Faith

Friday, August 29, 2025Faith

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As we go back to the more demanding post-summer routines, it might be a healthy thing to allow that gift of the Sabbath into our hearts and our schedules.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

It has been a little while since I visited with you in these pages. I hope that you had time this summer to be with family and friends and opportunities for relaxation and renewal. I have always found summer a good time to break from the usual routine and to recharge for the mission.
After months of full days and many visits to parishes, it was good to have a week in Rome for the Bishop's Jubilee and the conferral of the Pallium stole. The Eternal City never disappoints, and it was a joy to encounter Pope Leo XIV and hear his direct and meaningful preaching.
The New England Bishops also took time together for retreat in August. In this annual tradition, we invite a retreat director to guide us and have several days of prayer and fellowship. Our director this year was Msgr. Frank Matera, a noted biblical scholar, who addressed us concerning Paul's witness and life of faith. It was moving to hear a world-class scholar delve into the text as a disciple and share many insights from a lifetime of reflection on the Word of God. It was also wonderful to have time with my brother bishops of Boston and beyond.

With a lighter summer schedule, I had family visits and time to enjoy some of the sights of this beautiful region and its incredible coast. As I visit the beaches and harbors, I cannot help but feel joy and gratitude for the "Into the Deep" process along the North Shore. As a newcomer to the region, it was a gift to see the deep and abiding faith of the people of our archdiocese.
Another highlight of the summer was my first visit to Fenway for a Red Sox game. It was a perfect evening; the Sox won in an exciting game, and the crowd was full of smiles and enthusiasm. As a "convert," it was a great first "pilgrimage" and I look forward to many more!
Summertime can be a true gift. Such times of renewal and connecting with others are part of God's plan for us. Certainly, the Lord challenges us to work. We are, after all, partners to God in the work of creation. And yet the Lord also intends that we rest. "The Lord of the Sabbath" did not make us for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for us (Mark 2:27). As God rested on the seventh day, so He commands us to rest. He establishes feasts and seasons and times of Jubilee so that we might contemplate His word and His glory and rest from our labors.
In our own culture, the gift of the Sabbath is too rarely appreciated or well-received. Even our leisure can be frenetic. As we go back to the more demanding post-summer routines, it might be a healthy thing to allow that gift of the Sabbath into our hearts and our schedules. Such rest does not undermine our need to get things done. These breaks give us a new appreciation of the "routine," and when used well, they send us back to work with a spring in our step. My schedule this fall will be pretty challenging, but I am feeling full of hope and with an eagerness for ministry. Blessed be the Lord of the Sabbath, and thanks be to God for summer days!

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston