For many of us the summer months here in the UK turn our thoughts to holidays or some kind of break from our usual routines. It is interesting that our English word differs from those in other languages as the French vacances or American vacation, for example, are based on the Latin vacare, to be unoccupied, whereas our word is based on holy + day. Holy days and Sundays traditionally were the only days when people in the last 2 millenia were actually required not to work, and it’s only relatively recently that the idea of going away has become more common.
The Evangelists document that Jesus took breaks to spend time with His Father and the first book of the Bible, Genesis, specifies that one day a week should be a day of rest. St Benedict doesn’t explicitly mention taking what we would consider to be a holiday but does have specific instructions in the Rule regarding changes to the Offices on feast days. Many monastics will have a retreat period at least once a year where there is a break from normal activities and perhaps additional teaching. In my own monastery there are extra small treats served at mealtimes on special feasts which helps highlight the change.
Jesus took the trouble to make space in His busy itinerary for time away. Sometimes the most caring thing that we can do for those we love is to give ourselves time to recover/regroup/restore ourselves, even if the time available is very short.
What should we be looking for in our holidays do you think? Is it just a break from our normal activities and perhaps undertaking different activities or is it a visit to other places? It can be all or those things and many more, but it is a good idea to spend some of it just looking at God and allowing Him to speak to us and us to listen to Him.
One might assume that in our aspiration to be holy, everyday should be a holiday and in some respects that is true. Our attempts to make our days holy are frequently judged by ourselves to be inadequate or insufficient but that doesn’t mean that God sees them that way, His judgement may well be more generous than ours.
How holy are our holidays? I don’t mean that we must always be reading overtly religious books, or travelling on a pilgrimage etc. We should probably remember that when Jesus was in the desert, he experienced significant temptation, so we need to be aware that this might be the case for us and guard our minds and hearts by ensuring that what we do, read, or watch builds us up and is encouraging.
Holidays can be a time for the soul to catch up and to allow the mind to process everything that has occurred whether good or bad. This does not necessitate being in a different place nor does it necessarily involve a huge length of time. It also may involve doing absolutely nothing or undertaking a very different activity, it depends on your personality and what you have experienced. The critical thing is to remember that God wants to be part of it, as He wants to be involved in everything you do. That may just mean a short prayer each day, (‘Help!’ can be a good one), or a more prolonged time with Him. Wherever you are, whatever you do, just keep Him in mind and I am sure you will have a blessed time.
Marie Living, Oblate of St Cecilia’s Abbey
