A whole day

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”  (Mk 2: 23-28)

Since work is an activity in service of others to provide our means of survival, the abstention from this activity has, among its main purposes, the possibility of dedicating oneself to the service of God by listening to the Will expressed in the Word and in obedience based on its careful meditation. Weekly rest, therefore, is a day, a portion of time to devote to God. Disciples of Jesus dedicate their time and energy not to following a man, but to the Lamb of God. For this reason, those who dedicate themselves to God in the Person of Jesus do not perform a desecrating act if they collect what is necessary for life, without drawing benefit from it. We therefore need to remember that Sunday is a whole day (not just an hour, the time of a Mass) to suspend ordinary activities and be dedicated to the Lord and His Will.