Pints With Aquinas - 71: What's the point of the sabbath? (Leisure vs Vegging)

Episode Date: September 12, 2017

Today I chat with Aquinas about the third commandment, Keep holy the sabbath day.   Before I share Aquinas's text, a big thanks to the following awesome people who are supporting Pints With Aquinas on Patreon: Jack Buss! ... You're the man, Jack. Tim Davolt, Chris Reintjes, Tom Dickson, David Young, Andrew Kener, Desirae Sifuentes, and Sean McNicholl. James Boehmler, Laura Suttenfield, John Hipp, Kathleen Cory, Sarah Jacobs, Fernando Enrile, Travis Headly, Matthew Lafitte, Russell T Potee III, Jed Florstat, Phillip Hadden, and Katie Kuchar, Tom Clark, Ben Blythe, Trevor Sorensen, Russell Potee III, James Governale, Benjamin Morris, and John Droesch. You can support Pints With Aquinas here: Patreon.com/pwa --- Okay, here's what Aquinas wrote: THE THIRD COMMANDMENT = “Remember to Keep Holy the Sabbath Day.” This is the Third Commandment of the law, and very suitably is it so. For we are first commanded to adore God in our hearts, and the Commandment is to worship one God: “You shall not have strange gods before Me.” In the Second Commandment we are told to reverence God by word: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” The Third commands us to reverence God by act. It is: “Remember that you keep holy the Sabbath day”. God wished that a certain day be set aside on which men direct their minds to the service of the Lord. Reasons for this commandment There are five reasons for this Commandment. The first reason was to put aside error, for the Holy Spirit saw that in the future some men would say that the world had always existed. “In the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying: Where is His promise or His coming? For since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they are willfully ignorant of, that the heavens were before, and the earth out of water, and through water, created by the word of God” [2 Pet 3:3-5]. God, therefore, wished that one day should be set aside in memory of the fact that He created all things in six days, and that on the seventh day He rested from the creation of new creatures. This is why the Lord placed this Commandment in the law, saying: “Remember that you keep holy the Sabbath day.” The Jews kept holy the Sabbath in memory of the first creation; but Christ at His coming brought about a new creation. For by the first creation an earthly man was created, and by the second a heavenly man was formed: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision is worth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” [Gal 6:15]. This new creation is through grace, which came by the Resurrection: “That as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, so shall we also be in the likeness of His resurrection” [Rm 6:4-5]. And thus, because the Resurrection took place on Sunday, we celebrate that day, even as the Jews observed the Sabbath on account of the first creation. The second reason for this Commandment is to instruct us in our faith in the Redeemer. For the flesh of Christ was not corrupted in the sepulchre, and thus it is said: “Moreover My flesh also shall rest in hope” [Ps 15:9]. “Nor will You let your holy one see corruption” [Ps 15:10]. Wherefore, God wished that the Sabbath should be observed, and that just as the sacrifices of the Old Law signified the death of Christ, so should the quiet of the Sabbath signify the rest of His body in the sepulchre. But we do not now observe these sacrifices, because with the advent of the reality and the truth, figures of it must cease, just as the darkness is dispelled with the rising of the sun. Nevertheless, we keep the Saturdays in veneration of the Blessed Virgin, in whom remained a firm faith on that Saturday while Christ was dead. The third reason is that this Commandment was given to strengthen and foreshadow the fulfillment of the promise of rest. For rest indeed was promised to us: “And on that day God shall give you rest from your labor, from your vexation, and from the hard bondage, to which you had been subjugated” [Is 14:3]. “My people shall dwell in a peaceful land, in secure accommodation, and in quiet places of rest” [Is 32:18]. We hope for rest from three things: from the labors of the present life, from the struggles of temptations, and from the servitude of the devil. Christ promised this rest to all those who will come to Him: “Come to Me, all ye that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart; and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden light” [Mt 11:28-30] However, the Lord, as we know, worked for six days and on the seventh He rested, because it is necessary to do a perfect work: “Behold with your eyes how I have labored a little, and have found much rest to Myself” [Sir 51:35]. For the period of eternity exceeds the present time incomparably more than a thousand years exceeds one day. Fourthly, this Commandment was given for the increase of our love: “For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul” [Wis 9:15]. And man always tends downwards towards earthly things unless he takes means to raise himself above them. It is indeed necessary to have a certain time for this; in fact, some do this continually: “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall ever be in my