Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed

 

On Sunday, February 4th, I had the pleasure of doing a Holy Hour at the Carmelite Monastery Flemington, NJ

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today we hear of all the wonderful things the Lord was doing for everyone. He healed Peter’s Mother-in-law; then would go on to heal many other people. It must have been an exhausting and busy day for the Lord. He was fulfilling his ministry to the people that were in most need of the healing and love that of God has for them. We hear that the whole town was at the door asking the Lord for help.

Our Lord, though fully divine, was also fully human, and this must have worn him out greatly. As important as it was to fulfill His call in bringing the love of God to those in need, he also saw the need to step away and be alone with His Heavenly Father. Our Lord is giving us an example on how we are to live out our life in service to the God.

For myself, as a deacon, I can fill up my days in doing ministry, from serving at Mass to visiting the homebound or nursing home to whatever else may need to be done in service to the church. These are all important to my life in my calling as a deacon. But it won’t mean anything if I don’t make the time to be alone with God to be able to sit and listen to what God is saying to me in my life as a deacon, and, more importantly, as a man of faith.

This passage of our Lord going off to a deserted place is equally important to life here at Carmel. You can be busy doing the many things that need to be done in your duties and responsibilities here at the Monastery. But if you don’t make time to be alone with the Lord and to have him as the center of who you are, then everything else you do here at Carmel is meaningless. Making time to be alone with God is vital to your call here at Carmel.

St. Theresa of Avila is quoted as saying, “Prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” Let’s make the time to be alone with Him who loves us and to enjoy that intimate time of sharing with the Lord.