How JP2 teaches us the concept of healthy leisure

Pope St. John Paul II’s passions and pursuits were many. He was fluent in eight languages, visited 129 countries, and published 14 encyclicals, while managing to find time for frequent runs down the ski slopes.  What can a Pope who accomplished so much teach us about slowing down? The mystery of JP2’s many successes is closely connected to his embrace of healthy leisure.

The problem with the modern leisure economy 

This post-post modern world bogs us down with an almost innumerable quantity of things to keep track of. We carry an emotional and mental debt of miscellaneous passwords and virtual calendars filled to the brim. We attempt to document every good time with our smartphone, trading living in the moment for competing with someone else’s carefully curated good times. Privacy and silence have become nonexistent as we live our virtual lives alongside ones grounded in the natural. It’s no wonder we feel burnt out. This burnout leads us to crave a respite, but too often the respite we do manage is actually escapism rather than true rest. 

In this current climate, rest, and by extension leisure, manifests itself as “not work.” Unfortunately, when we equate leisure with “not work,” we end up with sloth. Life becomes a never-ending project of distracting ourselves through pleasure and comfort. Doom scrolling, I’m looking at you. Spoiler alert, there’s a better way to rest. 

JP2’s alternative of healthy leisure 

JP2 was a man of many and varied talents. He loved to kayak, camp, and lead covert trips for the youth under the endearing pseudonym Wujek Lolek or Uncle Chuck. He studied acting during college, wrote poetry, and performed in underground plays during the war. He was an avid skier and often snuck out of the Vatican to hit the Italian slopes. What makes JP2 such an interesting figure isn’t just his rich interior life or global accomplishments, but his dedication to his passions and talents. 

JP2’s example demonstrates the reality that true leisure time is active rather than passive. Leisure time isn’t meant to be idle time; it’s an opportunity to develop your passions and interests. Imagine redirecting the time you usually spend on your phone to working on that unfinished house project or finally opening the dog-eared pages of a good book. It’s not about giving up movie nights or listening to music, but cultivating the talents God gave you. Intentional time given to pursuing what brings you joy will not only shape your life, but structure your future. JP2 told us as much in his apostolic letter Dies Domini, “Time given to Christ is never time lost, but is rather time gained, so that our relationships and indeed our whole life may become more profoundly human.” 

The importance of Sunday rest 

“I would strongly urge everyone to rediscover Sunday: Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ!” JP2 writes in Dies Domini.   

Sunday rest isn’t antiquated, but a necessity that God accounted for and modeled for us. After God finished His creative acts, He rested on the seventh day. Sunday is about honoring God, honoring our bodies and our families, and setting aside intentional time for silence, prayer, and gratitude. This often requires slowing down. In the same apostolic letter, JP2 warns about letting Sunday turn into a day that looks like any other weekday. Sunday is meant to be a break from ordinary life. An authentic Sunday teaches us that when we live as Christ intended, ordinary life becomes filled with peace, community, creativity and love. 

The cultural norm today can be anything but that. We often book ourselves silly on the weekends. Sunday isn’t treated as the Sabbath, but another version of Saturday, bustling with activities, experiences, people, and frankly, less rest than most of us would like. While JP2 agrees that cultural activities are necessary and wonderful, he also warns against a mindset of extremes. There’s a temptation to treat Sunday like every other day and become a human “doing” instead of a human being. Without a dedicated time to rest, human dignity can be lost to productivity. The other extreme? Making rest, sleep, and relaxation an idol on Sundays. If relaxation becomes the sole goal and end, rest becomes a version of mindless pleasure-seeking and consumption. 

Instead, JP2 encourages the faithful to joyfully contemplate creation, God, and one’s place in it. Sunday becomes a reset of ordered leisure: a celebration of Mass; a celebration of humanity through relationships, shared meals, and quality time; a celebration of the world that God created and how much we have to be grateful for. Sunday is a day of rest, but also models healthy leisure that reconnects us to Who and what matters most. 

How to participate in healthy leisure 

Leisure is a verb; how we choose to leisure shapes our lives, the way we understand ourselves, and the God who created us. It’s not a timeout from being human, but a restorative time of finding your joy and purpose. When you feel tempted to loaf around at home, take inspiration from JP2 and our healthy leisure bucket list below. Step outside. Breathe in fresh air. Embrace silence. Find what and who makes you come alive. Rest is not an escape from a meaningful life, it’s a crucial part of how we learn to live one.  

Your healthy leisure bucket list 

If you crave the fresh air and a little adventure, read this list filled with alternatives to binge-watching a show or scrolling. 

Prefer to spend your leisure time indoors? Try a craft. Don’t just leave coloring to the kids, adult coloring is a surprisingly relaxing activity. Take up painting, drawing, or learning to crochet. You can scrapbook, read a classic book, bake, or cook a new dish for fun. 

Need activities for the whole family? Bring back board game night, reading side-by-side, nature walks, and family concerts where every family member performs their talent. You can relax in a hammock or simply sit together on the front porch. Never forget the power of team sports as a family or with your neighbors. Enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, spending time where He’s placed you with the people He’s put in your path.