Best Advent Ever is made possible by viewers like you.

You're awesome.

The speed of joy is.

Patient.

Amazing.

Inspiring.

Dynamic.

Fruitful.

Welcome back to Best Advent ever. We've been talking about the Sabbath, talking about getting our Sundays back. Talking about who stole our Sundays. Talking about how we gave our Sundays away. I want to talk to you about how we get our Sundays back, how we celebrate the Sabbath in a way that changes our lives, that transforms our relationships. I think the first thing to keep in mind is don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do. This is the first rule when it comes to impossible thinking. We get ourselves in this state of thinking that something's impossible, and we do it often.

First rule is don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do. And as we're going to talk about here in a minute, there might be something you have to do on Sunday. You might be a nurse and you have to go to work on Sunday. Okay. We're reasonable people. And we have a reasonable God. And we find a way to work through these things. But let's not let what we can't do interfere with what we can do.

Next, identify your immovable obstacles. For example, someone might say, "I can't take back my Sundays and take the Sabbath as a day of rest because my shift at work starts on Sunday night at 6 PM." No problem. We have identified your immovable obstacle. You may not be able to change your shift immediately, but it may become possible now that you know it's important to you. Someone else might say, "I can't take back my Sundays because I volunteered to babysit so young couples can go to church." No problem. We may have identified your immovable obstacle. Whatever the immovable obstacle is, keep one thing in mind, most immovable obstacles are only immovable in the short term.

It's also important that we don't misidentify an activity. For example, taking care of infants so their parents can go to church may actually be a form of leisure. It may not seem like leisure at times when they are crying, but it could be a soul-nourishing activity. I have a friend who has a very demanding job as a CEO of a large corporation. He needs to work Sunday night to set the week up for success. So he honors the Sabbath from sundown on Saturday night to sundown on Sunday night. One of his friends honors the Sabbath from 6:00 PM on Saturday night until 6:00 PM on Sunday night. They got this idea, of course, from our spiritual ancestors. The Jewish people observe the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.

The point is, design some version of the Sabbath that works for you right now. And then over time, engineer it. Continue to engineer it so you can have the fullness of this gift, incredible gift that God wants to give you to restore your heart and your mind and your body and your soul and your relationships, to introduce you to leisure like you've never experienced leisure before, so that you can flourish, so that you can go out into the world and be an amazing witness to what happens when you live the genius of Catholicism. So that other people will look at you and say, "He is different." Or, "She has got something going on. I don't know what it is, but I got to find out because whatever she has got going on, I need going on for me." That is ultimately how we will bring people to the faith.

It has always been about attraction, not about promotion. There is nothing more attractive than holiness. When somebody actually lives the genius of our faith, it is astoundingly attractive to all men and women of goodwill. No matter what their faith is, no matter if they have faith or no faith, there's nothing more attractive than holiness. I got a surprise for you today. If you click the button below, you can get six free copies of Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy to share with your family and friends, to use as Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, to share the gift of <em>Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy</em> with the people in your circle of influence. God bless you. Have a great day. And remember, there is genius in Catholicism. So be bold, be Catholic.

Thank you, ambassadors. You are changing the world. See you tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Have a great day.

Bye-bye.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Simon, come sit. I love you.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Come sit.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

See you next time. Bye. Have a great day

For most of my life, my faith was just another thing on my Sunday to-do list. I'd go to mass, but I was distracted. I wanted to rush through it and to get to all the other important things I had to do. But then a priest gave me a challenge, and it changed my Sundays forever. I was living in St. Louis at the time, and that's when I met Father Mike. During one of our first conversations, he asked me a simple question: "Do you pray?" I told him that I did pray, but that's when he pushed a little further. He said, "How much do you pray?" This question was a little harder for me to answer. For me, it really depended on the day: what I had going on, if I really needed something from God. And that's when Father Mike gave me a challenge. He said, "Why don't you make an appointment to speak to Jesus for 10 minutes a day, like you're getting coffee with him? Just tell him about your day, about what's on your mind, the way you would with a friend." I thought it seemed easy enough, so I agreed to try it out. For the next few days, I'd sit in my room, I'd set my phone timer for 10 minutes, and I'd talk to God. Overall, it was really calming, but it didn't always fit into my schedule that easily.

A week later, I saw Father Mike again, and he asked how it went. I was excited to tell him all about my experience and how well it went, but then he asked if I had actually done it every day, so I had to admit, "Well, there were a few days I didn't get to it because I was too busy." And I'll never forget how Father Mike responded. He said, "So you're telling me that you made an appointment with the king of the universe and you missed it?" This was all I needed to hear. I decided from that day on to make it a daily habit that I wouldn't miss, especially on Sundays. Those 10 minutes of prayer changed my entire Sabbath experience and, honestly, my entire life. That prayer has brought me clarity and peace and healing in places I never thought possible, and it all started with just 10 minutes. So my challenge for you today is the same challenge that Father Mike gave me: make a 10-minute appointment with God every day, especially on Sunday. Just tell Him about your day, about what's on your mind, the way you would with a friend. And whatever you do, don't miss your appointment.