How to Really Enjoy Time Off
How do you "enjoy" your time off? We've been talking about these days before Labor Day being a bit slow, so I figured maybe some of you are taking some time off like I plan on doing. I don't know about you, but when I can grab some down time, I'm a happy guy. I work hard, sometimes really long hours. And sometimes I need a break.
But what I "enjoy" has changed a bit over the years.
The big change in my idea of "enjoy" is that I figured out that "getting away" from it all didn't include getting away from God too.
I'm not saying my vacations or days off were sin binges or anything like that. But I used to find myself thinking that I needed a break from my prayers and meditation, in addition to a break from my work.
Maybe you've never felt this way. In fact, I hope you don't and never did. But I did. So I would wake up and either skip or shorten my morning "norms of piety." Hey, I needed a break right? Then I figured out the reason I felt this way. It all came down to my relationship with God.
You see, I knew God deserved my obedience. I knew I "ought" to be faithful to His Commandments and to the rules and regulations of His Holy Church. And I'm not saying I did just the minimum - you know, enough to "get by." I had been attending Mass during the week, practicing my norms of piety, performing mortifications...all that good stuff. But it was all a big OBLIGATION.
I really didn't understand that God loved me and that what He really wanted from me was to love Him too. And while I would say the words, "I love You," I didn't connect the daily practice of my faith with love.
In fact, there were many days when I would "get everything over with" before I even left for work, including daily Mass. So after I was "done" for the day with God, I just went about my business.
(Indeed, recently a friend was going to hire a fellow whom we knew to be a good Catholic, one who led a disciplined spiritual life. Why did he want to hire him? One big reason, as he relayed it to me, was the the guy would be "done" by 7:30 AM and ready to work hard for him. I don't think my friend realized how awful this attitude was, but it's a good example of what happens when you think this way.)
Again, I hope you're not like this and have never been like this. But if you are or were, then I hope you change or have changed. I hope you realize that your prayers and works throughout the day should be done out of love, not out of obligation. Once you do realize that, everything changes.
Once you realize that, then your time off isn't about getting away from those prayers and mortifications, and other holy practices. In fact, once you realize that, and start praying and mortifying out of love, your prayers and mortifications and all the rest will become things you enjoy, not just things you do out of obligation.
So when you enjoy your time off, your idea of enjoy will include your prayers and mortifications and all the rest.
And if, for some reason, you ever find praying oppressive or draining, then maybe you need to adjust or change your routine. I'm not your confessor or anything like that, but I have from time to time reminded myself that God wants me to love Him, to grow closer to Him. So with that in mind, I adjusted or changed my prayers and other norms of piety so they have become a means of expressing love for God rather than just fulfilling some obligation.
And once that' happens, you'll find you're never "done" for the day. Indeed, you won't want to be done. It won't make any sense to you.
What will make sense is taking time off, and enjoying it even more with God right there by your side.
So if you've got some time off these days before Labor Day, enjoy them in the right sense. That's what I'll be doing.
But what I "enjoy" has changed a bit over the years.
The big change in my idea of "enjoy" is that I figured out that "getting away" from it all didn't include getting away from God too.
I'm not saying my vacations or days off were sin binges or anything like that. But I used to find myself thinking that I needed a break from my prayers and meditation, in addition to a break from my work.
Maybe you've never felt this way. In fact, I hope you don't and never did. But I did. So I would wake up and either skip or shorten my morning "norms of piety." Hey, I needed a break right? Then I figured out the reason I felt this way. It all came down to my relationship with God.
You see, I knew God deserved my obedience. I knew I "ought" to be faithful to His Commandments and to the rules and regulations of His Holy Church. And I'm not saying I did just the minimum - you know, enough to "get by." I had been attending Mass during the week, practicing my norms of piety, performing mortifications...all that good stuff. But it was all a big OBLIGATION.
I really didn't understand that God loved me and that what He really wanted from me was to love Him too. And while I would say the words, "I love You," I didn't connect the daily practice of my faith with love.
In fact, there were many days when I would "get everything over with" before I even left for work, including daily Mass. So after I was "done" for the day with God, I just went about my business.
(Indeed, recently a friend was going to hire a fellow whom we knew to be a good Catholic, one who led a disciplined spiritual life. Why did he want to hire him? One big reason, as he relayed it to me, was the the guy would be "done" by 7:30 AM and ready to work hard for him. I don't think my friend realized how awful this attitude was, but it's a good example of what happens when you think this way.)
Again, I hope you're not like this and have never been like this. But if you are or were, then I hope you change or have changed. I hope you realize that your prayers and works throughout the day should be done out of love, not out of obligation. Once you do realize that, everything changes.
Once you realize that, then your time off isn't about getting away from those prayers and mortifications, and other holy practices. In fact, once you realize that, and start praying and mortifying out of love, your prayers and mortifications and all the rest will become things you enjoy, not just things you do out of obligation.
So when you enjoy your time off, your idea of enjoy will include your prayers and mortifications and all the rest.
And if, for some reason, you ever find praying oppressive or draining, then maybe you need to adjust or change your routine. I'm not your confessor or anything like that, but I have from time to time reminded myself that God wants me to love Him, to grow closer to Him. So with that in mind, I adjusted or changed my prayers and other norms of piety so they have become a means of expressing love for God rather than just fulfilling some obligation.
And once that' happens, you'll find you're never "done" for the day. Indeed, you won't want to be done. It won't make any sense to you.
What will make sense is taking time off, and enjoying it even more with God right there by your side.
So if you've got some time off these days before Labor Day, enjoy them in the right sense. That's what I'll be doing.
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