A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality. Well, it is wonderful in theory, but nearly impossible in practice for many people. Particularly for health care and emergency services workers.
For some, it is the notion of going to church that is a turn off, so they boogie out into nature and get their spiritual boost there. Below is a clergyman's interpretation.
“What the Sabbath is about is honoring life and improving the life of those around you,” he said. “I think it’s even more necessary and important now because what technology does is enable us to never stop working.”
I often hear the refrain, “I am just so busy; I have no time,” and “Isn’t time just flying by?” We live in a hyperactive and harried world. We try to cram in as much as possible, and I believe we often miss the opportunity to be still and to appreciate the present. I know I am guilty of filling every moment with activity, and at times, I can be overwhelmed.
Nearly every religion has some focus on making room for rest in our lives. The most practiced world religions recognize a day of rest, and many rituals and celebrations are built around that. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2184 tells us, “Just as God rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done, human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Sabbath helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familiar, cultural, social and religious lives.”
Read more: A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/mysource/hebronbulletin/x574915173/A-day-of-rest-is-an-important-part-of-our-lives-and-spirituality#ixzz1dXFfU7Lu
God’s wisdom
"Perhaps we can ask our public leaders to set Sundays as a day of rest — a Sabbath, so we might have at least one day per week in which activities would not be obligatory. But perhaps it is more important that we trust in God’s wisdom of setting a Sabbath, and claim our need for rest, putting the decision to break from the harried pace in our lives into our own hands. Perhaps we may need to stand up to secular demands and designate time with no commitments except to relax with family and friends, to reinstate the Sunday dinner that has been a sacred part of families in previous generations.
My prayer is that all of us in this beautiful community will do ourselves some favors: Get some rest; stop and see the colors of the leaves change while the sun is setting and the moon is rising; sit and talk with your spouse and children about everything and about nothing at all; and take a walk and tell those closest to you that you love them. Let us enjoy the incredible gift we have in each other and in the nature around us. Let us give ourselves the gift of our presence to each other by finding time to be present fully in new ways."
Read more: A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/mysource/hebronbulletin/x574915173/A-day-of-rest-is-an-important-part-of-our-lives-and-spirituality#ixzz1dXFoA2om
A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality. I find the analogy stated above that God's wisdom tells us that we take a day of rest just because God did a bit of a stretch. Still, when it all comes down to it, a day of rest is always a welcome thing.
The choice of venue is the question.
For some, it is the notion of going to church that is a turn off, so they boogie out into nature and get their spiritual boost there. Below is a clergyman's interpretation.
“What the Sabbath is about is honoring life and improving the life of those around you,” he said. “I think it’s even more necessary and important now because what technology does is enable us to never stop working.”
I often hear the refrain, “I am just so busy; I have no time,” and “Isn’t time just flying by?” We live in a hyperactive and harried world. We try to cram in as much as possible, and I believe we often miss the opportunity to be still and to appreciate the present. I know I am guilty of filling every moment with activity, and at times, I can be overwhelmed.
Nearly every religion has some focus on making room for rest in our lives. The most practiced world religions recognize a day of rest, and many rituals and celebrations are built around that. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2184 tells us, “Just as God rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done, human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Sabbath helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familiar, cultural, social and religious lives.”
Read more: A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/mysource/hebronbulletin/x574915173/A-day-of-rest-is-an-important-part-of-our-lives-and-spirituality#ixzz1dXFfU7Lu
God’s wisdom
"Perhaps we can ask our public leaders to set Sundays as a day of rest — a Sabbath, so we might have at least one day per week in which activities would not be obligatory. But perhaps it is more important that we trust in God’s wisdom of setting a Sabbath, and claim our need for rest, putting the decision to break from the harried pace in our lives into our own hands. Perhaps we may need to stand up to secular demands and designate time with no commitments except to relax with family and friends, to reinstate the Sunday dinner that has been a sacred part of families in previous generations.
My prayer is that all of us in this beautiful community will do ourselves some favors: Get some rest; stop and see the colors of the leaves change while the sun is setting and the moon is rising; sit and talk with your spouse and children about everything and about nothing at all; and take a walk and tell those closest to you that you love them. Let us enjoy the incredible gift we have in each other and in the nature around us. Let us give ourselves the gift of our presence to each other by finding time to be present fully in new ways."
Read more: A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/mysource/hebronbulletin/x574915173/A-day-of-rest-is-an-important-part-of-our-lives-and-spirituality#ixzz1dXFoA2om
A day of rest is an important part of our lives and spirituality. I find the analogy stated above that God's wisdom tells us that we take a day of rest just because God did a bit of a stretch. Still, when it all comes down to it, a day of rest is always a welcome thing.
The choice of venue is the question.
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