mouth” [Ps 33:2]. And again: “Pray without ceasing” [1 Thes 5:17]. These shall enjoy the everlasting Sabbath. There are others who do this (i.e., excite love for God) during a certain portion of the day: “Seven times a day I have given praise to You” [Ps 118:164]. And some, in order to avoid being entirely apart from God, find it necessary to have a fixed day, lest they become too lukewarm in their love of God: “If you call the Sabbath delightful... then shall you delight in the Lord” [Is 58:13-14]. Again: “Then shall you abound in delights of the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God” [Job 22:26]. And accordingly this day is not set aside for the sole exercise of games, but to praise and pray to the Lord God. Wherefore, St. Augustine says that it is a lesser evil to plough than to play on this day. Lastly, we are given this Commandment in order to exercise works of kindliness to those who are subject to us. For some are so cruel to themselves and to others that they labor ceaselessly all on account of money. This is true especially of the Jews, who are most avaricious. “Observe the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it... that your man-servant and your maid-servant may rest, even as thyself” [19]. This Commandment, therefore, was given for all these reasons. From what we should abstain on the Sabbath “Remember that you keep holy (sanctify) the Sabbath day.” We have already said that, as the Jews celebrated the Sabbath, so do we Christians observe the Sunday and all principal feasts. Let us now see in what way we should keep these days. We ought to know that God did not say to “keep” the Sabbath, but to remember to keep it holy. The word “holy” may be taken in two ways. Sometimes “holy” (sanctified) is the same as pure: “But you are washed, but you are sanctified” [1 Cor 6:11]. (that is, made holy). Then again at times “holy” is said of a thing consecrated to the worship of God, as, for instance, a place, a season, vestments, and the holy vessels. Therefore, in these two ways we ought to celebrate the feasts, that is, both purely and by giving ourselves over to divine service. We shall consider two things regarding this Commandment. First, what should be avoided on a feast day, and secondly, what we should do. We ought to avoid three things. The first is servile work. Avoidance of Servile Work.—“Neither do any work; sanctify the Sabbath day” [Jer 17:22]. And so also it is said in the Law: “You shall do no servile work therein” [Lev 23:25]. Now, servile work is bodily work; whereas “free work” (i.e., non-servile work) is done by the mind, for instance, the exercise of the intellect and such like. And one cannot be servilely bound to do this kind of work. When Servile Work Is Lawful.—We ought to know, however, that servile work can be done on the Sabbath for four reasons. The first reason is necessity. Wherefore, the Lord excused the disciples plucking the ears of corn on the Sabbath, as we read in St. Matthew (xii. 3-5). The second reason is when the work is done for the service of the Church; as we see in the same Gospel how the priests did all things necessary in the Temple on the Sabbath day. The third reason is for the good of our neighbor; for on the Sabbath the Saviour cured one having a withered hand, and He refuted the Jews who reprimanded Him, by citing the example of the sheep in a pit (“ibid.”). And the fourth reason is the authority of our superiors. Thus, God commanded the Jews to circumcise on the Sabbath [Jn 7:22-23]. Avoidance of Sin and Negligence on the Sabbath.—Another thing to be avoided on the Sabbath is sin: “Take heed to your souls, and carry no burdens on the Sabbath day” [Jer 18:21]. This weight and burden on the soul is sin: “My iniquities as a heavy burden are become heavy upon me” [Ps 37:5]. Now, sin is a servile work because “whoever commits sin is the servant of sin” [Jn 8:34]. Therefore, when it is said, “You shall do no servile work therein,”[Lev 3:25]. it can be understood of sin. Thus, one violates this commandment as often as one commits sin on the Sabbath; and so both by working and by sin God is offended. “The Sabbaths and other festivals I will not abide.” And why? “Because your assemblies are wicked. My soul hates your new moon and your solemnities; they are become troublesome to me” [Is 1:13] Another thing to avoid on the Sabbath is idleness: “For idleness has taught much evil” [Sir 33:29]. St. Jerome says: “Always do some good work, and the devil will always find you occupied” [Ep. ad Rusticum]. Hence, it is not good for one to keep only the principal feasts, if on the others one would remain idle. “The King’s honor loves judgment” [Ps 98:4 Vulgate], that is to say, discretion. Wherefore, we read that certain of the Jews were in hiding, and their enemies fell upon them; but they, believing that they were not able to defend themselves on the Sabbath, were overcome and killed [1 Mac 2:31-38]. The same thing happens to many who are idle on the feast days: “The enemies have seen her, and have mocked at her Sabbaths” [Lam 1:7]. But all such should do as those Jews did, of whom it is said: “Whoever shall come up against us to fight on the Sabbath day, we will fight against him” [1 Mac 2:41] Do what on the Sabbath? “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” We have already said that man must keep the feast days holy; and that “holy” is considered in two ways, namely, “pure” and “consecrated to God.” Moreover, we have indicated what things we should abstain from on these days. Now it must be shown with what we should occupy ourselves, and they are three in number. The Offering of Sacrifice.