True Rest: Commandment and Gift

Modern society moves at a breakneck pace, often convincing us that we must either keep up or give up. While productivity, efficiency, and success are honorable goals, too often, we strive to keep up this feverish pace, and in doing so, we fail to rest well. As the world coaxes us to work without respite, our Divine Designer offers us to true rest. True rest is more than simply stopping or slowing down. It allows us to connect deeply with God, to give him our burdens, and receive his peace.

We know the creation story, where God spent six days creating the earth and rested on the seventh. This act of rest was so important that not only did God demonstrate it himself, but he also commanded us to observe the sabbath as part of the Ten Commandments. Perhaps we’ve heard this so often that its significance is lost on us and its practice has become stale. In his apostolic letter “Dies Domini”, St. John Paul the Great observed a lack of holy rest among the faithful and implored us to revive this practice:

"...I would strongly urge everyone to rediscover Sunday: Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ!"

True rest is both a commandment and a gift to humanity that isn’t exclusively for Sunday. As we rest, we learn to relinquish our grip on earthly things and ponder the reality of God’s great love for us. In light of this, how might we respond to the commandment to keep holy the sabbath and to cultivate rhythms of holy rest throughout the rest of the week, too?

Rhythms of Rest

In a video produced by Ascension Presents titled “God Wants You to Rest”, Sr. Mary Grace, SV, explains that humans were not created for work. Rather, she explains, we were created for rest. Sister acknowledges that rest can feel cumbersome, as we are often programmed to perform and produce. But true rest, she encourages, is always a worthy pursuit.

This holy call to rest, as Sr. Mary Grace suggests, is not solely for Sunday. At a deep interior level, we should seek to cultivate a state of spiritual rest, or peace, at all times. But on a material level, we can also seek to establish rhythms of rest into our days. This is not to say we should exclusively spend our time at leisure, for that is simply not practical. But how might we build a life that allows for moments – sometimes minutes, sometimes hours – where we find rest?

Sr. Mary Grace provides questions to help the viewer determine what sort of activities might lead to true rest. “What rejuvenates you?” she asks, “What could you do forever?” How we answer these questions, Sr. Mary Grace shares, may teach us how to rest well. If we choose to make time for these things that lighten our soul, we will find ourselves more at peace, more in tune with the Holy Spirit, and more able to continue our work with joy.

Sabbath, Covenant, and Biblical Roots

In the Book of Deuteronomy, we watch the whole history of Israel unfolding as a love story between God and his chosen people. Enslaved in Egypt for centuries, the Lord would keep his promise to free his beloved Israelites from bondage. Upon their liberation, God instructs them

“Remember that you too were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD, your God, brought you out from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the LORD, your God, has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.” (Deut. 5:15)

This moment in scripture not only highlights God’s faithfulness but also the enduring significance of the sabbath. Here, we see the sabbath not merely as a request for repose or an invitation to idleness, but as a powerful sign of God’s “irrevocable covenant” (CCC 2171) – one that he still keeps today. This is no trite notion, and when pondered, can offer us immense confidence. We frequently grow weary on our earthly pilgrimage. Sin, suffering, and our human condition may render us discouraged or weak. By keeping Sunday set apart, we hold fast to the Lord’s eternal promise.

Silence and Stillness

“Never be in a hurry,” St. Francis of de Sales says. Reading this quote, I want to hide my face. More often than I care to admit, I find myself leaving the house flustered, pushing my speed just a tad, or snapping at my spouse because I’m agitated and late for something.

St. Francis continues,

“do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”

As I reflect on these words, I’m convinced that any internal distress I experience could be eased if I simply slow my pace – and I mean this in the most practical of ways. St. Francis’ quote conjures up images of some of the individuals I respect and admire the most, and in reflecting, I realize they all seem to share this quality of a restful spirit. Notably, these individuals are absolutely not lazy or slothlike, but their measured pace – in speech and movement – suggests that they are deeply rooted in the present moment. How the Lord must delight as we take this posture!

Like all virtue, holy rest takes practice, discipline, and an openness to grace. Next time we are tempted to rush or feel that true rest is for another person, another time, another season, remember Our Lord’s own words and take heart as you hear him say,

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28)