Week 4 (PART 3)
Sunday is the One Thing
Dear Friends in Christ,
During the first weeks of this new year in God’s grace, we have been exploring what it means to slow down. In particular, Matthew Kelly has been guiding us with his wisdom in Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy. This week, we really get to the heart of the book: Part Three: The One Thing. So far, we have been focusing on what it could mean for us to slow down, to take a breather, to do less but to live life more fully. How could less be more?! Especially in our American culture, more is perceived as better. “Supersize me!” And many of us have been trying to supersize our lives by cramming more in. But this week we are not only invited to slow down, we are also invited to stop, to pause, to take a day of rest, to imitate our Creator.
On the seventh day, God rested. God was not tired. God did not even break a sweat in the creation of the universe, having brought all into being simply by the power of his Word. God rested so we would take notice and imitate, so that we could see and understand that rest, rejuvenation, and recreation was baked into the fabric of the universe.
Kelly borrows from the great Josef Pieper’s Leisure the Basis of Culture to deepen our understanding of the rest we are invited into by God. It is not just doing nothing, or catching our breath to go hard again, Leisure is an openness or attitude of pondering and wondering. Leisure is that stroll through the gardens on a sunny day just marveling and relishing in all that God has made and done. And from that attitude, art and culture are born. Without leisure, Seneca would say, we are not living but merely existing (p.68). And Pascal notes, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room” (p.70).
As a younger man, I was accustomed to go away and be alone with God for a day or two, what Catherine Doherty calls, Poustinia. We might describe it as taking a “desert day,” full of silence and Scripture, a walk and some fasting. Since embracing the duties of pastor, I have lapsed in this custom, trying to do more here with you. But part of my embrace of this little book was a return to a couple of days of prayer, which I was blessed to be able to enter into last week. And it was a revelation of part of what has been missing in my life and a reminder for me of the goodness of immersive time alone with God. I hope to reform my habit this year. And I am grateful to our dedicated and generous staff for making this time away possible!
As Christians we are meant to have a day of rest, leisure and worship, each week. It is so important and impactful that should we skip it, we violate the Third Commandment (great article, lots of good quotes to ponder!), a grave sin, meaning we ought to seek out the Sacrament of Penance before returning to the Eucharistic table. And I know many of us in the pandemic were jostled out of the practice of weekly worship and have not regained that consistent rhythm and I try to accept that reality with great pastoral sensitivity. But meanwhile, our lives continue to accelerate. The real question is not, “Did I fit Mass into Sunday? Did I get it in?” but “How well did I live the Lord’s Day in imitation of the One who set it aside for worship and leisure?” Getting to church on the weekend is just part of God’s design.
The invitation this week is to set aside Sunday as a rest for worship and true rest, as God intended. What could you move to another day of week? How could you create some space on the Lord’s Day to just waste time with God, with family and friends? I would invite you to make at least part of your Sunday free from technology and screens. Yes, it is a big ask, but my time away last week inspires me to lean into this with you.
May God bless you!
Fr. Wilson