—The first is the offering of sacrifices. In the Book of Numbers (18) it is written how God ordered that on each day there be offered one lamb in the morning and another in the evening, but on the Sabbath day the number should be doubled. And this showed that on the Sabbath we should offer sacrifice to God from all that we possess: “All things are Yours; and we have given You what we received from your hand” [1 Chron 29:14]. We should offer, first of all, our soul to God, being sorry for our sins: “A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit” [Ps 50:19]; and also pray for His blessings: “Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight” [Ps 140:2]. Feast days were instituted for that spiritual joy which is the effect of prayer. Therefore, on such days our prayers should be multiplied. Secondly, we should offer our body, by mortifying it with fasting: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice”[Rm 12:1], and also by praising God: “The sacrifice of praise shall honor Me” [Ps 49:23]. And thus on these days our hymns should be more numerous. Thirdly, we should sacrifice our possessions by giving alms: “And do not forget to do good, and to impart; for by such sacrifice God’s favor is obtained” [Hb 13:16]. And this alms ought to be more than on other days because the Sabbath is a day of common joys: “Send portions to those who have not prepared for themselves, because it is the holy day of the Lord” [Neh 8:10]. Hearing of God’s Word.—Our second duty on the Sabbath is to be eager to hear the word of God. This the Jews did daily: “The voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath” [Acts 13:27]. Therefore Christians, whose justice should be more perfect, ought to come together on the Sabbath to hear sermons and participate in the services of the Church! “He who is of God, hears the words of God” [Jn 8:47]. We likewise ought to speak with profit to others: “Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth; but what is good for sanctification” [Eph 4:29]. These two practices are good for the soul of the sinner, because they change his heart for the better: “Are not My words as a fire, says the Lord, and as a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” [Jer 23:29]. The opposite effect is had on those, even the perfect, who neither speak nor hear profitable things: “Evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake, you just, and do no sin” [1 Cor 15:33]. “Your words have I hidden in my heart” [Ps 118:11]. God’s word enlightens the ignorant: “Your word is a lamp to my feet” [Ps 118:105]. It inflames the lukewarm: “The word of the Lord inflamed him” [Ps 114:19] The contemplation of divine things may be exercised on the Sabbath. However, this is for the more perfect. “O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet” [Ps 33:9], and this is because of the quiet of the soul. For just as the tired body desires rest, so also does the soul. But the soul’s proper rest is in God: “Be for me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge” [Ps 30:3]. “There remains therefore a day of rest for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest has also rested from his works, as God did from His” [Hb 4:9-10]. When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her” (i.e., Wisdom) [Wis 8:16]. However, before the soul arrives at this rest, three other rests must precede. The first is the rest from the turmoil of sin: “But the wicked are like the raging sea which cannot rest” [Is 57:20]. The second rest is from the passions of the flesh, because “the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh” [Gal 5:17]. The third is rest from the occupations of the world: “Martha, Martha, you art careful and art troubled about many things” [Lk 10:41]. And then after all these things the soul rests peacefully in God: “If you call the Sabbath delightful... then shall you delight in the Lord” [Is 58:13-14]. The Saints gave up everything to possess this rest, “for it is a pearl of great price which a man having found, hid it, and for joy went off and sold all that he had and bought that field” [Mt 13:44-46]. This rest in truth is eternal life and heavenly joy: “This is my rest for ever and ever; here will I dwell, for I have chosen it” [Ps 131:14]. And to this rest may the Lord bring us all! 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Welcome to Pints with Aquinas, episode 71. I'm Matt Fradd. If you could sit down with St. Thomas Aquinas over a pint of beer and ask him any one question, what would it be? In today's episode, we'll ask St. Thomas about the Third Commandment. What does it mean to remember to keep holy the Sabbath day? What's the reason for the commandment? What should we abstain from on the Sabbath? And what's the difference between leisure and just vegging? It's great to have you back here at Pints with Aquinas, the show where you and I pull up a barstool next to the angelic doctor to discuss theology and philosophy. Really pumped about this episode. In addition to

