August 2025 Reflection

August 2025.pdf

Download PDF • 828KB

Re-Creation

Sr. Cecilia, CFR

August is a month when many of us go on vacation. The kids are on their long summer

break, the days are (hopefully) sunny and warm, and it is a good time for some relaxation. In

our work-driven society, it is important to take time to slow down and rest. We have so many

conveniences-just imagine washing clothes by hand or sending messages by someone on foot or horseback-yet we are busier than ever.

We are all aware of the fast-paced changes in technology which mark our current age. The advent of little hand-held computers, otherwise known as smart phones, has made life both easier and more complicated. Smart phones allow us to be in touch with family and friends around the world, not to mention offering, at any moment, a wealth of information. Smart phones also enable us to be perpetually available, every “ding” calling us back to the virtual world. The cost of this is a pulling away from the reality around us. In such a culture, leisure becomes vital, a break from constant demands. The question for us as Christians is twofold: Do we give ourselves time for true leisure, and do we spend our leisure time in a godly way?

To understand the purpose of leisure, or let us say rest, we need to go back to the beginning. In the beginning, the Book of Genesis tells us, God was at work. And when He finished

His work, He rested. We can ask ourselves: Did God really tire Himself out from making the

world and all that is in it?

Or does the idea of resting on the seventh day point to something else, a deeper meaning? Certainly God does not tire, and just as certainly, His sabbath rest was meant as a gift for us—a way of showing us the rhythm our lives should take, a means of pointing all creation to their ultimate end in Him. Our first priority is not work; it is spending time with our loving Creator. And linked to that is appreciation of all the gifts of creation, most especially our family and friends.

Do not misunderstand me: work is important. God works. He worked to create the

world. Jesus worked with His own hands. The Holy Spirit works in us. But our work should be

ordered to our relationship with God. This He showed us by resting on the seventh day. The

seventh day was the day of the covenant, the day for man to be with God and thus to be truly

himself.

Leisure, then, as time for rest and recreation (or, as I like to think of it, re-creation) should be woven into the fabric of our lives, first of all on Sundays, but also at other times. As God spent that first sabbath rejoicing in His creation and especially in man, so man, created in His image and likeness should spend his sabbaths rejoicing in God and enjoying His creation. Here we have a basic recipe for every time of rest—Sundays, vacations, even the daily respites that come our way. That is, if our leisure is to be deeply refreshing, we must take time to be with our loving Creator.

We also must take time to be present to the world around us, to our loved ones, the people at our side, the actual place we are in. To turn off the phone (I mean off, not on vibrate, not dinging, not sending notices to your Apple watch) and to have a conversation with your spouse, play catch with your child, or enjoy the scenery of nature, will be more fulfilling than anything you could ever do on your phone or watch on a screen.

There should be time for recreation too. What gives you life? Playing sports or music or a game, reading, taking a stroll, writing, painting? If it isn’t your usual work, you enjoy it, and it will refresh you, try to make time for that. This is another way of enjoying God’s creation. So the recipe-God, family and loved ones, recreation-will make leisure time rich and renewing.

This is what God wants for us, thus why He taught us to rest on the sabbath. So whether it be a lazy summer day, a long weekend, or a week of vacation, put the virtual world to the side and just be—with the Lord, with your family, in the goodness of reality. You will find at the end that in a big or small way, you have been re-created.