Advent Meditations for Fathers - November 30, 2025 - Rest
He blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. - Genesis 2:2
At first glance it seems odd to start an Advent Reflection series focusing on doing nothing. Most fathers are likely just finishing up a busy weekend with family cooking and celebrating Thanksgiving, and are getting ready for the “Christmas Marathon”. Fathers everywhere are preparing to hang up hundreds of feet of Christmas lights, start up the Christmas shopping excel spreadsheet, and are frantically managing calendars to make sure they don’t miss a Christmas Pageant, breakfast with St Nicholas, or other checkbox on the Christmas list. This is definitely not the time to slow down for rest and reflection!
The fact is that Fatherhood is almost always associated with doing: earning a living, mowing the lawn, playing catch, working on the Honey-Do list, golfing, barbecuing.. the list goes on and on. Not proactively doing something with every waking moment can feel lazy, or even wasteful.
The Truth is: to be the best Father that you can be, you need to make time for intentional Rest this Advent.
However, before you jump into your recliner for the next 4 weeks, below are a few guidelines for how to enter into a rest that is truly renewing and helps us to more fully live out our vocation.
First, the pause that rest provides creates time for reflection and renewal, replenishing your capacity to show up for your children and spouse with patience, perseverance, and passion. This space for renewal allows the Divine Father time to help identify areas where you can improve as a parent, as well as refilling your own cup so that you can truly pour God’s love into those entrusted to your stewardship.
Secondly, taking intentional rests often provides an example for your children that production is not the purpose of life. Creating sacred time for family, rest, and worship allows us to focus in on our spiritual nature. Rest from the physical activities of the world elevates our mind to the realities of our metaphysical selves, and allow us to focus in on our relationship with God.
Lastly, rest is something that is owed to God. It is notable that one of the 10 Commandments is devoted to the Sabbath, which is specifically a day of rest. Even Christ did not resurrect on the Sabbath, but on the first day of the week! While it is true as Christians we are not bound by the Judaic Laws surrounding the Sabbath, we are still obligated to observe Holy Days of Obligation, including refraining from labor on these days as appropriate.
Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer every day, except when we are busy — then we need an hour. - St. Francis de Sales
This week (and Advent Season) try to find some time to dedicate to enter into the rest that the Lord is calling you to in order to be a better Father and Husband. Below are a few examples of how this might look in your everyday life:
Infuse prayer or meditation into a daily ritual that you already have. Perhaps there is something you do every day that could be a trigger for entering into rest, such as a coffee ritual or jumping in the shower. Tying these scheduled items to building your interior life could be a great start!
Make time this week to go to Mass, Adoration, or Confession.
Schedule 30 minutes of Family Quiet Time to watch a religious movie, do a Christmas activity, do a charitable activity, or enter into prayer. As a parent, you probably have a good idea of what your kids can or can’t handle (for instance, 30 minutes of a rosary with the 2 year old is probably not very relaxing, and that is ok!) The goal is to give yourself permission to “check out” of the physical realities of work or Christmas in order to provide God a chance to interact with your family on a deeper level.
This post is part of a broader set of reflections we are posting for Catholic Dads for Advent. Feel free to subscribe here to receive updates when we make a new post!