Head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Pope Francis’ Sunday message to the Catholic faithful is to “slow down” and rest.

The pope made his first Vatican appearance since having part of his colon removed… the 84-year-old pontiff urged people to unplug from their busy lifestyle and take a break, just as God intended.

According to him, Jesus himself emphasized the importance of rest, noting Jesus showed concern with his disciples’ physical and internal energy levels, and of a “danger that is always lurking there for us too: the danger to be caught up in the frenzy of doing things, to fall into the trap of activism where what is most important are the results that we obtain and the feeling of being absolute protagonists.”

“‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while,’ ” said the Pope on Sunday, July 18 in his weekly address through a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“An invitation to rest.”

After he was hospitalized for 10 days earlier this month for intestinal surgery, the pope
says rest is not only for the physical aspect of life but also “for the heart,” the pontiff said

“We must return to the heart of things: to stop, to remain in silence, to pray so as not to go from the frenzy of work to the frenzy of times of relaxation,” he said.

”Jesus did not neglect the needs of the crowd, but each day, before anything else, he would withdraw in prayer, in silence, in intimacy with the Father. His tender invitation – rest a while – should accompany us.”

“Let us put a halt to the frantic running around dictated by our agendas,” he said.

“Let us learn how to take a break, to turn off the mobile phone.”