We have a commandment from God: Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy. We can all agree that this commandment has fallen on hard times today. It is not just that fewer and fewer people are going to their churches on Sunday, or that more and more shops and businesses are open on Sunday, or that sporting events now take up much of the Sabbath space once reserved for religion. Fr. Ron Rolheiser writes that the deeper issue is that more and more of us can no longer slow down our lives, shut down the communication machines, get away from the stress and preoccupations in our lives, and simply stop and rest. With this in mind, he offers Ten Councils for practicing Sabbath today.
- Practice Sabbath with the discipline demanded of a commandment, even as you practice the discipline of life and duty.
- Have at least one “Sabbath” moment every day.
- Go somewhere every week where you can’t be reached and have a “cyber-Sabbath.”
- Honor the “wisdom of dormancy.” Do something regularly that is non-pragmatic.
- Pray and meditate regularly in some way.
- Be attentive to little children, old people, and the weather.
- Live by axiom: “If not now, when? If not here, where? If not with these people, with whom? If not for God, why?
- Let your body also know that it is Sabbath.
- Make family and relationships the priority.
- Don’t nurse grudges and obsessions.
God gave us the Sabbath for our health and our enjoyment.