“Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.”

Like millions of Americans, you may feel overworked and overwhelmed. In the typical household, both parents work and the average work week is longer now than it was in the 1950s, when the so-called leisure era began. Add to that the hours spent commuting to and from work and tethered to our sell phones or Blackberries and there is little time left for leisure activities.

One study showed the average two-income couple spends just 12 minutes a day talking to each other.

If your household is typical, over the course of a year, you’ll work nearly nine full weeks longer than your peers in Western Europe. You’ll get two weeks of paid vacation versus the five to six weeks enjoyed each year by your European counterparts. You might not get any paid vacation.

All that hard work has made us the most productive nation on earth. But the gains have come at a very steep price.

In many households, gathering around the family dinner table to share a home-cooked meal, stimulating conversation and hearty laughter has become a quaint, out-dated custom. Taking a vacation to recharge our batteries is virtually impossible in the 24/7 hyper-connected world of the Internet. We're so busy that the kids' weekend sports activities are now scheduled at the same time as Sunday Mass.

Yet, the Bible tells us that we need leisure time to achieve proper balance in our lives. God Himself rested on the seventh day and commanded us to set aside the Sabbath for holy leisure. He did so for our benefit. Long, leisurely Sunday afternoons surrounded by family and friends and time spent in church reflecting on the goodness of the Lord, are of great value precisely because they are so counter-cultural. They are opportunities to step off the treadmill and make sure all our hard work is in keeping with God's plan for our life.

The practice of holy leisure – Otium Sanctum – is a spiritual discipline in which we relax our grip on the things of this world in order to free ourselves from the galling yoke of materialism. It is not merely our bodies that need rest. Our souls do, too.

Take time to recharge your batteries. You can’t see where you’re going if your headlights are dim.