Restoring the Lord’s Day: How Reclaiming Sunday can Revive our Human Nature

Sarah Pedrozo reviews a new book by Daniel Fitzpatrick which reminds us that celebrating the Lord’s Day leads us to our highest calling. 

Restoring the Lord’s Day: How Reclaiming Sunday can Revive our Human Nature

by Daniel Fitzpatrick
Published by Sophia Institute Press

It’s probably not a surprise to you to hear that Western culture in general no longer celebrates the Lord’s Day, at least not the way we used to a couple of decades ago. Even though we may not have to go to work, there’s often not a lot of difference between Sundays and Saturdays. Both days are typically spent running errands and attending many of our different activities.   

We might yearn for a slower day, of sitting and chatting and enjoying a meal together with family and friends, but according to Daniel Fitzpatrick in his new book Restoring the Lord’s Day: How Reclaiming Sunday can Revive our Human Nature, there’s something even more that we are missing out on by not attending to the Lord’s Day. We miss out on “enjoying a contemplative rest in the presence of the Lord.” 

An experience of God 

A great deal of this book focuses on our call to contemplation, our invitation to rest in the Lord the way the beloved disciple is sometimes depicted in art, as resting against Christ at the Last Supper. I found the author’s explanations of contemplation, meaning the experience of the presence of God and participation in the ongoing redemption of creation, to be very clear and helpful, even inspiring. In fact, references to contemplation and the contemplative gaze are sprinkled throughout the entire book, as reminders of what we are called to and what we are missing out on if we treat the Sabbath as just another day.   

Besides talking about contemplation as an experience of God while we are on earth, the book also discusses a couple of reasons the Sabbath has been so pushed aside. Two reasons are named in particular: the rise of the vice of acedia and its related sin, usury. The author spends quite a bit of time explaining just what acedia is, and how it drives us to being either depressed, on the one hand, or filling our lives with so many activities that we never stop, on the other. We vacillate between despair and distraction. But what I found to be truly refreshing was the explanation of usury, a vice that we don’t typically hear much about, but which is so important to recognize and reject.  

The last part of the book dealt with aspects of Sunday worship itself, such as the Liturgy, Sacred Space, especially Art and Architecture, and Sacred Time, specifically the music we hear during Mass. Both the space we worship in as well as the music we hear are important facets of helping us to celebrate the Lord’s Day well. The book also includes a short discussion about the value of silence and the family as the school of sanctity.   

Now what? 

The final chapter of the book contains a few suggestions for ways to celebrate Sunday authentically. Some of the suggestions are doable for every family; for example, tithing and putting away phones and laptops for the day. Another good suggestion is to get out into nature and try to see it with fresh eyes. If possible, read through the Mass readings the night before, becoming more familiar with them beforehand. All of these options can move people and families towards keeping the Lord’s Day.

But the best advice comes from Saint John Paul II, who advised everyone to “stop working for the weekend” (Dies Domini, no.4, quoted in the book). Instead of viewing Sunday as another day free from work, approach it as a day of joy and festivity.  

Overall, this was a book I enjoyed reading and I learned from. Most of it focused on what is keeping us from really celebrating the Lord’s Day, by naming and explaining acedia and usury, our inability to focus and persevere, as well as our willingness to continually buy and consume. Just focusing on these two areas is helpful in seeing what could be changed in our own lives in order to rest with God on Sunday. 

I did have some reservations about the interpretation of sacred architecture and music, as well as some of the remedies that were suggested. But I certainly agree with the need to keep the Fourth Commandment and honor the Sabbath day, and this book provides lots of food for thought on how to do that. 

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2024 Sarah Pedrozo
Images: Canva
This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which provide a small compensation to the author of this piece when purchases are made through the links, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting our Catholic Mom writers in this way.