renewal

Withdraw with Jesus for a while.

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself (Mt 14:13).

This is not the first time nor the last time that Jesus withdrew to a deserted place. Unfortunately, his effort for some alone time ended abruptly, for when he got off the boat he was immediately met by many seeking him. Jesus was not put off nor did he roll his eyes at this interruption for time to rest.

Making time for quiet may seem like a waste of time, just a simple act, but it is one that is imperative. As busy a Jesus was, Jesus made time to pray. Though the “deserted place” was full of people by the time his boat reached the shore, he did have some quiet, alone time on the boat before he disembarked. Sometimes in busy moments, even just a few minutes of intentional rest can make a difference. Jesus showed no frustration for having his plans interrupted, instead, his “heart was moved with pity for them” (Mt 13:14).

Often we lose our patience when we are interrupted. When we are cut off or cut short by someone else we may react in a negative way internally and/or externally. Most of the time our hearts are not moved with pity nor do we show compassion for those who may consciously or unconsciously come to us in need.

If we find that we are constantly impatient, short with others, one reason could be that we do not give ourselves time to stop and be still, we do not make time to pray, meditate, or contemplate. We do not sit for a few moments and just breathe. Sometimes when we need to wind down and renew, we choose activities that actually do the opposite. Instead of resting and renewing our minds, bodies, and souls, surfing channels on television, going down rabbit holes on the internet, or watching reels and scrolling through social media for a few minutes will not only turn into a few hours, but we feel more worn out than when we began.

This happens because the video stimulation is not relaxing but actually hyper stimulating our central nervous systems. Especially with social media, once we enter those clips, algorithms go in place and hook into similar viewing sites which activates dopamine hits that get us hooked to engage in more viewing, much more than intended. Again, instead of experience the rest we desperately sought, we feel more wired.

And we then wonder why sleep takes a while and why we get stuck in repeating the same pattern. We just keep moving ahead, on the phone, on our apps, on the computer, working, studying, interacting with others, completing this activity believing that once we finish we will be all caught up. Hyped up on caffeine to keep up the pace we have set, and then needing wine or a drink or two to wind down, we then wonder why we are consistently anxious or on edge, if we are even aware that we are actually in a state of chronic stress, and that may even be when things are going well!

Jesus needed some downtime, and in today’s Gospel, we read that he did not get the amount of time he set out to have, yet he did get a brief respite on the boat before he reached the shore. When he saw the people he did not whisper to himself, “Oh no, here they come again.” He instead was moved in depth of his gut with compassion to serve their needs and he went on to perform an incredible miracle of feeding thousands with only a five loaves of bread and a few fish.

When we turn to Jesus for our rest, renewal, and nourishment, he provides to overflowing. Turning away from the modern temptations of perpetual motion and breathing to be still and sit at Jesus’ feet allows us to enter into his rest. We can trust Jesus and seek his guidance, and allow him to do in us his Father’s will so that we can stop doing, and even if only for a few minutes, just be.

From this place of rest, we can think more clearly, make healthier decisions, and resist the impulsive, reactive, and immediate gratification choices. We can realize what we truly need in the moment. Instead of another handful of chips – a glass of water, because we are actually not hungry but thirsty. Instead of checking emails, we can take a twenty minute nap and reset our mind. Instead of scrolling, surfing, and reeling, we can pull our Bible off the shelf, take a few deep breaths, and read this Gospel account, imagine getting into the boat with Jesus, withdraw to a deserted place for a while, and truly wind down. Giving ourselves at least an hour away from technology before going to sleep, we may find we not only fall asleep quicker but sleep more soundly.

Photo: Evening Rosary walk at University of Saint Mary of the Lake.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, August 4, 2025

Come away and rest for a while.

After hearing the accounts of the missionary trip, Jesus invited his apostles to step away from the crowds “to a deserted place [to] rest awhile” (Mk 6:31). Jesus is showing the apostles the importance of balance. There are times to serve and times to recharge, to reconnect, and spend some quiet and reflective time with him. Jesus is our model, our guide and teacher, but he is at the same time more than that. Jesus is the source and sustenance of who we are as a living craving, hunger, and desire to be one with God and each another. As the deer longs to refresh itself from the waters of a running stream, we long to be nourished by the living water, Jesus, and this is true for the atheist as well as the mystic alike, for each and every one of us, whether we are aware of this reality or not.

