A Letter From Our Pastor: Father’s Sabbatical —Retreat and Catholic Community

My Dear Friends in Christ,

Just before Christmas, I arrived home from a three-month sabbatical. What is a sabbatical? You may recall Jews have been celebrating the Sabbath Day (the seventh day of rest) for thousands of years. The word “sabbath” literally means “to rest.” In fact, Jesus would have celebrated the Sabbath with His family and with His disciples every week of his life. Borrowing the idea of sabbath rest, in our diocese priests are allowed a time of rest every seven years. It is a time of study and formation to help the priest be rejuvenated for the ministry to which he is called.

My sabbatical was three months beginning last September. There were two really important things I did for my sabbatical. I went on retreat and learned about Catholic Community.

In Clearwater, Fla., I had an Ignatian Retreat with the Marian Servants of Divine Providence. As a pastor and preacher I often spend time praying, “Lord, what do You want to say to Your people?” But on retreat the question changes to, “Lord, what do You want to say to me?” By reading and reflecting on the Scriptures, by talking to a spiritual director each day, and by remaining silent, I felt my spirit being refreshed.

In Tallahassee, Fla., I lived with the Fountain of Life Community. It is a community of about 35 families who live throughout the city but live their Catholic faith in a very intentional way. There are no priests or deacons who belong to the community. However, to belong to the community, families have to be active members of a Catholic Parish in Tallahassee.

I talked to some of the local parish priests and they said the lay community members have been a great blessing to their parishes. They practice stewardship by praying at Mass, getting involved in various ministries, and tithing in each week’s collection.

One of the community goals is to reclaim the Lord’s Day, the day of rest (Sabbath). They see how the world has minimized the importance of Sunday and feel called to make Saturday evenings special. Like Jesus would have done, they set aside every Saturday evening for family prayer and a nice meal.

Their prayer consists of praising God for the Lord’s Day, lighting a candle because Christ is our light, singing some songs of worship, raising a cup of wine to give thanks to God, and breaking a loaf of bread (getting crumbs all over) to begin their special meal. It is a beautiful rhythm they have in their lives to honor God and one another. In some ways, you could say, each of the families celebrates the presence of God in their lives and in their home — every week they intentionally take a sabbatical, a time of rest from the past week.

In our Father’s hands,

Fr. Greg Paffel, Pastor

Fr. Greg Paffel, Pastor