Bishop, before the holidays: Only in God does the soul rest

The Bishop of Getafe (Spain), Mons. Ginés García Beltrán reflects in a letter about the meaning of rest in the face of the European summer season in which many families take the opportunity to take a few days of vacation.

The prelate begins by pointing 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,” he adds.

However, further, Bishop García asks: “You, in whom do you rest?”, underlining the personal nature of the question (“I have not said what rests you”) to propose that man’s true rest is “in God.” , because it is He from whom salvation comes to us”, as expressed in Psalm 21: “My soul rests in God alone.”

For the prelate, the psalmist’s composition transmits 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.”

The question that arises next about what to do with our daily rush and stress and the questions of existence. And the bishop proposes an answer: “put them in the hands of God and learn to rest in Him.”

Importance of the attitude of abandonment

Bishop García consequently proposes an attitude that, in his opinion, “today’s man does not practice very frequently.” It’s about abandonment. In this regard, he points out that “taking the reins of life is a demand 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.”

However, the bishop encourages “trusting and abandoning oneself in the hands of God and letting Him lead my life.” This does not imply “calling for the abandonment of one’s own responsibility,” the prelate points out, but rather “not falling into the temptation of believing that we are the owners and gods of ourselves.”

The Bishop of Getafe adds that “what is necessary is assiduous dealing with the Lord, listening to his Word, concern for his things. The rest is also important, but it will only make sense from what is only necessary” as reflected in the Gospel passage in which the difference between the attitude of Mary and Martha in the house of Bethany becomes evident.

Finally, in reference to the Virgin Mary, Bishop García affirms that “she is a precious example to look at. With his yes to God he 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.”