Do you feel like you’re on a treadmill that never stops? Do you need some quiet time? Some family time? Some time when you can renew your mind, your body and your spirit? Things that make us the “good life?” Then maybe it’s time to reclaim Sunday as a day of rest and a special day.
In days gone by, people went to church on Sunday morning. The afternoon was a great time for a good book, a visit to friends and neighbors, or a little nap. Families gathered for Sunday dinner. Children played with their cousins.
Stores, banks, businesses, schools and libraries were closed. It was unthinkable to do laundry or housecleaning. Sunday was the Lord’s Day. It was a special day, a day of celebration, a day of rest.
Times have changed.
Nowadays, Sunday seems like just another day. Parking lots at supermarkets and shopping malls are packed with cars.
Many of us work on Sunday. Too few families have time for family dinners or playing with cousins. It seems like fewer Catholics than ever see Sunday as a reason for celebration or for rest.
We live in a world economy that operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Parents juggle work demands in addition to the busy schedules of children involved in school, sports, scouts, music and other activities. Sunday has become just like any other day.
What implications does our round the clock world have on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being? It’s important to balance activity with rest. Physical, mental and emotional strain, deplete our energy and produces feelings of tension and fatigue. Rest gives your body a chance to replenish itself.
There is also a spiritual component involved as well. “The man and women in our technical age risk becoming victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements, ending up in spiritual awareness, and emptiness of heart.” Pope Benedict
How do you celebrate your Sundays? Do you make room for rest and gratitude? After all, Jesus reminds us that “the Sabbath was made for man, not made for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27.
Smitten With Goodness 