The Sabbath Rest

The Sabbath is the first thing God sanctified. "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good….So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation."  [Genesis 1:31;2:3]

In the 21st century, the concept of a Sabbath rest sounds unrealistic. It is a practice from Old Testament times, and the early Church that has been almost abandoned. Part of this abandonment stems, in part, from the economic requirements for many to work on the Sabbath.

A positive effect that the Church recognizes with the call for rest from work is that such rest benefits the human spirit itself. It allows time to regroup, to connect with the Creator in a peaceful way. It also means that time away from work encourages better family communications. Sometimes parents work to provide young people with things that otherwise could not behave. This, however, feeds into consumerism issues as well as separating parent and child. Focus on the positive effect of family time together.

Encourage the young people in your group to find ways – even small ones – to observe a Sabbath rest. Maybe it can’t even happen on the actual Sabbath – Sunday. However, small steps lead to big rewards. If they start setting aside a specific time to rest, and succeed with that, they can move on to bigger challenges. Suggest they talk with their family about a sabbath rest, a time to be together for a meal, conversation, an activity together or whatever works in their own unique family situation.

In 1998, Pope John Paul II emphasized the sacredness of Sundays in his letter, The Day of the Lord. "It is not difficult to note that this ‘holy day’ is extraordinarily rich in significance. Its religious sense certainly does not conflict with human values, which makes Sunday a time of rest, of enjoyment of nature and of more social relations."


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