One Year to Glory – January 6, 2013

Sunday. The Lord’s Day. I’ve been thinking about this more and more lately. In our family, we use Sunday to catch up on errands we didn’t get to on Saturday. Recently, Sunday has become our grocery shopping day. Does grocery shopping on Sunday run counter to church teaching? When I consulted an article from About.com that referenced the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the information I found only led me to ask more questions. This adapted statement specifically caused one of my proverbial eyebrows to be raised…

And finally, since “Sanctifying Sunday and holy days requires a common effort,” “Christians should see recognition of Sundays and the Church’s holy days as legal holidays.” Even without such legal recognition, however, “Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day.”

So what’s necessary? Family’s gotta eat. Is what’s being shopped for important? Does it matter how much is being purchased? I could go on. For me, in the final analysis, there are six other days in the week to do the grocery shopping. I think it would do us some good, as a family, to get out of the habit. The habit of grocery shopping on Sundays, that is, not eating on Sundays.

Later in the day yesterday, I found myself sitting in the basement watching TV. I was switching among the Seahawks / Redskins game, the KU / Temple basketball game and The History of the FA Cup on Fox Soccer Channel. At the same time I was completing a computer tutorial for work. I thought for a moment, “man I’m not doing anything right in God’s eyes right now. I’m working when I should be resting but I’m being really frivolous while watching all these sporting events at once.” Back to the catechism. I know I’m outta luck on the work thing but if I’d just been watching TV would I be ok?

Well, sort of…

I consulted the Catechism article again and noted this statement…The faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder “worship, joy, works of mercy, and relaxation.” Awesome! Watching sports on TV is definitely not hindering my joy or relaxation. But wait a minute – another statement seems to add some more depth, or possibly confusion, to the concept. “The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.” Hmm…let’s take inventory for a moment.

Familial – nope, I was alone

Cultural – watching sports was not helping me become more cultured

Social – nope, still alone

Religious – uh, no

Ok, so if we were enjoying televised sports as a family, or with friends, and using the time to deepen our relationships, that would constitute Sunday time well spent. Got it.

Sunday also marked the return of something that hadn’t been around in quite a while. Preparation for Monday. With Jenny able to resume her household duties 100%, there was nothing stopping me from returning to the gym and getting back into the routine I’d relied upon up until September 6^th. So as Sunday drew to a close, there I was making Monday’s lunch, organizing clothes and packing my gym bag for an early Monday morning trek to Lifetime Fitness.

As I write this, I’m questioning whether I should have been doing this type of preparation on the Lord’s Day. What if it could have been done on Saturday? Seems like an odd day to iron clothes, but after all we Catholics are different. To follow the Lord requires us to do things quite differently from many. In any pursuit, aren’t the ones who fly in the face on convention having all the success anyway?

Here’s what I know – looks it’s time to talk to Jennifer and Jack about how we do Sundays at our house. 

Here’s to being up for the challenge!

 

Todd Marsha