In his weekly General Audience yesterday morning, Pope Francis dedicated his catechetical reflection on the need for family members to learn how to slow down and enjoy the fruits of their labor rather than being “a slave to work.”
Vatican Radio is reporting on the address given in Paul VI Hall on August 11, which was dedicated to three specific facets of family life: celebration, work and prayer.
“It is God himself who teaches us the importance of dedicating time to contemplating and enjoying the fruits of our labors, not only in our employment or profession, but through every action by which we as men and women cooperate in God’s creative work, even in times of difficulty,” said Pope Francis.
We celebrate many things in the workplace, such as birthdays, marriages, new babies, retirement, all of which are a welcome break from the daily grind and a reminder that we are all the children of a God who is not a slave to work, but the Lord of work.
“So, we must never be slaves to work but rather its master.”
Nevertheless, he continued, “We know that millions of men and women, even children, are slaves to work. The obsession with economic profit and technical efficiency puts the human rhythms of life at risk.”
The faithful need to recover attunement to the rhythms of life which are found most especially in the sense of the sacred that flows from our holy rest on Sunday and the “centerpiece” of the Sabbath – the Eucharistic celebration.
“Moments of rest, especially on Sunday, are sacred because in them we find God,” he said, noting that the Sunday Eucharist brings to our celebrations every grace of Jesus Christ: his presence, his love and his sacrifice; his forming us into a community, and his way of being with us.
“Everything is transfigured by his grace: work, family, the joys and trials of each day, even our sufferings and death,” he continued.
Pope Francis concluded with a prayer: “May we always recognize the family as the privileged place to understand, guide and sustain the gifts which arise from our celebrations, especially the Sunday Eucharist.”
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