Dear Good People of St. Philip,

A few weeks ago, the July 4th holiday weekend, Fr. Briggs and myself had some extra time off with the office being closed on Friday July 3rd. We both commented that aside from our sacramental obligations things were pretty quiet for a few days… and I don't think either of us was complaining about it! This was just another example of something I have thought for a while, it always seems that our federal holidays (at least for those who can have the time off) are our last semblance of a true Sabbath Day. That is a day of rest, on these days many people seem to do less, rest a little more, enjoy some time with family and friends and get rest that is restorative to both the body and the soul.

As many of you know, as Catholics, our Sabbath day is on Sunday, a day for rest from our ordinary tasks and duties that we carry out through the rest of the week. It is also a day for worship in which the Lord invites us to praise his Holy Name and reconnect and hopefully be restored by the one who is the very source of our being, God himself! This is a tradition that we have inherited from our Jewish brothers and sisters, who celebrate their Sabbath day on Saturday (the 7th day as Gen 1 teaches us), but we on Sundays because that is the Day the Lord Rose from the dead (in case you were wondering). It is also a day that the Catechism (and Christian tradition) encourage as a time that could be dedicated to works of mercy (such as visiting the sick or helping the poor) and most appropriately to our family as well (such as meals together or visiting a park) (please see CCC 2185 & 2186).

As many of you know, the common practice of our Sunday Sabbath Day is not quite as restful or restorative as we might like it to be. And I know that for some of you, you have to work on Sundays in which cases it is highly encourage that you make Mass if at all possible and hopeful get to rest on another day (we need it!) and perhaps see if our boss could not schedule us for Sundays. However, for many of us who do have the day off from work, Sundays can easily become so full that talk of a Sabbath day or a day of rest may seem like too much. So I would like to present to you a beautiful experience that may help illustrate why we should try and keep holy the Sabbath.

A few years ago, when I had first arrived to St. Bernadette's, one Sunday evening, an older couple had invited Fr. James Waalkes and myself to join them for dinner with their grandson, his wife, their newly born Son and a few more guest that I can't recall at this moment. We had nice dinner, watched some football and mostly chatted with them. The evening was relaxed, warm and no one was rushed to get somewhere else. Everyone just seemed to enjoy the nice evening and dinner. We both commented on the way back to the rectory how "at home" we had felt even though they were not our families. That experience spoke to me because even after a long day of Masses and preaching that meal and rest though short lived were very restorative. As we slow down a little bit this summer and hopefully rest may reflect on the need to do this every so often and let the Lord give us rest and restoration. Also if your interested and would like to learn more about the Sabbath day maybe St. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Letter Dies Domini, could make for some good summer reading.

Yours truly,

Father Jeb