How to celebrate Sunday as a Catholic
July 11, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.
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?
Then maybe it’s time to reclaim Sunday as a day of rest!
There was a time when Sunday was a special day. 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 seven 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 another day for catching up on errands, chores and social media feeds.
But we have to ask ourselves: What implications does our round-the-clock world have on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being?
Experts agree that it is important to balance activity with rest. Physical, mental and emotional strain depletes your energy and produces feelings of tension and fatigue. Rest gives your body a chance to replenish itself.
But there’s a spiritual component involved, too. Pope Benedict XVI warned: “The men and women in our technical age risk becoming victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements, ending up in spiritual barrenness and emptiness of heart.”
When we observe Sunday as a day of rest, it offers us physical renewal, but it also gives our souls a chance to catch up with our busy lives. Sunday offers us the opportunity to reflect on the spiritual side of our existence, to appreciate our blessings, and to draw closer to God.
The best advice for Catholics who want to reclaim Sunday as a day of rest is to start slowly. If you haven’t been going to Mass every Sunday, this is the best place to start. Make the commitment to attend Mass every week to hear God’s words in the Scripture and be nourished by the Eucharist.
How you find rest and holiness on Sunday will depend on what you do during the week. If you are sedentary most of the week, an outdoor adventure on Sunday will give you a chance to appreciate God’s creation. If you are engaged in physical labor during the week, Sunday can be a quiet day to restore yourself. If you’re with people all week, you might build some solitude into your Sunday. If you don’t get a chance to see family members as often as you’d like during your work week, Sunday could become your family day.
If your job requires that you work on Sunday, try to incorporate the holiness of the day into whatever you do. Try to set aside some time during the day to reflect on God.
Keeping Sundays holy does not mean that you become a watchdog over yourself or other people. It means making room for rest and gratitude. Jesus reminded us that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27).
Lorene Hanley Duquin is a Catholic author and lecturer who has worked in parishes and on a diocesan level.
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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?
Then maybe it’s time to reclaim Sunday as a day of rest!
There was a time when Sunday was a special day. 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 seven 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 another day for catching up on errands, chores and social media feeds.
But we have to ask ourselves: What implications does our round-the-clock world have on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being?
Experts agree that it is important to balance activity with rest. Physical, mental and emotional strain depletes your energy and produces feelings of tension and fatigue. Rest gives your body a chance to replenish itself.
But there’s a spiritual component involved, too. Pope Benedict XVI warned: “The men and women in our technical age risk becoming victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements, ending up in spiritual barrenness and emptiness of heart.”
When we observe Sunday as a day of rest, it offers us physical renewal, but it also gives our souls a chance to catch up with our busy lives. Sunday offers us the opportunity to reflect on the spiritual side of our existence, to appreciate our blessings, and to draw closer to God.
The best advice for Catholics who want to reclaim Sunday as a day of rest is to start slowly. If you haven’t been going to Mass every Sunday, this is the best place to start. Make the commitment to attend Mass every week to hear God’s words in the Scripture and be nourished by the Eucharist.
How you find rest and holiness on Sunday will depend on what you do during the week. If you are sedentary most of the week, an outdoor adventure on Sunday will give you a chance to appreciate God’s creation. If you are engaged in physical labor during the week, Sunday can be a quiet day to restore yourself. If you’re with people all week, you might build some solitude into your Sunday. If you don’t get a chance to see family members as often as you’d like during your work week, Sunday could become your family day.
If your job requires that you work on Sunday, try to incorporate the holiness of the day into whatever you do. Try to set aside some time during the day to reflect on God.
Keeping Sundays holy does not mean that you become a watchdog over yourself or other people. It means making room for rest and gratitude. Jesus reminded us that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27).
Lorene Hanley Duquin is a Catholic author and lecturer who has worked in parishes and on a diocesan level.