Tag: sabbath

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Published on by Kate1 Comment

I can’t remember if I’ve shared this here, but we are going to be a homeschooling family again in the fall. Actually, given the nature of homeschooling, we are already starting in small ways (shh, don’t tell my kids). As part of getting my brain back into full time “homeschooler” mode, I’ve been catching up with Sarah Mackenzie at the Read Aloud Revival. While originally a podcast about how enriching and life-giving reading aloud as a family can be, the podcast has grown and evolved to also include homeschool coaching and community. It is full of such good content, if you are a homeschooler or thinking about it I highly recommend Sarah’s stuff. Even if you aren’t, consider listening to an episode or two about the benefits and joys of reading aloud as a family. We love it!

In a recent episode (disclaimer, I am a premium member, meaning I pay a yearly fee for additional content, and the episode I’m referring to comes from that content so I cannot link it for you) Sarah talked about this week’s Gospel passage. She highlighted the section where Jesus says:

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

In the context of homeschooling, it can be very hard to decide when the school year is officially “done.” As the parent and teacher, you get the freedom and burden of deciding when enough is enough. This is a tricky thing and it can be so easy to get lost in the doubts of, “Have we done enough?” What if the math book wasn’t finished? What if we never got to these planned projects? Have we worked hard enough to earn our summer break, our time of rest?

Sarah nips these ideas in the bud with the above passage. Homeschooling considerations aside and thinking about the larger context of our lives as God has given them to us, Jesus is saying that rest is a gift. He doesn’t say, “After you’ve completed your work you can rest.” He doesn’t even say, “In exchange for a certain amount of work, you can rest.” Quite the opposite. Jesus recognizes how labored people are as we struggle with daily life. Many of the struggles we have come as a result of sin in the world. We are a burdened people. In compassion, Jesus extends the gift of rest.

The thing is, the rest Jesus offers doesn’t necessarily line up with how the world views rest. Jesus’ rest doesn’t necessarily include sleeping until 11am, a round of golf, vegging in front of the tv, being about to watch a full YouTube video without being interrupted, or a vacation to a resort in the Bahamas.

When God created the world, He concluded by establishing the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be a day of rest. It was a day of refraining from daily work so that the most important thing could be tended to – the Israelite people’s relationship with God. The Sabbath was set aside as a day of prayer and worship. Contrary to many sporting schedules, Sunday continues to be a day of rest, the day we come together as a community to worship and praise God. We find true rest for our souls when we rest in God. Jesus says this today. “Come to me…and I will give you rest.”

Here are a few examples of how to rest with God that I have found rejuvenating at various points in my life:

  • Taking a walk, even if it isn’t by yourself.
  • Adoration (even 5 minutes, even if you have a toddler with you)
  • Daily Mass
  • Listening to Christian or uplifting music, especially during a chore you don’t enjoy
  • Making food for others
  • Sharing with someone how God spoke to you today
  • Driving without the radio or a podcast on

To rest well with God doesn’t necessarily mean ceasing all activity. It is about how you approach that activity. Are you cooking/cleaning/working because of your desire to love God and the people He has placed in your life? Are you intentionally making time for quiet? God desires to be part of each moment of our day. Are you inviting Him into them so He can share your burden and lighten your load? Jesus promised He would if we unite ourselves to Him.

If you’d like to learn more about resting in God, check out this article by Fr. Billy Swan from Word on Fire Ministries. He references today’s passage, as well as others, while exploring how to rest well in God’s presence.

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

A Place for Rest – The Bedrooms

Published on by KateLeave a comment

There is something sacred about your bedroom. I don’t think I consciously realized this until I noticed how fiercely my children guard their individual beds and bedtime things. Our kids each have a few (ok, total honesty? Clare, our 7 year old, has about 30 bedtime friends and multiple blankets in a friend fortress, or castle, or something it changes weekly) bedtime stuffed animals. These are special, sacred things to them. When we travel, they come with (no, not all 30 of Clare’s. We put the limit on 2. I can only handle keeping tabs on so many stuffed animals in a hotel room). For Gabe, our 2 year old, they are necessary for sleeping. He wakes up in the middle of the night and if he can’t find one of them, he cries for us to help him. You don’t mess with bedtime friends.

This isn’t to say that adults don’t have their own bedtime quirks, because they do. Ben feels pretty strongly about his pillow. If I were to switch our pillows he would immediately notice and insist on switching back. We all have a bedtime routine of some kind, even if it isn’t one we intentionally crafted. How many times have you gotten into bed and realized you accidentally forgot to do a part of your routine? I would bet you ultimately got up and completed whatever it was before you could sleep soundly.

As humans, we need rest. It is part of who we are and how our bodies function. Everyone knows what it feels like to be sleep deprived and most do what they can to avoid it. Our bodies have a whole series of functions and tasks that occur only during sleep. On the whole, we will not be able to perform our day to day tasks well if we do not sleep well.

Sleep scientists have compiled whole lists of things we can do to help us sleep better. Parents already know quite a few from their days of struggling to teach their children to sleep. A routine helps tell your body it is time to sleep. Engaging in stretching or other gentle exercises help to relax your body and rest your mind. Journaling is a great way to let go of the day’s work and worries. Environmental factors such as a lighting, temperature and breathing ability (sleep apnea is no joke) will affect the quality of your sleep.

As you spend time in your and the other members of your family’s bedrooms, consider the following questions:

  • Does this space encourage rest?
  • Can the person sleeping here access what they need in an environment that is conducive to sleep?
  • Does this room have unnecessary items that do not promote sleep?
    • This could range from an overflowing closet, too many toys, electronics, general clutter
  • All bedrooms inevitably end up with some kind of storage space, usually under a bed or in a closet. If you are up for a challenge, empty those storage spaces and see what needs to stay, what can be donated and what needs to go.

Spiritually speaking, God is a big promoter of rest. Part of God’s great actions of creation was to rest on the 7th day. We wouldn’t talk about it if it wasn’t significant. God modeled for us the goodness of rest and we should take note. In our modern culture, most jobs provide for time off during the week. It may not be on the traditional weekend (Saturday and Sunday), but the days are there. We recognize that it is not good for people to work non-stop. There has to be time for hobbies, for entertainment and for rest.

As Christians and Catholics, we also recognize that there needs to be time set aside for God. The Church offers us Sunday as our day of rest, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. We attend Mass, joining together with our community to worship God and keep holy the Sabbath as instructed in the 10 Commandments. But we know that to have a healthy relationship with God, we need to give Him more than 60 minutes on Sundays. Each day there needs to be time to connect with God, to talk with Him, to be with Him. Just as we need to sleep everyday to be physically healthy, we need to rest with God everyday to be spiritually healthy.

Take time this week to assess how much time you spend at rest. How do you use that time? Could you try to spend a few more moments resting with God, rather than Instagram? Could you read a Scripture passage instead of a Tweet? Challenge yourself to rest more with God and less with the things of this world.

One final week! I wonder what last space we will be in. I’m looking forward to talking with you about it then!

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com