Does God want us to rest?
Catechism Meditation:
The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives. On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. ―Nos. 2184-2185
REFLECTION: In his reflection on Spiritual Training from the book Praying with Saint Paul, Fr. J. M. Sullivan, O.P. writes… One part of physical training that most people never think about but that all great athletes will attest is certainly about the physical activity that the body can do, but physical training is also about the body getting the rest the body needs so that it can accomplish that physical training. Saint Paul’s words to Timothy about spiritual training can be seen in the same way: not in terms of doing things spiritually, but in resting in things spiritually. “Train yourself for devotion, for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future” (1 Tm 4:7).
Training ourselves for devotion, then, means “resting” ourselves for devotion. One of the obligations that we as Catholics have every Sunday is to attend Mass and to observe a holy day of rest. Both are intimately related to the other. This obligation not only keeps the worship of the Lord as a regular practice of our life, but it also reminds us of our obligations in other areas of our lives. While Sunday is always to be devoted to the Lord, it is also dedicated to our families and healthy recreation. Sunday helps us to remember in the simplest of terms that there are other people who matter beyond ourselves. The Catechism tells us that joy is connected to worship and merciful service and appropriate relaxation of mind and body. It is this relaxation, so essential to true spiritual growth, and this training for devotion which hold a promise of life both for the present and for the future.
PRAYER. Lord of the Sabbath, You give me a day of rest each week to worship and grow in devotion. Give me greater desire for the holy life of heaven so that each day of my life here might prepare me for that Eternal Day with You.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“If we followed the same rules for health that we do about religion, we would all be bedridden. It is not enough to talk about the necessity of health; we must do something practical about it – for example, eat, exercise and rest. So it is with religion. We must nourish ourselves with the truths of God, exercise our spiritual muscles in prayer, mortify ourselves of those things which are harmful to the soul, and be just as scrupulous in avoiding moral evil as we are in avoiding physical evil.” ― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen