Is Working On Sundays “True Freedom”?

I was struck, once again, by the words coming from Pope Francis.  Once again I am in agreement with the message he wishes to impart for a world in need of some guidance.

This time he struck out at what had long been considered a foundation of not working on Sundays.  This weekend the Pope stated that “Maybe it is time to ask ourselves if working on Sundays is true freedom.”

I came from a home of faith, though we were not overly religious.  We said grace at meals, Southern Gospel was played on the record player, but we did not go to church every weekend.  But we had strong traditions about Sunday in our Hancock home that was more acted on than actually ever stated.

While Monday was always laundry day back home Friday was when Mom spent time with the vacuum and pail of water to spruce up the interior of the house.  During the week Dad had made sure the outdoor chores were completed from mowing the grass to whatever gardening needed to done.

Come Saturday we spent time grocery shopping and doing this or that.

But on Sunday there were no big projects slated to be done, and if anyone had tried Mom would have made it known that it was the weekend, and Sunday on top of it.  In the afternoons there might be a Sunday drive to look at various places in the area or just to travel down some scenic byway.  If we drove though a town–large or small–most of the bushiness were closed.  Companies always wanted to make money but the greed factor was tempered by the times.  Back home some relatives might drop by to chat under the shade trees outside or in the living room when the cold winds howled.  Sunday was a time for family and relaxation.

But for most everyone it seems that has all changed.

Which is why the Pope is hoping that he can find the way to show that economic needs should be put aside on Sunday to allow for more family time and stress-free living.  Asking if one has more freedom by being required to work on Sunday seems to me the perfect question and opens the debate for a topic that needs to be pondered.

Sunday patterns for James and myself today mirror that of our parents–minus the Sunday drive.  Some probably call it boring.  But I think the calm of one day per week is a healthy way to live.