Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

We all need rest. We cannot work all the time. This is why God gave us the Sabbath as a feast day. We need it in order to reflect on our thoughts, words, and works each week. We also need time each day to do the same. Without rest and reflection, we can become overworked and lose sight of why we are here on earth. We forget that everything we think, say, and do should have its source, center, and summit in God. We cannot reflect on these things if we don’t set aside time to pray to God for guidance, meditate upon our actions, and evaluate the direction of our lives. We can become lost in our work, even good works, and become burned out if we do not take a break from time to time to recharge our spiritual batteries so that we can go back into the world as lights for all God’s children.

Do we rest and relax in the Lord when we are wary? Does our leisure time bring us closer to God or further away from Him? What can we do to keep holy the Sabbath day?

O Lord, let us rest in you.

Amen.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."

After sending his disciples out to preach the good news, Jesus gathers them together again, debriefs them, and then asks them to come with him to rest for a while. Jesus wants to impress upon his disciples the need to rest. We can’t keep going full speed ahead twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Just as God rested on the seventh day, so we too need to rest, relax, and reflect upon what we have done. In this way we can reenergize ourselves for the next set of tasks in our lives. Without rest, we get run-down and lose focus. We let our activities take over our lives without reflection upon their greater meaning. If we don’t rest, then we don’t gain the perspective we need to make the right choices in our lives. If we are always busy, than we shall miss out on opportunities for spiritual growth.

Are we too busy to rest and relax with Jesus as the disciples did? Are there things we do now that we could cut from our busy schedules so that we could have some more rest in our lives? Do we reflect upon our activities in order to better appreciate what they mean to us, others, and more importantly if they are in line with what God wants from us?

O Lord, gather us with you and lead us to rest.

Amen.