what we're going to look at in Aquinas, I'm also going to share with you how you can become, you know, to use a buzz term at the moment, more mindful and something you can do with your iPhone to make it a heck of a lot less distracting. You'll see what that has to do with the Sabbath shortly. Today, we'll be drawing from one of Aquinas' lesser-known works on the Ten Commandments. And in Article 5, he addresses the third commandment, remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. So, here's a couple of things we're going to go over. We're going to respond to the objection that usually comes from Sabbath

day Adventists, you know, did Catholics change the Sabbath? We're going to talk about the reason for this commandment, the reason for keeping the holy the Sabbath day, and we'll be talking about what we should be abstaining from. We'll be drawing from Aquinas in these areas. So, shall we get underway? I think so. Okay. So, first of all, you sometimes encounter people who say that the Catholic Church wrongly changed the Sabbath. They say, used to be Saturday, the Catholic Church changed it to Sunday. This technically isn't true because the Sabbath is today as it was in the time of Christ, Saturday. So, even though sometimes people refer colloquially to Sunday being the Christian Sabbath,

strictly speaking, that's not true. The Sabbath is still Saturday, all right? This is, I mean, actually, to get technical, traditionally, the Jews celebrated the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, all right? So, the reason we celebrate on Sunday, well, let's just read from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2175. It says, Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath, which it follows chronologically every week. There you go, right from the mouth of the Catechism. It goes on, for Christians, its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath. observance replaces that of the Sabbath. It's in Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the law

prepared for the mystery of Christ and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ. So, there you go. We didn't change it. It's still Saturday, right? But for Christians, it's ceremonial observance, right, which we still fulfill, takes place on Sunday. Now, let's have a look. Aquinas gives us five reasons for this commandment. Maybe we'll just go over a few, okay? One of the reasons for this commandment, says Aquinas, is to instruct us in our faith in the Redeemer. For the flesh of Christ, he says, was not corrupted in the sepulcher. And thus it is said, moreover, my flesh also shall rest in hope. Psalm 15, 9.

