, e.g., cooking, traveling, washing oneself, or on the part of a society, police/fire/armed services, transit and utilities services, etc.), 3) servile works (done as means to other ends; purposeful work, especially manual labor), 4) commercial works (public buying and selling), and 5) judicial works (the work of public courts of law). Of these five classes of works, three are forbidden on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation: servile work, commercial work, and judicial work. Thus the ordinary works done by police, firefighters, and medical personnel are always permitted. Another important clarification which we must note in regard to your comment is that attending a Saturday evening "vigil" Mass would not satisfy one's Sunday obligation. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m6ymmrtivLHHaGw.html

Thank you for your question, which we will submit to Father Albert. In the meantime, we offer you this extract from McHugh and Callan's Moral Theology text, which unfortunately does not specifically address the topic of washing clothes: 2579. Servile Works.--The prohibitory part of the precept is concerned with servile works, that is, labor of a kind that tends to make one unfit for devotion or that shows disrespect for the sacredness of the day, even though the labor be done gratis, or for recreation, or out of devotion. Hence, the law forbids: (a) works given to the service of the devil, that is, sins that deprive one of holiness, such as riotous recreations, gambling, drunkenness, reading improper matter, and attendance at evil movie performances. But these works are opposed to the end, not to the text, of the law; and hence the circumstance of time aggravates their malice but does not give them a new species (see 2314); (b) works given to the service of the body (servile works properly so called) or to the service of external goods (forensic and commercial works). Servile works in the strict sense cause bodily fatigue and are taken up with material things, and hence they distract the mind from religious thoughts. Such are manual labors (e.g., plowing, digging, housecleaning) and mechanical or industrial labors (e.g., printing, building, plastering, shoemaking). Forensic and commercial labors (e.g., arguing in court, auctioneering) are also of a very worldly kind and unsuitable for the quiet and recollection of Sundays and holydays. 2580. The prohibitory part of the Sunday precept does not affect works which are no impediment to devotion and which cast no dishonor on the day. Such are: (a) works devoted immediately to the service of God. The purpose of the law is to allow leisure for these works, and hence manifestly their performance is not forbidden. Such works are saying Mass, preaching, administering the Sacraments, singing in church, and visiting the poor and sick (John, vii. 23; Matt., xii. 5). But works that are only remotely related to divine worship (e.g., cleaning the church, painting the altar, repairing the vestments, decorating the shrines) should not be done on Sunday without necessity; (b) works devoted to the service of the mind (liberal works). These works are of a more elevated kind, do not require great bodily exertion, and are not looked upon as unsuitable to the Sabbath. Such are intellectual works (e.g., teaching, reading, writing, studying), artistic works (e.g., playing the organ, singing, drawing, painting a picture, embroidering), and works of recreation (moderate sports or diversions such as baseball, tennis, and chess). 2581. Other Kinds of Works and Sunday Observance.--(a) Common works are those that stand between the liberal and the servile, since they are exercised equally by mind and body, such as walking, riding, hunting, and fishing that is not very laborious. These are lawful. (b) Doubtful works are those that are now non-servile, now servile, according to the manner in which they are conducted, such as the work of painters, sculptors, typists, seamstresses, and photographers. Thus, it is a liberal work to paint a portrait, a servile work to paint the walls of a house. In settling the character of various kinds of work, one must be guided by the prudent opinion of one's locality, and in case of doubt and need must seek a dispensation. (For a history of the theology of servile works see Franz X. Pettirsch, S.J., "A Theology of Sunday Rest," _Theology Digest_, Vol. VI, no. 2, Spring 1958, pp. 114 ff.; for a survey of modern studies on the problem see _Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America_, 1957).

Thank you for the handy detailed reply, I've never heard discussed at church xf vague mention. Also, not to belabor the point, but the machine does the washing. I just bring batch from pre-existing heap, drop in/remove, drop in/remove and leave, no travel time, I'm home....

lincolncity9 The obligations of religious worship, including the instruction and cultivation of our minds toward our final end, are a natural duty which bind all men. It was revealed to the mystic Pere Lamy that the desecration of Sundays was one of the three great sins that brought the scourge of World War I upon humanity by the justice of God (the other two being blasphemy and the desecration of marriage).

