I spent this past week on retreat at Conception Abbey. My main goal was to pray with the monks. They gather six times = every day for prayer, and each service lasts anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. Their wakeup bell sounds at 5:40 a.m. They are at prayer toget= her at 6. They break about 6:40 for = 30 minutes or so, when they go to their rooms and meditate on a passage from t= he bible; then they go back to the basilica at 7:15 for another 20 or 25 minut= es of prayer. After that they eat breakfast in silence. By 8 o’clock they start their work day, and they finally start talking to = each other. They have mass before = lunch; daytime prayer after lunch, vespers before dinner, and night prayer after dinner. I don’t know ab= out you, but my typical day does not go like this.

In today’s gospel the apostles had just returned fr= om work. They had cared for the sick and ta= ught the kingdom of God. Jesus was= so pleased with the results that he offered them a reward: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” He offered them a mini-retreat, a = little time alone with him away from the difficulties of their tasks. It didn’t completely work. They went off by themselves, but a= large crowd saw them leaving and decided to go along. Jesus put the priorities of the cr= owd ahead of those of his apostles, and he began to = teach again. Perhaps the apostles s= till got their rest while he took care of business; after all, he thought they neede= d that the most. Jesus knew the impo= rtance of rest. Many times throughou= t the gospels we find him at prayer with his Father – = not teaching, not healing, not on a boat traveling somewhere, just enjoying tim= e by himself, talking with his Father.

Rest is something many of us don’t do very well. People work long hours, often givi= ng up time with their family. They = bring work home, making it hard to distinguish from play. Even on vacation, we are connected= back to the job by cell phones, email and blogs. Resting is so unlike everything el= se we do in this world, that the scriptures make it a sign of life in the next. Psalm 23 says the shepherd leads t= he flock beside waters that are “restful”; at funerals we pray, “Grant eternal rest.” We will rest in peace at the end of our days, but Jesus thought it w= as important to do while we are alive as well.

I realize most of you cannot take off a week, go to a mon= astery, and pray six times a day, but it is important to accept Jesus’ invita= tion, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Some people sta= rt the day with silent prayer before switching on the radio or TV. Others take time on weekends to go= to a special place that restores their spirit. Even a good summer vacation can provide the rest we need, as long as= we take Jesus along. You may thi= nk you don’t have time to go away to some deserted place for spiritual rest;= you have too many other responsibilities. Maybe.&n= bsp; But Jesus never said, “There are more sick people to heal, more confused people to teach. I r= eally don’t have time to pray.” He never thought the time he spent with his Father was wasted. Instead, it helped him do everythi= ng else with the right attitude. He knew the benefits of rest.