The Catholic Calendar for Saturday, February 4, 2006
Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
1 Kings 3:4-13
Psalm 119:9-14
Mark 6:30-34

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

Uh-oh -- the dread, “come away for a while by yourselves.” This invitation to conversation is, for many, one of the most frightening and daunting prospects of the Christian life. Soup kitchens, rescue missions, abortion counseling, running homes for unwed mothers -- it's amazing the array of things Catholics can and will do. And yet many are frightened by the prospect of turning off the television, the radio, the cd-player, and spending time alone with Jesus.

True, many will meditate on Jesus in the Rosary, or will read about Jesus in the Bible, but few open themselves to the conversation that our Savior would like to have with us.

You say, "But I pray!" And I say, "But I pray!" and that it true, without question. But when we pray do we really lay ourselves open to hear, or are we always talking. Is it, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening" -- or is it more like: "Listen Lord, your servant is speaking.” Too often for me, and I don't think I'm all that unusual, it is the latter. I come to prayer not by myself but with all the burdens I'm lugging along -- an intercessions list as long as my arm and an agenda.

Jesus tells us to lay aside the agenda, to get rid of all preoccupations and to come away for a while alone and rest with Him. What will be the result? An absolute transformation of life -- we'll go from being fishers to being fishers of men. We'll go from our fear and our incapacity to His capacity. Most importantly, just as in any genuine exchange where we are open and listening, we’ll grow in love and in intimacy. This intimacy with the Lord will completely transform our lives and the lives of those around us in ways that bring forth the Kingdom of God.

So when you hear the words, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while,” think of them as an invitation -- an invitation just for you -- an invitation to growth, to intimacy, to closeness, to becoming God's real agent on Earth.

- JuandelaCruz
(sriddle415 at yahoo dot com)

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