Cape Town, 02 May, 2023 / 8:40 pm (ACI Africa).
The Sabbath should be a moment “to close the factory and shut down the computer”, the Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Town Archdiocese in South Africa has said, underscoring the importance of rest.
In his Monday, May 1 reflection on the Feast of Joseph the worker, Bishop Sylvester David found it regrettable that people are so used to staying “productive” at work that they find any days set aside for rest a waste of their time.
“We have long become used to being productive units and feel quite restless and lost when we are not producing. Productiveness is important but then so too is rest,” Bishop Sylvester said.
He added, “There are certain blessings which can only reach us when we are still. Therefore, we have to close the factory and shut down the computer.”
“Normally when public holidays in South Africa follow each other in rapid succession we celebrate long weekends, just as we celebrated one last week with Freedom Day occurring on Thursday. These long weekends can certainly take time away from our productive lives,” the member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) said.