Bishop reminds vacationers: Only in God does the soul find rest

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In a new pastoral letter, Bishop Ginés García Beltrán of Getafe, Spain, reflects on the meaning of rest during summer vacation, when many families take the opportunity to take time to get away and relax.

García points out that “rest is good and necessary.” On the human level, this does not consist only of doing nothing but of “giving meaning to what we do” or “doing with tranquility and joy what we usually cannot do.”

García then poses the direct question: “You, in whom do you rest?” Underlining the personal nature of the question (“I didn’t say what gives you rest”), the Spanish bishop reminds us that man’s true rest is “in God” as expressed by the psalmist when he said: “My soul rests in God alone.” 

For the prelate, this verse conveys a lesson: “Trust in God opens the way to hope” in such a way that “all my problems, my burdens, my sufferings have an answer in the salvation of God.”

What then should we do with our daily rushing around and stress and the questions of existence? García proposes the following answer: “Put them in the hands of God and learn to rest in him.”

Abandonment to God

García also discusses an attitude that “today’s man does not practice very frequently,” which is abandonment to God. On this subject, the bishop notes that “taking hold of the reins of life is a requirement that we impose on ourselves without realizing that we are carrying a burden that is too heavy; there are those who believe that they must carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.”

García says each of us is called “to trust and abandon oneself in the hands of God and let him direct [his or her] life.” This doesn’t mean “abandoning your own responsibilities,” the prelate points out, but rather “not falling into the temptation of believing that we are the lord and master of ourselves.”

The bishop of Getafe notes that “what is necessary is having a regular relationship with the Lord, listening to his word, having concern for his things. Everything else is also important, but it will only make sense in view of the one thing that is necessary,” as illustrated in the Gospel passage that highlights the difference in the attitudes of Martha and Mary when Jesus came to visit them at Bethany.

Finally, referring to the Virgin Mary, García says: “She is a beautiful example for us to look at. With her yes to God she teaches us that only in him can our soul rest and only in him does our life and the rhythm of our existence find meaning.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.