Busy Weekends? Look for an Alternative

One of the odd things about working for the Church is you need to have “alternative weekends.”  Often, church employees work Sundays, and some also work Saturdays, so it is important for them to find other days during the week to take as a “weekend” instead.  It is particularly tricky for priests because they have daily obligations as a function of their vocation.  But, even priests should get a “day off” and vacation time.

Most of us who work for the parish have carved out our alternative weekends.  My weekend is typically Friday and Saturday.  Having worked in an environment that was very emotionally, mentally, and even physically taxing at times, I am pretty protective of my weekends.  Most of my evenings are taken up with a commitment of one kind or another as well, so I need to guard my time off.

In the United States, there is a culture of workaholism.  In order to live the American Dream we feel like we need to work all the time.  The sad part is that people sometimes have to work two or more jobs just to make ends meet.  So, we get in a mindset that if we aren’t working there must be something better to do with our time than just sitting around.  In fact, there is a certain amount of stigma aimed toward those seen to be “slackers” or taking advantage of the system.

The reality is that we live in a culture that glamorizes work to the point of pushing people toward mental and emotional breakdown, and we have developed this mindset in relatively recent decades.  That isn’t healthy.  That isn’t sustainable.  If you look at other cultures, they place value in people for their potential as human beings, not in their employability.  Quality of life is not determined by one’s ability to work, but by one’s opportunities for growth as a whole person.

Faith can be an important aspect of our lives that might be pushed aside in favor of work.  Make sure you are giving yourself the opportunity to rest and recharge.  Remember, Elijah heard God in “a light silent sound” (1 Kings 19:12 NABRE translation) or, as we may be more familiar, “a still small voice” (KJV translation), not in hubbub.  Give yourself a chance to be quiet and attentive to what God is trying to say to you.  If that means finding alternative weekends for yourself, make that a priority.  Your faith, as well as your body and your sanity, will thank you.

On the Seventh Day...

People in the city seem to have a stronger urge to work than those people who live in the countryside.  Many people in the cities love to work.  Some people even take pride in being called workaholics.

Many of us live with the viewpoint that a person’s worth is defined and measured by the way he or she works.  It means, the more work, the more worth; the less work, the less worth.  Sometimes we feel guilty if we take a break while other people we know are working.  We want to be well occupied always.  We want to work not only for the sake of working, but also because when we work, we get a greater chance of earning much and live a happly and comfortable life.  And because we always want to work, we become uncomfortable with silence.  There must be music, or something we can read.  There must be something to work on.  If there is nothing to work on, or music to listen to or books to read, we become uneasy, tense and troubled; because we no longer know what to do with silence.  To rest is not a sign of weakness.  Rest is not only limited only to the old and sick people.

Sometimes we become uncomfortable with silence.  We become perturbed by solitude.  We start to feel guilty when we want to rest.

There is a mother who boasts that since she became a mother she has not taken a vacation because, she says, she doesn’t need a vacation.  Then a priest asked the children, Is it true that your mother does not need a vacation?  “Maybe, the children replied:  “but mother does not realize that sometimes we need a vacation from her”.

Sometimes we are afraid to rest because we are afraid to realize that even if we are far away the world will still go on.  Sometimes we are afraid to resign, to get away, to take a break, to take a leave, because we are afraid that when we return, things have become better without us.

On the seventh day, God rested.  Even God the mighty rested.  Jesus the Son of God, the savior of the world, invites us.  “Come to me all you who are tired and I will give you rest.”  There was so much to do.  People were coming to Him.  People were rushing to Him to hear God’s word.  Yet, the most practical way, the most pastoral and apostolic way to handle such situations was to rest, to keep still in the presence of the Lord.

Let us ask Jesus for the grace to slow down, to be comfortable with rest, to be comfortable with solitude.  Because in solitude, we are confronted with that small voice inside us which tells us that we are loved by a gracious God.

-- Fr. Joshua Santos