Reflection for Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's readings are here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020412.cfm

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


Christ calls us to the same quiet retreats with himself as he did to the disciples, because he knows we need it.  Our busy lives have a way of pulling us away from Christ and weakening our inner life.  We need to be refreshed in the Lord.


One way we can have a retreat with our Lord is by having a set time every morning and/or evening for quiet prayer and reflection.  These do not have to be long; but they do need to be free of distractions, so that our full attention can be given to the Lord and what he wishes to say to us.  Sometimes, the entire time will be spent fighting distractions.  As long as we are prayerfully fighting them, I think it is okay, because God uses the struggle to draw us closer to himself.


Another way we can have a retreat with our Lord is by keeping a quiet heart, that is, by keeping an inner awareness of God's love and presence and a readiness to respond to him at all times.  We do not allow the stress of our lives to disturb our inner peace.  In other words, our hearts are always on a retreat with the Lord at the same time as our lives are hectic.


May our love for Christ be so strong that we are always refreshing ourselves in him.