Tips for keeping Sundays sacred include re-imagining Saturday as the best time for catching up with chores, shopping and extra work brought home in order to relieve the pressure to do more on the Lord’s day than worship, reflect and quietly enjoy family, friends and neighbors.
That idea springs from the thought and experience of Michael Naughton, the director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, who discussed on the “Practicing Catholic” radio show ways to honor one of the Ten Commandments — to keep holy the Sabbath.
“There’s something in creation that needs to rest,” Naughton told “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for the show debuting 9 p.m. Sept. 30 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “God created us to work, and God created us to rest. … And he’s given us the seventh day.”
The Lord’s day also commemorates the day of Jesus’ resurrection. It is a day to “hold and honor and to keep holy,” Naughton said, something he and his wife first pledged to do their best with in 1999.
The call is not just an external force, he said. It is internal, the way people are made. If the Sabbath is broken, if it is not set aside as a day of rest, worship and reflection, losing it will in turn break those who don’t honor it, Naughton said.
Leisure time can be filled with so many things: social media, video games, sporting contests on television and movies — none of which are inherently bad, Naughton said. But they might not be restful, he said.
Rest is best found in opening up to the Lord’s call and being receptive to his voice, both in Mass and at home or with friends, Naughton said. He advised turning off the phone — which can be good for the device itself — turning away from the TV and taking a walk, chatting with family and spending time in prayer.
Naughton has written a book on keeping Sundays sacred. To learn its title, and to hear more suggestions for keeping Sunday sacred, tune into the Sept. 30 program, which also repeats at 1 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2 p.m. Oct. 2.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Teresa Collett, a law professor and director of the Prolife Center at the University of St. Thomas, who describes her work in a private capacity supporting a group of pro-life mothers called MOMS (Mothers Offering Maternal Support) to protect life at the state level; and marriage and family therapist Michelle Muff, who provides tips for moving from hurt and resentment toward forgiveness and reconciliation with a friend or spouse.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired at:
Practicing Catholic on Spotify
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