Nor will you let your Holy One see corruption. Psalm 15. 10. Wherefore, God wished that the Sabbath should be observed and that just as the sacrifices of the old law signified the death of Christ, so should the quiet of the Sabbath signify the rest of His holy body in the sepulchre. But we do not now observe these sacrifices because with the advent of the reality and the truth, figures of it must cease, just as the darkness is dispelled with the rising of the sun. Nevertheless, we keep the Saturdays in veneration of the Blessed Virgin, in whom remained a firm faith on that Saturday while Christ was dead. Here's another reason for this commandment, right?

To strengthen and foreshadow the fulfillment of the promise of rest, says Aquinas. For rest indeed was promised to us. And here he quotes Isaiah in saying, and on that day, God shall give you rest from your labor, from your vexation and from the hard bondage to which you had been subjugated. And another place in Isaiah paragraph 32, my people shall dwell in a peaceful land, in secure accommodation, and in quiet places of rest. Beautiful. He goes on to say, we hope for rest from these things. What things? Well, here's what he says. From the labors of the present life, from the struggles of temptations, and from the servitude of the devil. Christ promised this rest to all those who will come to him. He says, come to me, all ye that

labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls for my yoke is sweet and my burden light. However, Aquinas continues, the Lord, as we know, worked for six days and on the seventh, he rested because it is necessary to do a perfect work. He quotes Sirach, behold with your eyes how I have labored a little and have found much rest to myself. For the period of eternity exceeds the present time incomparably more than a thousand years exceeds one day. Here's another reason Aquinas gives for this commandment. It is in order to exercise works of kindliness to those who are subject to us.

For some are so cruel to themselves and to others that they labor ceaselessly, all on account of money. Observe the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it, that your manservant and your maidservant may rest even as thyself. All right. So, I mean, that's one of the reasons I love Chick-fil-A, right? And that's one of the reasons you love Chick-fil-A as well, not just because their chicken is ridiculously good, but because, you know, they aren't so driven about money, right, that they make their employees work on Sunday. I remember being at an airport and going to a food court and thinking, surely they're open at the food court, right? Like, I'm sure that's different. Nope, they're shut, right? So, we should not only allow rest for ourselves, but, you know, those around us, if we have a place of,

you know, authority over them, such we have a place of, you know, authority over them, such as being an employer or even a parent. Now, Aquinas says we should abstain, we should avoid three things on Sunday. What are those things? Well, here's what he says. here's what he says. The first is servile work. Okay. The second is sin. And the third is idleness. So, let's take a look at what he means. When he says avoidance of servile work, what does he mean? Well, he quotes Jeremiah in saying, neither do any work, sanctify the Sabbath day. And so also it is said in the law, in Leviticus, you shall do no servile work therein. Now, says Aquinas, servile work is bodily work, whereas free work, that is non-servile work, is done by the mind, for instance, the exercise of the intellect and such like. And one cannot be servilely bound to do this kind of work. All right. Then Aquinas gives some reasons for why,

it seems like he's speaking out of the other side of his mouth here, why servile work might be lawful, okay, on the Sunday. And he says for four reasons. The first is necessity, wherefore the Lord excused the disciples, plucking the ears of corn on the Sabbath, as we read in the Gospel of Matthew. The second reason is when the work is done for the service of the church, right? So, imagine you're at the church and the priest asks if you would be kind enough to move the chairs into a room for, you know, some sort of breakfast that they're putting on and you were like, nope, sorry, can't do any servile work. All right, so Aquinas says, no, no, no, like you can do that.