Our thirst for communion can be stifled because it is so easy to be caught up in our day to day schedule, life’s demands, and falling into survival mode. Even when all is good and we are serving well, as we see with the apostles return, there is a need for rest.  There is so much that needs to be done, and at the same time, there are so many distractions and diversions that vie for our energy and attention.

In today’s Gospel, the intent of Jesus is to escape with his apostles for some rest and renewal, to decompress with them, and hear about their experiences of ministry. They get in a boat to do just that, yet the crowd that they thought they had left behind has arrived on the other side before they did! This is a sign that the preaching, exorcisms, and healing work the apostles participated in was already bearing fruit. Just as people were flocking to Jesus, so word was getting out about his disciples! “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” (Mk 6:34).

So much for being able to “rest away for awhile”! Or maybe the boat ride across was that moment of rest. The moment to take a breath and reconnect with Jesus. As Jesus and the apostles were coming closer to shore, they could have diverted their course to avoid them. Instead, Jesus, was moved with pity or compassion and moved to teach them. A key for a more balanced life is to spend time daily with Jesus to know his will and follow his lead.

I have just experienced just such a moment as I needed to step back a bit for a few days. Many wonderful things are happening here at Holy Cross, but my body was feeling a bit taxed, so I took the time to reset, to rest awhile with Jesus and Mary. I also recommitted to setting key non-negotiable times to set aside for prayer. As St. Francis de Sales taught: “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy — then we need an hour.” I notice the difference when I do not give myself that hour each day.

When we intentionally put God first and make the time each day to spend with him, often there is a serendipitous alignment that we experience in our day, that we did not think possible at the outset. This often happens when we consciously make time for stillness, for meditation and prayer, even and especially, during the moment when we may feel we just don’t have the time.

As you ease into Saturday, my invitation is to give yourself a fifteen minute retreat. Read these words from Jesus slowly and reflectively: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). Find a quiet place where you feel comfortable, take a few deep, slow breaths, close your eyes, then step into and sit in the boat with Jesus and his disciples.

Breathe some more, feel the breeze of the Sea of Galilee, feel the warmth of the sun on your face, and experience the rhythm of the boat on the water. Does Jesus remain silent and rest with you? Does he begin to teach, and if so, what does he share? Do any questions arise and if so what do you ask, and what is his answer? Allow yourself to be still, just you and Jesus for the time you have set aside. When the boat comes to shore, go forth into the day renewed and blessed by Jesus with a heart and mind able to be moved with compassion to follow God’s will in how best to serve him today and into the coming week.

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Photo: Spending some time to breathe, pray, and be still with Jesus and Mary!

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, February 8, 2025

Each day it is good to take time to rest and renew with Jesus.

Verses that we read, such as: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28) really hit the spot, they arrive at the right time. I am sure that if you are reading these words you may also welcome Jesus’ invitation. Yet what is the labor and burden that we need to rest from? Teachers, administrators and students, of which I was a part for decades are coming into crunch time now as the end of the quarter or term is coming. Those in other occupations also work long hours, and sometimes, two or three jobs, just to get by.

Many also who oversee and care for their home, others with children, elder parents, family members, and dealing with family issues that can be enormous, especially at this time of year. Add to the above Christmas preparations: decorating, putting up lights, shopping, buying presents, cooking, baking, writing and mailing Christmas cards crushing can also add to feeling weighed down.

Unfortunately, there are way too many who are not so much burdened by work but the lack of access to gainful or meaningful employment. They are burdened with keeping the bills paid and a roof over their heads as the temperatures fall. Some have no home or family, they are burdened with getting from day to day, seeking ways to get food, clean clothes, a place to wash and relieve themselves. Christmas cards are a distant thought. Many others are burdened and living in fear that they or their family member or members may be deported.

Speaking of fear, how many of us are burdened by fear, anxiety, stress, and strain from a myriad of swirling reasons? Concerns about our family, community, country, and the world are a burden that can also weigh heavily. Advent and Christmas, even when life is more stable, are still times in which many buttons can be pressed and many stressors can be triggered. What is the adage that is offered when family and friends gather? Resist talking about politics, religion, and… we all can add a few others.

