Resting should be easy, right? But it's not, according to Pope Francis, because we have to know how to differentiate between true repose and false repose.
The pope pointed out this necessary distinction in 2018 when he was giving his catechesis series on the 10 Commandments. It's a lesson we need to hear again today!
"Today’s society thirsts for amusement and holidays," the pope noted, pointing out how we think of money as something we earn so that we can get away from work and have fun.
"The prevailing concept of life today does not have its center of gravity in activity and commitment, but in escapism," he said.
But, Francis warned, with this mentality, we slide toward a dissatisfied life "anesthetized by fun that is not rest, but alienation and the escape from reality."
The words of the Third Commandment help us because they show what rest really is. The Commandment "provides a motive. Rest in the name of the Lord has a precise reason."
So God reveals that what humans actually need in order to rest is not escaping from reality, but rather "rest as the blessing of reality."
Hence, the center of the weekly Day of Rest is the Eucharist -- "thanksgiving":
