Find Your Deserted Place

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left 
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been the type of person who flocks to the action. As a self-proclaimed “extroverted extrovert,” I enjoy busying myself and filling my schedule with opportunities to connect with people. During my junior year of college, I reached somewhat of a pinnacle of overactivity - I was staffing retreats, attending conferences, leading bible studies and interning all while attending school as a full-time student. To say I was running on empty would be an understatement, and I knew something needed to change. 

Around the end of the school year, I began seeing advertisements for an upcoming silent retreat and thought that this might be an answer to my prayers. I quickly put down a deposit to reserve my spot and started to mentally prepare myself for this new experience. Though my name and “silent” were not usually words that were seen together, I knew that there was a reason I was drawn to sign up, and I trusted the Lord because I knew He was the one calling me to silence.

The closer I got to the retreat, the more nervous I became. Surprisingly, I wasn’t worried that I was going to break silence, but rather, I was scared of being in silence. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in complete silence without distractions. Silence didn’t come natural to me - I wasn’t the type of person who could just sit with my thoughts and find it peaceful. Silence leads to the unknown, and sometimes the uncomfortable, and I didn’t know if I was ready to confront the things I had tucked away that I knew would surface if given the chance. Little did I know, in three days, my whole disposition toward silence was about to change. 

For what felt like the first time in forever, I was able to reap the abundant fruits of quieting my heart. Though it was hard in the beginning to silence my mind, I was able to slow down and just be present in the moment, using my senses to truly encounter God’s beautiful creation. I returned to my normal life rejuvenated and eager to bring what I had learned into my daily prayer. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t challenging to find the right balance between the loud and the quiet in the beginning, but I soon learned to find a comfortable medium that allowed me to still be in the world but attentive to the Lord’s voice.

Most of us often go through life looking for ways to avoid silence and busy ourselves with menial tasks and social media scrolling and forget that we need to rest and put down our distractions. During this season of COVID-19, this tendency has grown stronger as our homes (our traditional places of refuge) have become our quarantine units, schools and offices. We have forgotten that we need to create a space solely for returning to the Father to engage in intentional prayer. 

In the Gospel, Jesus heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, cures the sick, drives out demons, and ventures to nearby villages to preach and continue His ministry within 10 verses of Scripture. How does He do it without growing weak and weary? How is He able to give of Himself totally? Other than the fact He is God, the answer is given to us: “Rising very early before dawn, He left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed” (Mark 1:35).  Jesus anchored Himself in silent prayer, which strengthened Him to fulfill His purpose of evangelizing and healing, and we are invited to do the same each day.

I would like to encourage you to spend time in silence this week talking to God. Maybe you could even wake up a little earlier than usual and jump start your day with prayer. Maybe you could create “a deserted place” in your home where you can sit in silence. Not sure how to actually pray in silence? Use this document as a guide - click here to download. No matter how you go about it, allow the silence to come into your heart and let the Lord take you where He wants to take you. He won’t lead you astray. 
 

About the Author: Nicole Jones is the Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (Red Stick Catholics) at the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Nicole grew up in Baton Rouge and started getting involved with ministry after experiencing a deep conversion of heart at a high school bible study at Our Lady of Mercy parish. During her time as a mass communication student at LSU, Nicole became more involved with Christ the King Catholic Church and Student Center. It was there that she felt the Lord tugging on her heart to dive deeper into ministry and apply for her current position at the Diocese. When Nicole isn’t working, she can be found spending time with her dog, Indy, and baking the world’s best chocolate chip cookies.

The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .