Father Miguel Neto, Diocese of Algarve
In a time of excessive polarization in politics, the Church and society, more than ever, it is essential to find common values, bridges of thought, that bring us closer to those who reason differently. It is essential to find common ideas, which allow us to create shared goals and which value our life in society and family, giving peace to the ideological and social debate.
The need for rest and the appreciation of it, as essential in maintaining mental, family and relational health, could be one of these themes that opens paths to consensus.
For the last year I have been living, for study reasons, in Spain and, lately, my reflection has focused a lot on the issues of street worship and family and relational life, which the Spanish people do.
If at the beginning I had difficulty living without hypermarkets, supermarkets, clothing stores and other various establishments, closed on Sundays, today I am an undeniable fan of this reality. There has to be a day where most people rest and rest with whoever they want and with whoever is close to them.
The most skeptical can say that most cafes and esplanades are open on Sundays. And truth. But even so, the families and friends who live there are undoubtedly more than those who work in open establishments. And it is immensely better to enjoy a terrace, or a garden bench, where we can exchange ideas or simply enjoy reading a good book, contemplating nature, than to wander, often meaninglessly, in shopping centers, full of shops and people. “canned”.
Street worship is healthy: mentally, physically and relationally. It’s respect for rest, shared with those you love. And the families miss it. I come from a family where men and women share most of the tasks. Because the initial core of it is made up of four men and one woman. And we all, whether a lot or a little, know how to perform domestic tasks, which are so often prejudiced and wrongly intended only for women. In fact, thanks to the time I was at the seminar in Évora, I became an expert in putting clothes to wash. In other words, in tasks we are all replaceable. But not in the relationship. And the SC Olhanense football games, which marked important moments of leisure (which I didn’t watch with my father, because he was working), were and are irreplaceable in my life, in my friendships, in my personal development.
To preserve our family and relationships, it is essential to have time for rest and leisure. And since the Church is traditionally and somewhat prejudiced, with conservative and right-wing political thought, this is an issue that would certainly find support in the more progressive and left-wing political area, which systematically defends workers.
We all have to win. Even those who would continue to work on Sundays, as their family lives would be more relaxed, happy and healthy. On labor and workers’ day, it is important that we start to value our rest. We have the right to be forgotten and to forget our tasks for a while; we gained this right on the 25th of April and, on the following 1st of May, all the achievements were marked in an imposing way, as we may remember, in a demonstration that went down in history.
And of course, for Christians it is important to have time for the Lord! But be careful, not for pastoral activities! These are often confused with work and have the same or greater degree of tension and professionalism. Having time for the Lord means being with Him in the Sunday celebration and, why not, in the contemplation of nature, the visible reality of God’s Love; in art, a gift that manifests His care precisely for our creativity and time to share and learn it; in sport, in travel, in the simple “sweet far niente”, in hugs to our children and elderly people, in the simple, but decisive, sharing of affection.
It is essential to create bridges, Christian bridges, for the rest of everyone, everyone, everyone!