If you are feeling weary and worn as we draw close to the midway point of this Advent Season, it is a good opportunity to make some time to just stop and take a slow, deliberate breath. Notice your shoulders coming out of your ears. Embrace the invitation of Jesus and rest in him. Allow the burdens to come to mind, then visualize yourself giving them to Jesus, open yourself to his guidance, ask for his help for the day to day challenges, and seek who may be best able to assist you in any particular situation. Slowing down may help us to become more aware of any sins that we feel burdened by. This is a good time to rest and trust in the forgiveness of Jesus and confess to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus will forgive you and bring you a lightness and fresh start!

Our God “does not faint or grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound” (Isaiah 40:28-29). We do not have to deal with anything alone. We have help and support. My friend, Pastor Jerry Scott, taught me years ago a life lesson which I still return to, more often in my fifties than in my twenties. When a person is chopping down a tree, exerting a lot of energy and effort, but finding the results insufficient, he or she needs to realize that they need to step back, take a breath, and sharpen their ax. With a little rest, renewal, and a sharpened blade, the job can be accomplished in half the time.

Let’s figuratively do the same daily with each of our endeavors. Let’s resist just putting our heads down and plowing through with blinders on and instead take some time to stop and assess from time to time what we need, where we need help, and yoke ourselves to Jesus for his guidance and strength. As Jesus carries the burden with us, as we follow his will, we can work smarter instead of harder. In developing a pattern and place of trust and hope in him, seeking his guidance and direction this Advent, we will renew our strength and soar as with eagle’s wings; we will run and not grow weary, we walk and not grow faint (cf. Isaiah 40:31)!

Photo: From 30 Day silent retreat I did in July 2023. Still seek each day some time to plant a few seeds of silence.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, December 11, 2024

In Jesus, we are grounded and renewed.

“At that time Jesus exclaimed: ‘I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike’” (Mt 11:25).

Why did the wise and the learned, referring to some of the Sadducees, Pharisees and scribes, reject Jesus? One possibility is that Jesus challenged their idol of tradition. Even though Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (cf. Mt 5:17), the invitation to go deeper was and continues to be challenging. This is certainly highlighted in the six antitheses that Jesus shared during his Sermon on the Mount. Here is one such example: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil” (Mt 5: 28). Offer no resistance to one who is evil? Not only hard to swallow for people of Jesus’ time, but for us today as well.

Jesus offered then and continues to offer us today a share in the intimacy of the Trinitarian Love of God shared between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To be fully alive, to share in his Love, we need to resist being governed by holding blindly on to tradition for its own sake. Instead, we need to be open to growth, change, and renewal. Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, No Irrelevant Jesus, quotes the Polish philosopher Leszak Kolakowski: “A society in which tradition becomes a cult is condemned to stagnation; a society that tries to live entirely through revolt against tradition condemns itself to destruction” (Lohfink 2014, 2).

Many have left the Church because they feel we are too steeped in tradition, rules, and laws, and yet in doing so, they have left behind the secure ground or foundation, with no anchor in their life. On the other extreme are those who remain hunkered down, entrenched in a bunker of tradition fearing the secular tide, grasping, white knuckled, to tradition, but this stifles their growth.

Both tendencies are insufficient because at root there is not a trust in Jesus. Jesus helps balance the tension between these two. He invites us to remain anchored in the Truth of the deposit of faith that he has given to us while encouraging us to go deeper in our understanding, practice of our faith and relationship with our God. If we are not moving forward in our spiritual lives, we are moving backward.

We are better when we resist the extremes of rejecting tradition altogether or idolizing tradition alone, and instead build on the foundation of Jesus Christ: “The Way, the Truth and the Life” (cf. Jn 14:6). Within the life of the Church, “we must not do away with its traditions, but at the same time, it must continually clarify, renew, and deepen them” (Lohfink 2014, 2).

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Photo: Rosary walk last night – Riomar Beach, Vero Beach FL. Just like the ebb and flow of the tides we must allow for a rhythm of expansion and contraction in our faith journeys. We are called to be grounded in Jesus and stretched beyond our comfort zones as well!

Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2014

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, July 17, 2024