***** The now late Father Gruner (requiescat in pace) seemed confused in his response to what the people who work at the restaurant should be doing on Sunday, finally seeming to resolve it with "well as long as they go to Mass." I have never understood the Church's teaching on what is permissible and what is not permissible to do on Sundays and I have never been able to get a clear answer, including in this video.

Augustin Barruel You might be interested in consulting “Moral Theology: A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities” by John A. Mchugh, O.P. and Charles J. Callan, O.P. (archive.org/stream/moraltheologyaco35354gut/pg35354.txt) The Third Commandment is discussed in three sections: as to its natural precept, under the virtue of religion, beginning at section 2145; as to its positive precept, under positive laws, beginning at section 340, and again in sections 352 and 425; and as the first Commandment of the Church, beginning at section 2575.

+lincolncity9 You always have a choice. Your choice is to go to work.

+lincolncity9 - why do you say I have an attitude when all I said was the Truth - we all have choices. You too have a choice whether to work or not to work on Sundays. However, you choose to go to work I have never stopped working and have worked all my life. The only difference between you and me is that I have the balls to choose to go down on my knees to pray and humbly ask that my circumstances in life would change according to God's holy will. It is God's will that we keep holy the Lord's day. If you pray the Rosary your request will be granted. I did not make this up - this came from the Blessed Virgin Mary - it is one of her 15 promises, and she ALWAYS fulfills her promises. I challenge you to go on your knees every night before going to bed beginning tonight, and pray the rosary (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious or at least just 1/3) for 9 days with fervor and humility. Beggars cannot be choosers, so pray as hard as you can and as sincerely as you can. . . . our Blessed Mother who loves each one of us and knows our necessities will do all she can to help. It is her promise, she who is conceived without original sin. But you need to get rid of your attitude first. . . . !!! Ask our Lady to help you get rid of the anger you have for others who are able to do God's will, not on their merits, mind you. I am only able to do God's will by the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. You are angry at me because I have chosen to do God's will.

Thank you for your question. Such pursuits are perfectly suited to the Day of Rest, assuming they do not interfere with one's first duty to sanctify the day by assisting at Holy Mass, giving the emphasis of the day to prayer and our spiritual needs. More specifically, all human activities can be categorized under five headings -- 1) cultural / intellectual works (done as an end in themselves, such as prayer, reading, writing, or playing a game), 2) ordinary works (addressing daily needs; tasks that each of us, or any society, must continually engage in, e.g., cooking, traveling, washing oneself, or on the part of a society, police/fire/armed services, transit and utilities services, etc.), 3) servile works (done as means to other ends; utilitarian work, especially manual labor), 4) commercial works (public buying and selling), and 5) judicial works (the work of public courts of law). Of these five classes of works, three are forbidden on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation: servile work, commercial work, and judicial work. God bless you.

What if you had no food in the house and all shops were shut, would you and your family go hungry?

@@anthonylangford8575For Sunday? Yes.

Most people have food at home and but still eat out. This all still makes me confused but I will keep looking for the answer.

Yes. Circumstances such as being paid for an activity do not change the nature of that activity, and it is only according to the nature of various human activities that they are deemed appropriate or not for the Sunday rest. God bless you.

@@TheFatimaCenter Thank you very much for your response. God bless you

+taffy Laffee Please go to this Church. They only celebrate the Traditional Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Contact me if you have any questions. i go to the one in Sta. Clarita, CA Ontario Our Lady of Victory Church Pastor: Fr. Bernard Uttley, OSB (Email) 1715 Dundas St. E. London, Ontario, Canada N5W 3E1 Phone/Fax: (519) 659-9477 Cell: (519) 535-5747 Sunday Mass: Sunday Mass: 9:00 a.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. Weekdays: 8:00 a.m. Click for times for weekday Masses and confessions. - See more at: www.cmri.org/latin-mass-directory/traditional-latin-mass-locations-5a.shtml#CANADA

GOD BLESS YOU.

Find a Latin Mass near you and get there. The novus ordo mass is awful and is not Catholic.

