Imagine having a full day each week to set aside all your worries, all the hustle and bustle of life and just enjoy! What is on your wish-list? Dinner with the whole family at the same time? A bike ride with the kids? Run and play at the park? Listen to music or read a book? Call or write a letter to a friend? The opportunities are endless, but only if you take advantage of your divine day of vacation.
As a young child, in the early 60s, our weekends had a very simple formula. Saturdays began by going to our school sporting activities followed by our Saturday chores and the weekly shopping. With the chores done, the rest of the day was ours to do whatever we wanted.
We began our Sundays going to Mass as a family followed by a big breakfast and then… well, whatever we wanted to do. We might go visit some friends or just play with no particular schedule. Stores were closed on Sundays back then and Sunday afternoons were quiet and peaceful. I recall my grandparents often coming for dinner and then we gathered around the TV to watch Bonanza before saying our prayers and going off to bed.
Fast forward fifty years or so and it is apparent that we have lost the beautiful gift of the day of rest given to us by our Father. With stores open, many are required to work on Sundays and those who aren’t at work are often catching up on Saturday’s chores to prepare for the week ahead. Sunday’s have become just another day of the week. A day to catch up on housework, run the kids to a variety of sporting events, prepare for a Monday morning meeting and help the kids with a school project before catching the big game on TV. And then… if possible… find time to squeeze in Mass.
We have turned God’s gift, His weekly divine day of vacation, on its head. The exact opposite of what He wanted for us. Instead of putting worship and resting in the Lord at the center of our day, Sundays are now focused on worldly desires and activities. We end the day and begin the week exhausted, instead of rejuvenated?
Would you like to recapture the spiritual purpose of Sundays? Here’s how. It begins with a choice to trust His plan for Sunday over yours and making the commitment to safeguard Sundays. Next, be intentional about Saturday. Make Saturday the day to get caught up, including homework and preparing for Monday morning’s meeting. Anything that doesn’t get done on Saturday… well… it must not have been all that important and can be set aside so that Sunday’s can truly be a day of worship and rest.
Make time with God your main priority for Sundays. Starting the day resting in Jesus at church, sets the tone for a day for rest, relaxation and for enjoying and building relationship with family and friends. This is why God gave us His divine day of vacation. To enjoy the truly finer things in life.
Are you ready to recapture your Sundays? Are you ready to reorganize your weekend and your priorities and trust in God’s divine day of vacation? Or, do you want to continue with the worldly plan of making Sunday just another day of the week? Write out a wish list of the the ways you would like to enjoy your divine day of vacation and make them come true.
To dive deeper in your knowledge of learning and living the 10 Commandments on a daily basis in order to experience true joy and freedom, visit our 10 Commandments Page that corresponds to each of the 10 Commandments.
God’s Recipe for a Wonderful Life is now on the Catholic Radio Network! Tune in each Sunday at 8am Central Time to hear how the Commandments are God’s solution to the chaos & confusion of our world!
