Balance

God graces us with leisure, and as we respond with gratitude and receive the gift, we begin to live that balanced life that is our destiny as the people of a loving creator.

 

Spiritual Discipline

The practice of leisure is an essential spiritual discipline:  God commands rest, the body refuses rest.

 

Finding Balance

Leisure enables us to find balance in our lives—balance among the needs of body, mind and spirit.

Growing Us

Leisure is meant to “grow us.”  It gives us a divine encounter with the Spirit who sends us forth to live as persons of great love.

 

Taking Time

Taking time for leisure reminds me that God gives us a divine pattern of work and rest for our health and our pleasure.

Following the Gospel

Leisure enables us to step back and try to understand what it means to follow the Gospel in this situation.

 

Filling our Vessel

We can’t give anything unless we have something inside us to give—leisure provides us time and opportunity to fill our empty vessel.

Leisure is an act of trust and witness: God is able to act in the world apart from human effort and achievement.

"Busy-ness" in Life

No life is to be so busy that there is no time to take stock of it—leisure gives a person time to take stock.

Holiness in Life

Leisure reminds me that all life is sacred, all life is holy, all life is to be held with reverent            hands.

Staying Focused on God

Leisure keeps my heart centered on God and keeps my mind open.

Sabbath Rest

Sabbath rest, leisure, is a gift and a challenge to our lifestyles and a means of God’s saving grace in our lives.

The World Around Us

Leisure puts us in touch with the world around us by giving us the distance we need to see where we are.

 

Holy Leisure

Benedict speaks of holy leisure, the leisure that makes us more human by engaging our heart, broadening our vision, and deepening our insight.

Play

Play and holy leisure are what make work possible, that make work worthwhile.