@@kpn5000 shame on art thou

Thank you for your important question. All human activities can be categorized under five headings -- 1) cultural / intellectual works (done as an end in themselves, such as prayer, reading, writing, or playing a game), 2) ordinary works (addressing daily needs; tasks that each of us, or any society, must continually engage in, e.g., cooking, traveling, washing oneself, or on the part of a society, police/fire/armed services, transit and utilities services, etc.), 3) servile works (done as means to other ends; utilitarian work, especially manual labor), 4) commercial works (public buying and selling), and 5) judicial works (the work of public courts of law). Of these five classes of works, three are forbidden on Sundays and Holydays of obligation: servile work, commercial work, and judicial work. So to answer your specific question, engaging in a liberal pursuit like language studies is perfectly suited to the day of rest. Being paid for the work does not change its nature, which alone determines its suitability to the day. Your situation is similar to sports umpires/referees, professional cooks/waiters, etc, who are paid to facilitate others' legitimate Sunday pursuits. The main concern for such persons is not to dedicate so much time of the day or so much of energy that it becomes difficult to make as the day's principal object, giving honor to God and advancing our spiritual needs. God bless you.

@@TheFatimaCenter I really appreciate your reply, thank you!

Thank you for your question which we will submit for reply in our Ask Father video series. In the meantime we note that "ordinary work" such as cooking the day's meals is permitted on Sundays to the extent that it is needful. Far better than grocery-store shopping for one's Sunday meal on that same day would be to do the necessary shopping earlier in the week. This is especially true in light of the pressure that the modern-day flow of customers puts upon store owners and employees to accommodate Sunday business. Restaurants and food trucks are a different matter, however, since they are preparing and serving meals, not merely selling food items. If it is a question of practices within your own family, it might be possible to change the situation by taking on the planning and preparation of Sunday meals yourself. God bless you.

@@TheFatimaCenter Thank you very much for your response! I will do the possible to change the situation in my family. But, just a little doubt, if they refuse to buy some prepared food or things to prepare food some days before Sunday or, by oblivion/forgetfulness, they have or I have to buy the food or the things in those places (supermarket, grocery stores, food trucks, restaurants, etc.), do I commit sin if I buy those things or food and/or eat them? I'd appreciate your response! It's something that is heavy in my consciousness.

We will have to refer your question to a priest for reply in our Ask Father video series. In the meantime we urge you to follow what is clearly the proper or best course, as well as an act of charity toward others, in avoiding any part of profaning Sundays and holy days. God bless you.

@@TheFatimaCenter Thank you very much! I'll wait that video-response!

Yes, in moderation. There is no prohibition of such works on Sundays, but they must not supplant the day's focus on our religious duties and spiritual needs. God bless you.

Thank you for your question which we will submit for reply in our Ask Father video series. In the meantime we note that a distinction would have to be made between types of work which are forbidden on Sundays (manual labor, retail, etc.) and those which are allowable (emergency services, healthcare, education, etc.) Even if the latter, one would still be obliged to observe the requirements for sanctifying the day so far as it is possible. God bless you.

No, it is not a mortal sin if you have no access to LICIT sacraments as is now COMMON. The late Fr. Hesse (canon lawyer and Thomistic theologian) made this perfectly clear. As much as I respect the late Fr. Gruner and John Vennari, their omission of these circumstances increases confusion. You can make spiritual communion, pray the Rosary and keep the Lord's Day holy that way according to St. Louis de Montfort, Church Doctor and Moral Theologian.

Joe Francis I think that would be a very bad idea. staying home and missing mass as decided by ourselves comes from our own pride to be in charge. I don't doubt that you have had bad experiences with Catholics or at a parish but that is no reason to miss Holy Mass. as you brother in Christ I need you to go to mass to help me. do not take it along yourself to decide what is better for you. Trust that God is allowing this crisis for His Glory. God bless

