Understanding rest

Our Christian faith teaches that rest is not just a physical or bodily
need, or a way to recover strength, physical, mental, psychological,
emotional, etc. Christian rest, of course, involves all of these, but
it is still a lot more.

It means the fullness of our life, the reaching of our final
destination, the coronation of our work. It is a symbol of our eternal
rest where we enjoy communion both with God and with everybody else.

It would be good to ask ourselves if we are consciously developing
this mindset regarding our rest, especially when we go to bed at the
end of the day, or when we approach Sunday, which is supposed to be
not only the day of the Lord, but also the day of rest.

We have to be aware of the spiritual and supernatural dimension of our
rest, and to form the appropriate attitudes and habits. In our
Christian life, we have to understand that our attitude towards rest
needs to be worked out.

The Christian attitude toward rest just can’t come out spontaneously.
God’s grace always needs our cooperation. We have to reach that point
when we can sincerely echo St. Augustine’s words:

“Lord, my heart is restless until it rests in you.”

We have to learn how to rest in God. Resting cannot and should not
have any other mode than to rest in God always!

            Just the same, we cannot underestimate the importance of
properly considering the physical and emotional aspect of rest. In
this regard, I always remember my summer vacations in Tagaytay.

            Tagaytay in summer is, I think, the perfect place to be.
It certainly makes you forget about global warming. It’s like a lucky
halfway house, right at the middle between urban and rural life. It’s
got flowers, fruits, scenic views, nice people, serenity and
isolation.

            Part of me pines for an occasion to rough it up with
others, doing physical, even strenuous things, away from my usual
intellectual work. It soothes nerves, relieves stress, dissipates
tension.

            This type of activity has a peculiar and effective way of
being united with others. I am getting convinced that this direct
physical contact with people and with things gives one a different
kind of communion that can’t be attained through ideas, words and
arguments. I can’t explain this yet.

            I get a certain kind of satisfaction when I can let go of
the usual amenities and savor again the hand-to-mouth way of life. One
time when I gave a seminar to young altar boys, I realized I enjoyed
dipping my fingers together with theirs in a common bowl of food.

            I also get the chance to indulge in my hobbies—reading,
singing, and just allowing my thoughts free-range movement. I feel
like a child who suddenly gets scot-free to play under the rain, or a
prisoner who manages to escape.

            And it’s amazing what thoughts and insights one can get
out of this situation! Truly, many mysteries of life get revealed in
these occasions. A certain lavishness bursts out amid the Spartan
conditions.

          But we have to understand that resting comes after working,
and that it should be, as much as possible, an expression of our
satisfaction and joy derived from our work.

            Rest, therefore, is and should be vitally linked to our
work. We have to correct every tendency to consider our rest as an
escape from our work. Unfortunately, that attitude is rampant these
days. For many people, rest has become completely alienated from our
work.

            Aside from being an escape from work, it has become the
moment to engage in self-seeking and self-absorption. Both work and
rest have been uprooted from their original meaning and purpose, and
that’s the reason the two have become at odds with each other.

            We need to recover the original state of affairs. And I
know it’s not going to be easy. Formidable barriers are now formed in
terms of culturally ingrained biases and prejudices. How to dismantle
these barriers is a big question mark.

            I feel that we need some kind of revolution here. But for
that to happen, we need to ask how many people realize this need?
Frankly, I feel only a few, and the few who do realize seem to be
resigned to accept the status quo.

            I suppose we have to be extremely patient and hopeful
here. The revolution takes a long time to happen. The gestation period
is slow, but let’s hope that we can sustain the focus and concern so
that we can attain a critical mass that would trigger this revolution
to explode.