The third reason is for the good of our neighbor. For on the Sabbath, the Savior cured one having a withered hand and he refuted the Jews who reprimanded him by citing the example of the sheep in a pit. The fourth reason is the authority of our superiors. Thus, God commanded the Jews to circumcise on the Sabbath. So, those are the reasons we should be able to serve our work. I want to offer a few thoughts here. I don't know if I'm contradicting Aquinas. I feel like maybe it's because he was writing, you know, seven centuries before now. But I mean, most of us today don't perform servile, if you want, labor for our occupations, you know. Some of us do, and I think there's a lot of credit that goes to that,

that type of work. I think it requires endurance, manliness, and so forth. But a lot of us, we're on computers, doing emails, writing papers, flying around. And for that reason, if Sunday's the only day you have off, the reason you might want to go and mow the lawn or, you know, paint the deck or something like that, that's far from being a servile work, I think, in that instance. That's just a desire to literally relax. You know, when you've spent your whole day sitting at a computer desk, a way to relax is to work, if you will. So, that would be one kind of thing I would add to what Aquinas says. Take it or leave it. I love what he has to say here. Remember, there was three things we have to avoid. The second was avoidance of sin and negligence on the Sabbath.

Where does he say this? I love this. I love I love it. Listen, now sin is a servile work because as it says in John 8, 34, whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. Therefore, when it is said you shall do no servile work in Leviticus 3, 25, it can be understood of sin. Don't you love that? It's like, yeah, you don't want to do servile work today? Don't sin. Isn't that cool? Because sin is a serve our work because whoever sins is a slave to sin. Okay. So, the avoidance of sin, clearly. He says more on that, but let's go to the third thing we should avoid and that's idleness. St. Jerome says, always do some good work and the devil will always find you occupied. Hence, it is not good for one to keep only the principal feasts. If on the other, one would remain idle.

The king's honor loves judgment. Psalm 98, 4. That is to say, discretion. Wherefore, we read that certain of thes were in hiding and their enemies fell upon them but they believing that they were not able to defend themselves on the sabbath were overcome and killed that was from the first maccabees the same thing happened to many who are idle on the feast days all right let me read that again so we shouldn't be idle either. All right. So, with that said, I would like to offer a few thoughts about rest and leisure. For many of us, leisure and vegging are synonymous. That is, they don't

have the same effect, but we've come to think of leisure as simply vegging out. We don't realize that there's a difference. That genuine leisure recreates us. Recreation, right? Vegging doesn't do that. And you know the difference. I know the difference. I've shared this before, but when I sit down, I open up Netflix, you know, and I'm like cleaning the kitchen while I'm trying to watch a Netflix show. And as I'm doing that, I'm also minimizing the windows. So, while I'm listening now to the Netflix show, I'm also checking email and Twitter and Instagram. Oh my goodness. This isn't recreation. This isn't a way to experience leisure. This is just distraction.

And there's a big difference. And at the end of that activity, we certainly know the difference. We certainly know the difference. There is a terrific book by Joseph Pieper called Leisure, The Basis of Culture. It's quite a short book. If you haven't read it, I'd really recommend that you do. I want to share a few quotations of his because it's beautiful. He says this, leisure is only possible when we are at one with ourselves. We tend to overwork as a means of self-escape, as a way of trying to justify our existence. You know, when I've got Netflix open, when I'm listening to podcasts, when I'm running around, I'm not really at one with myself. It's almost like I'm fragmenting myself in multiple ways

in order to avoid myself. And that's no way to experience leisure. Here's another quote from his. The happy man needs nothing and no one. Not that he holds himself aloof, for indeed he is in harmony with everything and everyone. Everything is in him. Nothing can happen to him. The same may also be said of the contemplated person. He needs himself alone.

He lacks nothing. Perhaps you've experienced that when you pray the rosary or the Jesus prayer or sit quietly in adoration. And after a while, your mind begins to settle. Your thoughts cease racing. When I lived in Canada, I went to a Trappist monastery and I spent about four or five days in silence. And I remember the first day, or maybe day and a half, I found it really difficult. I just felt unproductive. I wanted to, I guess, justify my existence, but I ran out of things to do really quickly. And so, even though the first day I'd go, I'd kneel down, I'd say a little prayer in the chapel, 10 minutes. But by the third day, I walked into the chapel, knel down, I'd say a little prayer in the chapel, 10 minutes. But by the third

