Long ago (well, back before 1992 and the Rae Government in Ontario) there was no such thing as Sunday shopping.  Shop-owners were not permitted to open their establishments for business on the Sabbath Day, the “day of rest”.

In those days, Sunday was reserved for going to Mass (in our house it was typically 12:00 noon on Sunday morning, when the traditional choir sang).  Sunday was a day for large breakfasts of bacon and eggs, toast, waffles, coffee etc. and relaxed afternoons of family-visits or entertaining with great Sunday meat-and-potatoes feasts, calm pursuits such as reading, listening to peaceful music and on many Sunday evenings, sitting around the television to watch Hymn Sing on the CBC, the Wonderful World of Disney and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Not so today.  These days Sunday mornings may find folks at church, but shortly after, they make their way to the malls, the grocery stores and restaurants, movie theatres and even their offices.  Why does this go on?  It’s a vicious circle.  People work hard through the week, there’s much to do with maintaining a family, a household, perhaps even holding down more than one job at a time.  When the weekend comes, for those who have even 48 hours of respite, there’s still the matter of buying food and picking up necessities and entertaining children.

With Sunday shopping giving free reign to those who require it, many choose to do the bulk of these activities on the Sabbath, the day of rest.  If someone is off work on Saturday, there still may be sports activities or dance classes, or birthday parties — all valid, but eating away at free time and pushing people into that corner of having only Sunday left to tidy up loose ends and prepare once again for the week ahead.

I’m as guilty of it as the next person.  My husband and I usually go to a 9:00 a.m. mass and then make our way to the grocery store to pick up groceries for my senior mother who lives nearby, or pick up some organic food at the large store near us (because the crowds are few and we can get in and out quickly).

It’s so easy to justify this common behaviour.  We need food on the table.  We need to rent that video, we need to buy a winter coat.  We need to take the kids to that movie.

With the advent of Sunday Shopping, has come the demise of family unity.  Youth are forced to work jobs on Sundays to meet employer expectations, in order that they can keep up with their peers – buy the latest gadgets and cool clothes.  Parents are out driving kids where they need to be, buying home and garden goods to keep their property up to snuff with their neighbours.  Moms are out buying convenience foods rather than preparing a traditional Sunday dinner for the family gatherings of yore.

I’m not pointing any fingers.  I just wonder how it was all done before–how we all coped without the ability to set foot in a grocery store, or a  boutique, or a department store for that “scratch’n’save” deal?

It’s time we got back to the real meaning of Sunday.  With Advent imminent, it is of particular importance that we recognize what Sunday means and try to bring our families home to the hearth.

Try this:  on Sunday, go to your church for mass and then go back home, make some home-brewed coffee, turn on a quiet radio station or pick up a good book.  Meanwhile, get the family together to prepare a big meal and dessert.  Share in the preparations, chat, laugh and pray.  Thank God for your time together as a family and for Sunday.  If you HAVE to go out to a store, nip in and out and buy only what you absolutely have to have.

Remember what Sunday is meant to be.  Rest, rejuvenate and restore yourselves for the work week ahead and leave the day of rest for God’s Day.

Peace,

Beatasum