It's worth celebrating!

It’s hard to believe but we are in the last week of July. The summer is moving along but we still have some wonderful weeks ahead, to celebrate and enjoy God’s creation and our loved ones in a leisurely fashion.

I use the word “leisure” because leisure is very different from taking “a break” or “having a vacation.” Philosopher Josef Pieper writes that “leisure does not mean the same as a ‘break’. A break, whether for an hour or three weeks, is designed to provide a respite from work in anticipation of more work; it finds is justification in relation to work. Leisure is something entirely different. The essence of leisure is not to assure that we may function smoothly but rather to assure that we, embedded in our social function, are enabled to remain fully human.” Leisure does not mean that we do nothing or that we fill every moment of our break time with busy recreational activities. It means immersing ourselves in life." Pieper says that “leisure means an attitude of celebration. And celebration is the opposite of exertion… To celebrate means to proclaim, in a setting different from the ordinary everyday, our approval of the world as such.”

Pieper says the highest conceivable form of approving of the world as such is found in the worship of God, in the praise of the Creator, in the liturgy.

Our Sisters are now in the midst of our community vacation together. But we are very much aware that we not only spend these days with one another but with one another in the Presence of the Lord and His creation. As the old saying goes, we are called to slow down and smell the roses. During our vacation we pray together, swim together, play table games together, and just enjoy our time together. We have time for rest, reading, and sitting on the porch, taking in our beautiful surroundings, knowing that God has provided his Creation for us out of His great love.

It is not easy to grasp the difference between the Lord’s concept of leisure and society’s concept of taking a break. But think about it for awhile and perhaps you might catch a glimpse of yourself at leisure.

I love gardening so a form of leisure for me is to take in the beauty of our garden. I hope you could take in the glory of creation from these photos I took while I was enjoying my leisure!