lincolncity9 Theologians distinguish five categories of human activities: Cultural works, Ordinary works, Servile works, Commercial works, and Judicial works. The latter three are forbidden under pain of serious sin on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation. Your question, if it is a serious one, concerns Ordinary works -- those tasks which people of all classes must do to accommodate the ordinary daily needs of the body (such as cooking, traveling/driving, and caring for the sick), as well as those tasks which certain individuals in every society must do to accommodate the ordinary daily needs of the community (such as to provide police and fire protection, and, again, to care for the sick and injured). Cultural and ordinary works are permitted on Sundays and Holy Days, but not to the exclusion of fulfilling our Sunday obligation to assist at a public Mass and to nurture our spiritual lives. Thus, for example, restaurant workers need to be assigned fewer hours on Sundays and Holy Days, in shifts that allow each worker to attend Mass. The law of the Church is quite plain, demanding our attendance at Holy Mass and forbidding Servile and Commercial work on Sundays and Holy Days. It is no more than an application of the Natural Law, as God Himself made explicit in the Third Commandment.

I do indeed fulfill my Sunday obligation. Sometimes after working a 12 hour shift Saturday into Sunday I attend Mass without sleeping first. Not trying to brag but I do my best to while living a very complicated work schedule. I just seem to get the feeling that people who criticise Catholics who work on Sunday's either have a lovely Monday to Friday job or don't work at all! And by the way my question to you was a serious one, why would you think otherwise?

+TheFatimaCenter I work at a hospital in an operating room. Once in a while have to take a 24hr call shift on a Sunday starting at 7am. Typically I go to a 4pm mass on Saturday. Two questions: 1. Does going to the Saturday mass fulfill my Sunday obligation? 2. Is it ok to do my job on Sundays? Thanks!

+PJ Madigan Our hunch is that Father Gruner would have advised you that the occasional Sunday hospital duty is permissible, though you should take all possible measures to ensure that it is not disadvantageous to your soul (e.g. dedicating as much as possible of the on-call time to spiritual reading and study, and attending Mass on Saturday or Monday), but that you should not attend a New Rite "Sunday vigil" Mass. Truly, however, your question exceeds our competence since we presently do not have a priest on staff. You would do well to seek the advice of a trustworthy priest.

+lincolncity9 Where there is common sense, the Holy Spirit is there. So if you are injured, you definitely need to take care of the your injury even if it is Sundeay, you need to go to the hospital.

@hillarymary. That's terrible. That's because they probably go to church but don't have the Lord in their hearts. Big difference!!

+lincolncity9 Specific kinds of work are permitted or forbidden on Sundays and holy days, without regard to circumstances or motives. Public buying and selling (commercial work) and manual labor (servile work) are forbidden. Attending to the daily needs of the body (e.g. washing, cooking) or of the community (e.g. emergency services), called ordinary work, and those higher works done for their own sake (e.g. conducting divine liturgy; prayer; study; recreational activities), called liberal work, are not forbidden.

+TheFatimaCenter so is sinful to catch a train or bus on a Sunday on route to church? After all we don't want the driver to fall into sin! Complete unrealistic holier than thou, hypocritical head in the cloud I'm ok Jack attitude! Sorry but you people don't live in the real world. How lucky you are that you don't need to work on a Sunday to support your family and it's these same people who believe Catholics should have a child every couple of years! Think I'll become a Buddhist at least they understand the difficulties that some people have!

+lincolncity9 Traveling is an example of ordinary work, which is permissible on Sundays and holy days. It is also permissible to drive for others on Sunday, just as it is to cook for others in a restaurant.

+TheFatimaCenter thank you, so I'm not all that evil when working on a Sunday. It's all very confusing. I must apologise for things I had written but it got me started when told that I had a choice in regard to working on Sunday's. In my position I don't.

lincolncity9 If they were working at the Papal Mass, they were participating in the Mass. Common sense .

Thank you for your question, which we will submit to Father Albert Kallio for response in his "Ask Father" series. In the meantime, we would remind you that public buying and selling is a profane endeavor, displacing the proper higher activities for which the holy day is reserved, requiring also the stores' staff to further desecrate the day by making it another work day.

TheFatimaCenter thank you so much for the responce. Much appreciated. And I of course do not want to start an argument but rather convey how I reasoned that we don’t know if the staff that works really does or doesn’t need the money, so obstaining would in a way may Be counterintuitive. Although the Lord always comes first and I’m just trying to search for the truth to follow Him. Thank You and God Bless