Letter 21
To my dear brother in Christ,
The matter of Sunday observance — specifically, the question of what kinds of work are and are not permissible on the Lord's Day — is one on which there is more variation in practice than the canons suggest there should be.
The principle I work from: Sunday is set apart for worship, for rest, and for the works of charity that cannot wait. Agricultural work, commerce, and construction are to be avoided. The care of the sick, the feeding of those who would otherwise go hungry, and the works that fall under the category of genuine emergency — these are not prohibited.
The difficulty comes in the large grey area: the merchant who travels on Sunday because his schedule requires it, the craftsman who does a few hours of work in the afternoon, the household that prepares food in ways that involve the servants working harder than they otherwise would. A bishop who insists on strict observance in every case will be dismissed as impractical. A bishop who allows every convenience to justify exception has abandoned the principle.
My approach is to preach the principle clearly and consistently, to apply it firmly in cases of obvious violation, and to exercise pastoral judgment in the grey areas. I suspect you are doing something similar.
Desiderius
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.