day, I walked into the chapel, knelt down, and in about two hours, two and a half hours, I got up and left. It's like everything began to slow down, and I was at one with myself. I no longer lacked anything in the sense of lacking distraction in order to feel relief. Here's another quotation from him. I'm sorry, I cannot stop. He is so brilliant. He's got so many great things here. He says, of course, the world of work begins to become, threatens to become our only world, to the exclusion of all else. The demands of the working world grow ever more total, grasping ever more completely the whole of human existence. And this dude didn't have an iPhone. Have you noticed how work is spilling over into every

nook and cranny of our lives, every quiet moment, in much the same way that a gigantic city, you know, that's growing and growing, continues to spill over into the suburbs and country towns. And now we're all racing around like chickens with their heads cut off. Well, now it's not unlikely for you and for me, well, let me not, you know, indict you. Let me just talk about me. It's not, you know, out of the realm of possibility that it'll be 10 at night and I'm answering an email, you know. It's taking over our lives. We got to do something. And the thing is, we got to do something. We know we got to do something, but we don't want to do something. Why? Well, this goes back to Blaise Pascal, who says all of the troubles of the world come down to this fact that man cannot sit quietly alone in a room. What are we going to do about it,

brothers and sisters? May I suggest something for Sundays? Turn your phone off. Give your phone away. Now, some of you probably have the self-control, you can turn your phone off, put it in the drawer and you'll be great for the rest of the day. Some of you are like me and need to go kind of more nuclear. So, you might decide to take your phone, give it to a friend, take your computer, give it to a friend. We've got to rest. I think that you and I would find much more rest if on Sunday, we did nothing but manual labor, and I would find much more rest if on Sunday, we did nothing but manual labor, you know, and ignored entirely social media, email, internet. And at first, we're going to hate it because we're used to the distraction and we want the distraction. Here's an example I thought of recently when I

was back home visiting my parents in Australia. There was a police raid taking place at a house across the road from us. Now, you have to understand, I live in a very small country town. It's very unlikely that you see something like this. And this raid went on for several hours. There was like several police cars out front of the house. Well, it distracted the entire family. You know, we'd be watching television or chatting at the table and we'd get up and we'd peek out the window. Anything happening? No, nothing's happening yet. What's going on over there? We'd stand there still for 10 minutes and then we'd go back. But it was always in the back of our mind, right? So, we'd get up and we'd look again. Is anything happening? To me, that's a good analogy for the iPhone, right? Just like we were distracted by this window at our

house, this door that we could see through at our house, the iPhone has become the door that we're constantly preoccupied with. We keep going back to it. What's happening? Oh, nothing. But then if something does happen, you think to yourself, well, I don't want to miss out. I got to keep looking because who knows what I could miss. You know, someone could email me and I might not know about it for five minutes. Now, I make fun, but I'm just like that. And so are you. And I'm tired of it, brothers and sisters. I want to take my phone sometimes, grab it by the back and beat it into the corner of a table until it's dead. Sorry if that was too dramatic for you. But then I think to myself, well, hang on, there's lots of stuff that I need. Or if not need, things that genuinely make my life easier,

right? I mean, I've got, I'm opening it right now, okay? I've got Audible. I love listening to audio books. I've got a Bible app. I like reading my Bible. I have my calendar. You know, sure, I could buy a paper calendar, a book calendar, but I like having my Bible. I have my calendar. You know, sure, I could buy a paper calendar, a book calendar, but I like having this calendar that syncs with other calendars. I've got my Google Maps. How could I live without that? I barely know how to get to the neighborhood store without help. You know, can I suggest something that will bless you, I think, in an incredible way? And I've been surprised that when I've shared this with people they've really been stunned they never knew that this was possible so if you have an iPhone you

