Evangelical Rest as Interpreted by the Rector Major
(ANS – Turin – Sept. 14, 2026) – To set all the work on the right track, during the morning meditation on the first day of a meeting with 15 provincials, the Rector Major drew the attention of his confreres to the theme of gospel rest, in the light of the gospel passage in which Jesus invites his disciples, having returned from their mission, to withdraw to a quiet place with him to rest (Mark 6:30–32).
In analyzing this passage, Fr.. Fabio Attard saw, first and
foremost, an invitation to pause and recognize “a liberating truth: the work is
His, not ours.” Faced with the suspicion, “never admitted, that if we stop
everything will collapse,” rest is first and foremost an act of faith, which
also reminds those in leadership roles within the Church that “the Lord is the
true protagonist of the mission, and that we are servants, not masters, of the
vineyard.”
Subsequently, the Rector Major emphasized Jesus’ invitation
to withdraw “to a quiet place.” This movement, which is not so much physical as
mental, serves to find that solitude which means having “the courage to be
alone with oneself and with God, without the adrenaline of ministry, without
the constant feedback from others which, more often than not, confirms us in
our role and spares us from coming face to face with ourselves.”
Such solitude also entails risks, because in that silence,
so often “hidden struggles, unhealed wounds, and the questions that our
busyness allowed us to put off” emerge; but the danger of not having it is
worse still: failing to hear God’s voice.
Continuing his reflection, Fr. Attard also noted the context
of the gospel passage: the disciples were returning from their mission. This,
too, is not merely a chronological detail, but an indication of a further
point: “success, no less than hardship, can lead us away from what is
essential.”
Jesus, therefore, invites the disciples to pause at the
height of their human success: “not to dampen their enthusiasm, but to
rediscover their center,” because the one thing that is necessary “is not one’s
role, nor one’s projects, however good they may be: it is a living relationship
with the Lord.”
Gospel-inspired rest is, then, that time in life when the
seeds sown by man grow through the Lord’s work; it is the act by which one
simultaneously challenges “the idol of productivity” and fulfills the prophetic
surrender of those who know that “some fruits ripen only in silence and
precisely when one has the courage to let God take over.”
The Rector Major’s analysis did not end with an examination
of the characteristics and values of evangelical rest, but also looked at its
effects: it “nourishes contemplation and strengthens discernment,” because it
allows for the right detachment from worldly things and gives the courage for
self-criticism, helping to recalibrate the compass of one’s actions, which at
this point “knows where it comes from and toward Whom it is heading.”
The Rector Major concluded with a final remark delivered
with clarifying certainty: “Gospel rest is not an escape from the mission, but
a preparation for it.” The days at Valdocco will therefore not be an escape for
the provincials, but a fruitful time of reflection, enabling them to return to
their mission with greater heart and zeal, by virtue of “a purified gaze” – the
fruit of the awareness that every human being, in God’s eyes, “before any role
or title,” is His beloved child, “not because of their abilities, but by pure
grace.”
