Divine worship = intense affirmation of the world and praise of God. It is not possible to have a ‘festival without the gods’. There has been an attempt since the French Revolution to have holidays without God. A sham artificial type of celebrations when cut off from God.
Rooted celebrations in humanity, where servile work is directed to leisure, point to this fundamental truth that man is made for the Sabbath encounter.
When worship of the divine is cutoff, leisure becomes laziness and work inhuman.
XII Practical suggestions for Leisure, The Basis of Culture
- contemplate the nature of God
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become comfortable in moments of silence and retrospection it is an acquired taste. CS Lewis, “rewards of heaven are an acquired taste”.
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Cultivate a receptive stillness that would be suggestive of a contemplative monk or artist or other endeavor appreciating beauty
Not the activity, the intent within the activity
Take goodness and make it utilitarian
Mozart is sufficient for Mozart
Good, truth, beautiful 3 transcendentals, God is there
God makes things superabundant
Man is so astounding, we astound ourselves, we get trapped in ourselves
Rom 7:18 & Gal 2:20
Goodness flows from the abundance of God
- husband and wife holding hands without needing something from the other. Just Be.
-walk in nature without the goal of exercise or restoration to work the next day
- sit in the backyard with one’s Bible or Rosary watching the clouds go by, experiencing the Spirit of God[1]
Immanent knowing of God & ourselves
The essential feature of leisure is going from something transitory/useful to something permanent. Leisure is its own reward independent of external ends, like the liberal arts. Leisure affords a regeneration of what it means to be human.
No rest apart from God.
Viaticum, food for the journey, astounding God recognized, our fallen nature, man does not rest naturally anymore. Virtue has 2 opposing vices. Battered from both sides, God gives the balance if we seek it. God doesn’t make the coward courageous, he makes the soldier braver. There is a part of cooperation, ascent of our will, to the movement of God. We need to hone our talents.
Marveled at the order, don’t clean for the sake of cleaning. Clean for sake of rest. Sit in our house can be at rest, things that are done are done.
Cook to enjoy a delicious meal. Clean dishes night before, we are prepared for the new days. Servility & liberality do both in measure needed to be done, find ourselves naturally residing in virtue.
[1] https://robinmarkphillips.com/josef-pieper-lost-art-leisure/ accessed June 7, 2021