December 6, 2020 - "How We Spend Our Time"

We are now in the second week of a new liturgical year.  Often people make resolutions at the beginning of the year in the hope that they can make small improvements in their lives that will help us grow in virtue.  One of the things that we could look at is how we spend our time, and notably how we spend our Sundays.  What might we do now in the midst of the COVID-19 restrictions on our time and activities?  What might we do when we return to a more “normal” schedule?  Here are some thoughts.
 
A number of years ago Saint John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter on Sunday (Dies Domini) in which he made the following suggestion:
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 mo- ment of encounter and less pressured exchange, we see the true face of 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 re- discovered and enjoyed to the full. 
(Dies Domini, no. 67)
 
It is true that certain people must work on Sundays.  These include healthcare providers and public safety workers, including first responders.  They need to work on Sundays to keep the rest of us safe and healthy.  Other people must work for economic reasons that are beyond their control.
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides us with good advice about appropriate activity on the Lord’s Day:
Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service to 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)
 
Here are some suggestions that may help us to celebrate the Lord’s Day more fully:
· Don’t use Sundays as your catch-all day for errands and household chores.
· Share a family dinner after Mass.  Have the whole family join in the preparation and cleanup.
· 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 or the Liturgy of the Hours, alone or with others.
· Volunteer in a local food pantry.
· Visit parishioners and others who are homebound.
· Read Bible stories to your children.
· Turn off gadgets and enjoy the silence.
 
Many of the ideas I have taken from “Celebrating the Lords Day” copyright @2010, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops., Washington, D.C.  Used with permission.  All rights reserved.  If you would like a complete copy of the document, please let me know and I’ll be glad to send it to you.
 
Until next week,
Fr. John