by Veronica Szczygiel

At the end of His creation process, God decided to take a well-deserved break and “rested from all the work he had done” (Genesis 2:3).

In fact, he took his rest so seriously that it became one of the Ten Commandments he gave to Moses: “Remember the sabbath day — and keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work. … For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11).

God clearly set aside one day a week for us to keep holy and to rest. But do we abide by his command? Do we actually take Him up on this opportunity? Oftentimes, life gets so busy that we take advantage of the weekend to catch up on things: cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, driving kids to soccer practices.

So how can we keep the Sabbath holy? How can we truly rest as God did and as God wants us to do? A great way to start the Sabbath is by attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist.

Spending a little extra time in prayer before or after Mass concludes can help ground us and sanctify our day. Once Mass is over, let’s try not to rush back to our regular lives and all the chores and housework we need to do.

Perhaps we can linger outside of church and catch up with friends. We can take a leisurely walk through the neighborhood or visit our favorite neighborhood park. Or the family can go out for brunch and spend some time in conversation. Sabbath should be a time spent in reflection and in the meaningful presence of others.

That means limiting distractions. Screenless Sundays is a popular method for feeling more present in the moment and being more intentional with our time. Encourage your whole family to join in the effort.

As our Sabbath concludes, we can turn again to prayer. We can say grace together as a family before dinner.

At bedtime, we can say a few words of thanks to God in our own hearts. The Sabbath is kept holy when we set it aside from our regular days and treat it as special. When we truly and intentionally rest, we end up feeling more energized and ready to take on the week ahead. The Sabbath is not only our Lord’s commandment but also his gift to us.

What a blessing to have dedicated time to spend with him and our loved ones!

Veronica Szczygiel, Ph.D., is the Communications Director at Semper Fi & America’s Fund.