“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place” (Luke 4:42).

Jesus goes off to be by himself to pray with his Father often in Scripture and I am sure many more times than what is recorded. Jesus submitted his humanity to his divinity. He did not grasp at his divinity even though he easily could have.

In his humanity, he needed to spend quiet time in communion with God and so do we.

St. Francis de Sales says that we need to spend at least thirty minutes a day in silence with God and if we are busy sixty! Of course, he recognized that this depends on our station in life. His point though is the same that Jesus is making with his actions. Spending silent time with God each day is a must.

I have known this for years and struggled to maintain a consistent practice of even five to ten minutes a day. I did not struggle praying with my breviary in silence, but just sitting and being still with God, I found challenging because there was always something else that demanded my attention.

Last year, I was introduced to making a daily holy hour. Within the first few weeks, I again jettisoned the practice for two days as I was getting buried in assignments. I realized though after the second day, that if being formed as a priest is going to work, I need to put this time with God first. On the rational level, the lie came in again, you don’t have enough time. I trusted though that if I put God first, he would provide.

Nothing sensational or out of the ordinary happened in those early weeks and months during my holy hours, but God did provide, and I was able to not only complete the assignments but begin to speak up for myself and able to work with my formation team to adjust my schedule.

One of the most important things I learned from the retreat was how subtle and entrenched the enemy is in influencing my mind and keeping me from growing in deeper intimacy with God.

To quiet these influences and voices, and grow in our relationship with God we need to spend time with him in various ways of prayer and spiritual reading yes, but spending time with him in silence to listen to his word or his silence makes an incredible difference. Not surprising then how much the enemy fought me in developing this practice. As Mary taught me, when we show up, God happens.

The invitation is to begin small, schedule a time, even 5-10 minutes that works for you to be still and silent with God. As you become consistent and if your schedule allows, build up to a half-hour or hour.

Be still with God, breathe, rest, receive and abide in his love for you. Imagine his hand on top of your hand assuring you that he is with you and will guide you through the day and each challenge you face. Breathe and rest in his love for you and experience his peace. Doing so each day really makes a difference and helps to quiet the strength and voices of the enemy that comes knocking at the door!

Don’t let him in. Be patient and still. In time, you will hear God speak silently in your heart, and you will experience a greater sense of his peace and love.

Photo: Holy hour by the lake during retreat at St. Joseph and Mary Retreat Center, Mundelein, Illinois.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, September, 6, 2023