Rest Day sunday
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July 26, 2023In our fourth and final short catechesis, I want to emphasize how Sunday Eucharist should define not only the day, but the whole week, as the Eucharist is the “source and summit of our whole Christian life.” Celebrating the Sunday Eucharist - though central and essential - does not complete our observance of Sunday. In addition to attending Mass each Sunday, we should also refrain “from those activities which impede the worship of God and disturb the joy proper to the day of the Lord or the necessary relaxation of mind and body” (CCC, no. 453).
Sunday has traditionally been a day of rest. However, the concept of a day of rest may seem odd in a world that runs 24/7, where we are tethered to our jobs by a variety of electronic gadgets, where businesses run as normal no matter what the day of the week, and where silence seems to be an endangered species. By taking a day each week to rest in the Lord, we provide a living example to the culture that all time belongs to God and that people are more important than things.
As Pope John Paul II said in his apostolic letter Dies Domini (The Day of the Lord), “Through Sunday rest, daily concerns and tasks can find their proper perspective: the material things about which we worry give way to spiritual values; in a moment of encounter and less pressured exchange, we see the true face of the people with whom we live. Even the beauties of nature—too often marred by the desire to exploit, which turns against man himself—can be rediscovered and enjoyed to the full.” (No. 67)
Resting on Sunday does not mean that we are inactive. Instead, it is consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life. (CCC, no. 2186)
To celebrate the Lord’s Day more fully, consider trying the following: Don’t use Sunday as your catch-all day for errands and household chores. Share a family meal after Mass. Go for a walk or bike ride and give thanks to God for the beauty of nature. Spend time reading the Bible or a spiritual book. Pray the Rosary alone or with others. Volunteer in a church ministry. Visit parishioners and others who are homebound. Read Bible stories to your children. Turn off your gadgets and enjoy the silence. Spend time in the Eucharistic Chapel.
As we take time each week to celebrate the Paschal Mystery in the Eucharist and to rest from the burdens of our daily lives, we remind ourselves that we are made in the image and likeness of God who “rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken” (Gn 2:2).
