Always Advent

Of all the topics related to observation of Sunday rest, my fourth suggestion is by far the most controversial and the one most likely to make people bristle:

4 – On Sunday, refrain from shopping, eating out, or engaging in commerce of any kind.

For Americans, this suggestion can seem ludicrous and unrealistic. But I’m not suggesting anything the Church has not already said: Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day. (CCC 2187)

Most stores and restaurants are open on Sunday, which is an invitation and a temptation to use the time set aside for rest in order to engage in commerce. By frequenting stores, restaurants, and other businesses on Sunday for our own recreation (or due to our own lack of planning earlier in the week), we are denying the owners and employees of those businesses their recreation.

Andy Eells discusses this convincingly and at length in his booklet, The Catholic Challenge, in an essay titled simply “Sunday”:

Personal shopping is an area which is almost entirely voluntary. Each of us can go a long way toward keeping Sunday holy — for ourselves and for others — by abstaining from shopping on Sunday. If we have to pay more for an item because we miss the Sunday sale, that is a sacrifice pleasing to God. It demonstrates concretely that we care more for God than money. The extra money spent is not really lost; it is exchanged for blessings of far greater value. If we suffer inconvenience by surviving without something we need until Monday, that is a sacrifice pleasing to God. If we must exert extra effor to provide for Sunday’s needs in advance, that is an exercise which will strengthen our basic orientation to God’s will.

A special type of Sunday work involves restaurant meals and commercial entertainment. When we avail ourselves of these services, we are obviously not working. Indeed, our purpose is to avoid work — that is, for ourselves. But we are responsible for the effect this has on those who provide the service. How many people are kept away from Church on Sunday because they work to supply food or recreation for others? Surely we must ask if we have created a great scandal by the combination of Sunday Mass with Sunday brunch.

I remember well a Mother’s Day several years ago: my brother treated our mother and me to brunch at a nice restaurant. Chatting with our waitress, we discovered that her husband and kids were home relaxing while here she was, working, on Mother’s Day, serving Mother’s Day brunch to us and hundreds of others. It made me sad, and I decided I didn’t want to participate in keeping families fragmented like that on Sundays.

Susan K. Rowland, in her book Make Room for God, also wrote extensively about the Sabbath. What we don’t do on Sunday must be as carefully considered as what we do:

There are a lot of “thou shalt nots” associated with the Sabbath, for a good reason. In order to become who we are, we must stop doing what we normally do. The Sabbath is a divine awareness of time. Nature cannot distinguish one day from another; a cow does not know when it is Sabbath. Therefore, if we are to observe the Sabbath, we must be intentional about it. We must STOP–stop working, cooking, sewing, shopping, eating out, running around. This leaves the Sabbath free–frighteningly free to most of us–to do as we please and to be our true selves. This is why God insists on it and why our culture detests it.

Here is a probably-not-exhaustive list of commerical activities I avoid on Sundays:

I don’t eat out at restaurants.
I don’t shop in any stores.
I don’t buy gas.
I don’t go to the library. (Even though this is not strictly commerce, my patronage of the library on Sunday still requires that the library be staffed on that day.)
I don’t go to commerical sporting events, movies, zoos, or other entertainments.
Even if they offer service on Sundays, I do not employ gardeners, repairmen, or other service workers.
I try not to travel long distances unless I can do so without needing to stop for gas.
I don’t rent movies.

Sometimes doing one of these things is unavoidable. I have been forced to buy gas a few times on a Sunday or risk not making it home. My family goes on an annual family retreat out-of-state, which takes place every October. It ends on a Saturday; since I have to be back at work on Monday and the children have to be in school, Sunday becomes a travel day, with frequent stops for gas and food. Last Sunday my youngest daughter was invited to a Laser Tag birthday party, which I allowed her to attend. These things are uncommon exceptions, though, and life is a journey toward perfection, not the attainment of it. We do our best to keep Sunday as holy and peaceful as possible for ourselves and for others.

Staying out of the malls and preparing a home-cooked brunch on Sunday instead of a restaurant meal could send a powerful message to our 24/7 culture. But even if it doesn’t–even if the commerce machine keeps on rolling unchecked–Catholics can still gain the benefits of the boycott, one of which is simply time–time to do what God intended for the Sabbath.

Now that we’ve covered what not to do on Sunday (in parts 1 through 4), check back tomorrow to find some suggestions for what to do with all the time you gain. (Copyright 2007 by Clare Siobhan)

Links:

“Green Martyrdom” — http://claresiobhan.stblogs.com/2007/12/15/green-martyrdom/
This refers to the idea of willingly suffering financial burdens and disadvantages as a result of following our Catholic faith, such as missing the Sunday sale or having to limit our commerce to what we can accomplish Monday through Saturday.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2168-2195
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a3.htm#I

Apostolic letter Dies Domini
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html

Apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte_en.html

“Take Back Your Time” Day website: www.timeday.org

Make Room for God by Susan K. Rowland. Available at St. Anthony Messenger Press:
http://catalog.americancatholic.org/product.aspx?prodid=I16778&pcat=73
Clare’s review of the book is available at The National Catholic Register:
http://ncregister.com/site/article/3370
(If you already subscribe to the print version of the paper, you can log on and read it online. Otherwise, you will have to register/subscribe online.)

Note: Andy Eells’s booklet, The Catholic Challenge, appears to be out of print. It was published in 1990 by Max Cotto Books. I couldn’t find any resources on the internet, but the mailing address for Max Cotto Books is 2322 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fr. Lauderdale, FL 33306. Don’t confuse this booklet with a similarly titled book by Thomas W. Rezanka: The Catholic Challenge: A Question of Conscience. Rezanka’s book promotes dissident Catholic ideology and the website for the book (thecatholicchallenge.com) links to dissident groups Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful.

Other articles in this series, 5 Things Catholics Can Do to Keep the Sabbath Holy:
part one: get Sunday off from work
part two: make it a family day, no individual commitments outside the family
part three: refrain from heavy housework or yardwork

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This series of articles is an expanded adaptation of a much shorter article I originally wrote for the National Catholic Register (July 18-24, 2004) called “Take Back the Sabbath”.
Subscribers can access the original article at this link:

http://ncregister.com/site/article/5383

When you go there, note the attempt to make “Siobhan” more pronouncable by changing the spelling. :)

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