Holy Family Parish

In a little more than a week, I’ll be heading to South Carolina for a family vacation.  Thirty-three years ago, my parents went to Myrtle Beach for their honeymoon, and our family has gone back nearly every summer ever since.  Over the course of the years, we have developed an ever refined and highly detailed document known among our family and friends as “The Myrtle Directions.”  It includes copious notes about the cleanliness (or not-so-cleanliness) of every bathroom between Pittsburgh and Myrtle Beach, the best and worst places to stop for food, interesting sight-seeing excursion along the way, the most likely places to run into a speed trap, and perhaps the most valuable piece of information: every available shortcut. 

It’s an interesting phenomenon that we rush in order to relax.  We crave the downtime.  And in fact, we need it.  We are wired to desire downtime.  After all, we are human beings, not human doings.  As valuable as work and productivity are, we were made in the image of a God who, though productive for six days, dedicated an entire day of creation to resting and enjoying his work. 

Recall that Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  He places a high premium on rest, and he modeled it for us in his own work.  Despite his busy schedule, Jesus still regularly took time away to recharge with his Father (see Luke 5:16).   Jesus also expected that his disciples would take a break from their work and rest: “[Jesus] said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while’” (Mark 6:31).  Leisure is very important to God, and it is part of the reason that he commands a Sabbath rest: God wants us to have a “vacation” once a week.  Leisure provides the time for creativity, deep thought, and deeper prayer.  Leisure is holy.

Whether or not you can take a vacation this summer, here are a few ways that you can incorporate holy leisure in your summer plans:

• Make a pilgrimage to a nearby church or shrine and spend some time in silence
• Spend a whole day in silence (work is probably a bad place to do this)
• Pick a day to wake up extra early and arrive early for daily Mass (sleeping in the presence of the Lord is ok)
• Make a holy hour in a church with or without Eucharistic exposition
• Make sure you don’t miss Sunday Mass wherever you are (www.MassTimes.org)