Jesus Invites Us: “Come Away with Me”

With all the adjustments we have had to make in our lives and the things we can’t do right now, I was thrilled that we finally were able to do something with our staff that I had been wanting to do for a long time: a staff retreat day. We all need a retreat of some kind!

A typical spiritual retreat is a time when we step away from our normal tasks (and surroundings, if possible) and dedicate that time to God and our spiritual lives. Typically, a retreat is at least a day or a weekend, a week or longer. We had a “mini-retreat” in our half-day of prayer and reflection, but it was just what the Divine Physician knew we needed!

One of the Bible passages we used for our reflection was the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verses 6-13 and 30-34. After Jesus sent the Twelve on a mission to spread the Good News and cure illness, on their return he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” He knew they needed a break from the crowds, but also a chance to reflect on what was happening and see how God was present in their experiences.

It turned out the only time they got for their retreat was the boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, as the crowds somehow got there before their boat even landed! Sometimes even our best plans for prayer and time with God can get derailed, perhaps by something else God has planned for us during that time instead.

In our guided meditation on this passage, we used imaginative prayer method taught by St. Ignatius to place ourselves in the gospel narrative and try to be open to what it might be like to experience it ourselves. We gave special attention to that short, precious time in the boat - our interaction with the other disciples, the realization the crowds awaited us, telling Jesus what we thought and felt about all of this, and listening to what he might say in reply. If people would like, perhaps in the coming weeks I will put a video of this kind of guided meditation on our website and social media (but I know I will not get to it this week - I’m taking some “time away” on my motorcycle!).

So even if your life is hectic right now, I pray you may also find a way to carve out even a little bit of time for peace and reflection. Take a walk, watch the wind in the trees, ask God to help you see His presence and action in your experiences. Often, we miss these signs of God’s love at the time, but taking a few minutes to look back we can see more clearly.