16th Sunday: Seek Him in the Self to be Instructed

Seek Him in the Self to be Instructed

Jer 23:1-6; Eph 2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34 (B 16)

“We should then really live as Christians and not merely have the name”

Today, the Gospel invites us to discover the importance of resting in the Lord. The Apostles were returning from the mission on which Jesus had sent them. They cast out demons, cured the sick and preached the Gospel. They were tired and Jesus told them: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mk 6:31).

We engage ourselves in too many charitable activities. One of the temptations to which some Christians can succumb is that of wanting to do too many things and leaving the Lord a little. The Catechism reminds us that, when it comes to prayer, one of the biggest dangers is that we can easily think that there are more important and urgent things to be done, not taking care for the things of God. For this reason, Jesus tells the Apostles, who have worked hard and exhausted that they must rest. The Gospel says, “they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place” (Mk 6:32).

To be able to pray properly we need at least two things: the first is to be with Jesus as He is the person with whom we can speak. Make sure that we are with Him. For this reason, all times of prayer normally begin with an act of presence of God which is often the most difficult part. We must make ourselves conscious of the fact that we are truly with Him. The second thing is that we must be alone. If we really want to talk with someone, to have an intimate and profound conversation we choose to be alone with them. Dialogue with him.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard recommended that one should rest with Jesus after receiving Holy Communion. He warned of the danger of filling thanksgiving after Communion with many memorized words. He said that, after receiving the Body of Christ, the best thing to do is to stay in silence for a while to regain our strength and to let Jesus talk to us in the silence of our hearts. Sometimes, rather than telling Him about our plans and projects it is better that we let Jesus instruct and encourage us.

“For many invoke the bishop’s name but do everything apart from him”