might be listening sorry if you have an Android I'm not really sure how it works but if you have an iPhone pull it out click settings okay once you've opened, I want you to go to general. Click general. Once you go to general, click restrictions. Now, here's what I want you to do. Do what you want, but you know, if you want help with this. You can disable certain things. You can restrict certain things. You can restrict Safari. That means you can turn off safari another thing you can do you can turn off the downloading of apps now once you've turned off the downloading of apps you can set you know and done all that you want to do there in restrictions you can set a passcode i have my wife set that passcode i don't want to know that passcode i never want to know it

all right she says the passcode all right now i go to know that passcode. I never want to know it. All right. She sets the passcode. All right. Now I go back into my phone and I delete the apps that distract me, that fragment my attention. I delete Instagram. I delete Twitter. I delete Facebook. I delete Google Chrome. Now I can't download them. There's nothing I can do. I don't know my wife's passcode, so I don't know how to get the app store back. And so now i'm stuck And I love it. Well, I hate it, but I love it I want to encourage you to think about doing something like that yourself How many of us check our phone at the stoplight or check our phone incessantly on the bathroom on the toilet?

You know, I don't know about you, maybe you're different, but if you're anything like me, you sense how this thing has become something of a slave master and you want to be free of it. Well, that's my suggestion on how to begin to be free of it. If you have suggestions, can you go to our forum? We've got well over a thousand people in the forum, Pints with Aquinas, and maybe we can start a discussion about how we can be better mindful of the things that are taking place around us. All right, let me just read to you one more quotation from Pieper, which I love. He says, Patience is not the indiscriminate acceptance of any sort of evil. It's not the one who does not flee from

evil who is patient, but rather the one who does not let himself thereby be drawn into disordered sadness. To be patient means not to allow the serenity and discernment of one's soul to be taken away. Patience, then, is not the tear-streaked mirror of a broken life, as one might almost think to judge from what is frequently shown and praised under this term, but rather is the radiant essence of final freedom from harm. Patience is, as Hildegard of Bingen, I'm not sure how to pronounce that, states, the pillar that is weakened by nothing. I love it. Disordered sadness, drawn into disordered sadness. We lack patience today. And I think part of the reason we lack patience today is that we always have distraction at our fingertips, that we no longer know how to be

patient. I was recently having a discussion with a priest over breakfast and he said, Matt, I'm getting rid of my iPhone. I said, oh, that's terrific. Why? He said something that I'm not sure will ever leave me. He said, I'm getting rid of my iPhone because I've lost the ability to daydream. I've lost the ability to daydream. Too many of us, I think, wake up, we turn on our phone, we start listening to podcasts, maybe like this one, sorry, and we have other people's voices pumped into our head. You don't think that affects us? We are what we ingest. And that means more than just food and drink. It also means entertainment and media and distraction. So, my encouragement would be on Sunday, here's just one suggestion. When you celebrate the Lord's Day, that you put away your phone, your computer, and just be with your family. That you lay on the couch and read a comic, all right? You just chill, baby, chill, and allow your head to settle as mine did at that Trappist

Monastery. I want to make a promise to you right now as I'm getting off of this podcast, because I know I've been preaching a bunch. It's now 1.25. I'm recording this on a Thursday afternoon. I'm going to turn my phone off, and I'm going to turn my phone off and I'm going to turn my computer off and let's see today's Thursday, tomorrow okay so tomorrow I got nothing I got to do tomorrow because I work on the weekends sometimes

so I can take tomorrow off alright here's what I'm going to try and do and you can ask me about this on Facebook when this episode launches I'm going to turn off my phone and computer all day today and tonight and all day tomorrow. And I'll let you know what my experience was like. Brothers and sisters, God bless you. Thank you so much for tuning into Pints with Aquinas week after week. If you want to support this show, if the show is helping you and you want to see it continue and flourish,

go to pintswithaquinas.com, click support or the Patreon banner, and then you can give two bucks a month if you want, five bucks a month or whatever. If you don't have money and you don't want to give, that's totally cool too. I'm just so honored that anyone would would give my whole life to carry you to carry you to carry you to carry you