Daily Reflections ...

What does it take for you to stop, in the midst of the busyness of life, and respond to the invitation to ‘come away’ with Jesus?

In today’s gospel, we hear how busy the apostles have become. They are consumed by the important and urgent work that must be done to spread the Good News and tell people about Jesus. In all this busyness in doing and teaching, we hear the clear voice of Jesus inviting the apostles to ‘come away to a deserted place’ to find restorative rest.

I can place myself easily in this picture and understand the experience of the apostles. I recently took a week off work to spend time with my young family, and I have to say, it is getting harder and harder in my world to ‘switch off’ and truly rest. The effort it takes to resist the temptation to constantly fill my time with work and projects of one kind or another, is growing. My mind seems to be getting less and less used to being at rest.

You see, without coming back to rest in God, who is the source of our faith, our hope, our joy and our peace, we can get caught up in the busyness of our lives and not even notice that it is time to go away with God, to take a break from the work and rediscover how to live life to the full again.

Let us never forget what a gift it is to ‘waste time’ with God in prayer (St Teresa of Avila) and truly be at rest in God’s presence…so that we too can be sent out again on mission.

by Melissa Ledwich