Worship the Basis of Leisure

"Leisure, it must be remembered, is not a Sunday afternoon idyll, but the preserve of freedom, of education and culture, and of that undiminished humanity which views the world as a whole."

"The soul of leisure ... lies in 'celebration.' Celebration is the point at which the three elements of leisure emerge together: effortlessness, calm and relaxation, and its superiority to all and every function. ... There is no such thing as a feast 'without Gods'--whether it be a carnival or a marriage."--Josef Pieper, Leisure the Basis of Culture

Contemporary understandings of leisure are ill-informed. Leisure is now "time for yourself"--which means time that does not have to even pretend to be useful, neither for the body, nor for the soul. It is, at least for introverts, time that belongs to oneself and not to the community--a private time to be withdrawn and engage in private "hobbies" or other amusements. Contemporary approaches to leisure compartmentalize time for worship as something that has to "get done" (another chore to do as part of our busyness), rather than characterizing it as a way of being--a different involvement with and use of time, one that is intended, not for usefulness, but for sacrifice.