“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Not only might it make Jack dull, but it also might cripple Jack’s attempts at being happy, healthy and even holy!
Make no mistake. Growing in holiness – making real in our own lives the love of the God in whose image and likeness we are created – is serious business. It requires hard work; it requires discipline; it requires self-examination; it requires commitment.
As Francis de Sales would say, it requires devotion.
Salesian spirituality also recognizes the value of relaxation, of taking “time out”, of “catching your breath” and making time for play. In fact, relaxation is not only permissible, but it is also necessary!
Francis de Sales claimed: “It is actually a defect to be so strict, austere and unsociable that one neither permits oneself nor others any recreation time”. His Introduction to the Devout Life (1609) contains ample evidence of the Gentleman Saint’s appreciation of the important role that rest and recreation play in the pursuit of a fully human, God-centered life. He said: “From time to time we must recreate in mind and body. Take the air, go for a walk, enjoy a friendly chat, play music, or sing or hunt…are such honest diversions that the only thing needed to utilize them well is simple prudence, which gives to all things their rank, time, place and measure”.
To be balanced, we need to know our limitations. We need to know when it’s time to say ‘enough’, if only for a little while. St. Jane once wrote in the context of a letter to a member of her community: “I must run, for I have little leisure and my arm and hand are starting to tire and hurt, even though I’ve just begun to write. I’m not able to do as much as I used to”.
In his book Touching the Ordinary, Robert Wicks identifies practices that can help us establish and maintain a balanced life: get enough sleep, eat right, practice leisure and pace yourself. Learn to laugh; focus on values; practice self-appreciation; be involved, but not too involved; have a support group; escape on occasion; be spontaneous; avoid negativity. Establish good friendships and practice intimacy.
Our Lord Jesus Christ spent virtually his entire public ministry meeting the needs of others: healing, teaching, feeding, challenging and forgiving – in short, working. But the Gospels that document Christ’s work ethic also clearly document those times when he withdrew from his activities to rest, to renew, to enjoy another’s hospitality, to spend time with friends. All these ways are helpful in rededicating himself to doing the Will of God.
There are plenty of ways for us to achieve balance between work and play, livelihood and leisure, pay and play. Consider them in a personal, prayerful manner. Choose those consistent with the state and stage of life in which you find yourself at this time. Realize that as your life changes, so too may your means for achieving this happy, healthy and holy balance.
We’ll be talking about rest during our chat, here are some questions to prepare you for the discussion.
- Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden light, but He also tells us to take up His cross and follow him (which does not sound easy or light). How might we find these two statements complementary and not contradictory?
- The third of the Ten Commandments is God’s insistence that we honor the Sabbath and take rest. Have you ever thought of not resting as something contrary to the will of God, perhaps even as sinful?
- In our busy world, often we find ourselves saying “I just need a break.” Yet, in the Commandments God is telling us to take a break. God is saying, “Right here is your break! I have built it into how life should be lived!” You would think that we would embrace this commandment wholeheartedly and rejoice, but yet we are overworked and overstressed. Why do you think obeying a command to rest is just as difficult as obeying God in things that require work from us?
- The Church teaches us that the primary way to honor the Sabbath rest is by attending Mass on Sundays. If our culture is set up that people are forced to work on Sunday and be unable to make it to Mass, how might we shift our culture so that everyone can have Sunday free to worship God and take rest?
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