RestingInGod

Resting in God

Come to me all who labor and who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:27-30

I feel certain that I am not the only one here who gets caught in the demands and turmoil’s in life. There are busy schedules, financial crunches, job uncertainties, illness with ourselves, family or friends, worries about spouses, children and relatives. There are the issues that concern our city, state, country and the world. The list could go on and on.

I often find that with all these demands and concerns it can be hard to settle down and rest. Peace and joy are no where in sight. I am often guilty of always saying there is more that needs to be done and then I don’t take time for myself to rest. Then I ran across the verse in Genesis: 2-2: And on the seventh day God finished His work which he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all his work which He had done. I had read this before, and heard it before. But on this day I was struck by the words and He rested. I couldn’t get them out of my mind. God actually rested. If God rested, and I am made in His image and likeness shouldn’t I make a better effort to rest with Him. Wouldn’t He want me to rest with Him and in Him?

Society says we should take time for ourselves---exercise, eat right, enjoy a good book, and splurge on a massage. We are encouraged to create a spa-like atmosphere. All of these things are great for our physical and mental well being, but what about our spiritual side? I would like for you to consider visiting God’s Heavenly Spa. The cost is minimal and the rewards are heavenly. Let me share with you what I found that this spa has to offer. There are 4 important ways to find rest.

First, at a spa you might receive a deep massage to work out the tensions that you are carrying around. God’s Heavenly Spa offers a way to ease your conscience and to feel better about yourself. It is called Reconciliation. Why sit around feeling guilty about the things we have done, or angry with ourselves or others. God offers his unconditional love and mercy through this healing sacrament. A deep massage might be painful as it reaches deep into our muscles to relieve stress and tension. But we do it because the end result is worth it. Reconciliation calls us to look deep within ourselves which is also sometimes painful. We need to be honest with ourselves. To see where we are straying from God. Reconciliation allows us to learn more about ourselves and helps to change our hearts and ways. So often we want to change others. But the real answer and conciliation comes in changing ourselves. Lots of years ago I had not been to confession in a long time. I finally went to confession and specifically mentioned that there was someone in my life that really made me angry and I couldn’t seem to stop expressing my frustration about this person to others. I was letting my feelings consume me. Sometimes there are people that we have to come in contact with that we cannot avoid. They might be family, neighbors, or co-workers. My penance was to say an Our Father every day for a month for this person. The healing that took place in me was awesome. This experience sold me on the necessity of confession. To this day I have an acceptance and compassion for this person that amazes me. This person did not change. It was through Reconciliation that I let God in and he gave me rest. We need to remain aware that through reconciliation we are given the grace to stay away from the sins that we confess. I find that it helps so much to call upon this grace when I realize that I ‘m being tempted. I know several people who receive massages once a month. How about scheduling the massage of reconciliation once a month.

My husband David knows someone who owns a high end spa in CA. They offer weekly and monthly stays at their spa. Along with massages they give nutritious meals and classes on healthy eating. How do you feed your spiritual body? God’ Heavenly Spa has provided the Bible. Reading scripture daily is food for the mind and soul. Before reading scripture call on the Holy Spirit, the author of this love story to help you with understanding God’s message. One of the exciting aspects of the Bible is that every time you read it God can have a different message for you even if you are re-reading the same passage just like He did with me concerning the Genesis passage. In the Bible you can find passages that can relate to all of your emotions. Sometimes I read a verse and carry it around with me all day. Other times I read it as a story and try to place myself there. To add a little dessert to the spiritual eating consider reading about the lives of the saints. They are such an inspiration. They help with perseverance and with relating to overcoming hardship. They are perfect examples of people who knew how to rest with God. As an added hint I will read the smaller children’s books of the saints. As a busy mom it gives me a simple overview of the saint. If I desire to know more I can then look for a more in-depth book. Of course there are other wonderful spiritual books to help with resting in God. It is just that I highly suggest checking out the saintly dessert tray.

The spa in CA also offers tanning booths and the CA sun. God’s Heavenly Spa Won’t be outdone. It offers sun bathing of a different sort. It is called S-O-N- -Son bathing. We are called to rest and bathe with Jesus every time we receive Him in the Eucharist. For anyone who is questioning the power of the Eucharist I suggest you read “Miracles Do Happen” by Sr. Briege McKenna, O.S.C. It helps to increase your faith in the real presence. If possible don’t just limit yourself to Sunday mass. Find a daily mass when possible. Also take advantage of Son bathing in the many Adoration Chapels that are available to you. Both the Eucharist and Adoration are the perfect times to lie down our crosses and to voice our needs and to rely on the power and presence of God. Both forms of Son bathing allow Jesus to radiate his love into us so that His love can then radiate out of us.

I would like to make you aware of how blessed you are to live in this area. When I lived here I took for granted the many masses that were offered and the numerous adoration chapels that were available. It was so easy to pop in to and chapel to begin a date with my husband or on busy days I would stop in and ask God to prioritize all that I had to do. When I moved to Baton Rouge the closest Adoration Chapel was a 20-25 minute drive from my home. Gone went the possibility of my midnight to 1:00am weekly visits. As a mom it had been a perfect time for me. I have also experienced the sense of the priest shortage. Many very large parishes have only one priest and therefore most churches do not have Sun. evening masses and limited daily masses. A friend’s mother lives in Alaska and drives 1 ½ hours every Sunday to attend mass. So, consider yourselves abundantly blessed and take advantage of Son bathing. I promise you will never be burned.

And at last at the CA spa you would be presented with an exercise routine and trainer. And so it is with God’ Heavenly Spa. The daily exercise is prayer and just like regular exercise it best becomes a habit by starting off with baby steps and to slowly increasing the amount of time spent with the exercise. Just like you may not feel like exercising, but you do it because you know it is good for you, so it is with the exercise of prayer. There are days that my prayer is dry and I don’t feel that in to it, but I know it is necessary for a healthy spirit. This dry time is when I need to seek the virtues of perseverance and determination and forge ahead. God will bless my efforts. To do this God has provided us with prayer trainers. You may chose from Jesus who taught so many while here on Earth. Think of all the times in the Bible that He went off to pray or even slept. Jesus rested with God until the end as He exclaimed “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”. He never stopped giving himself to God There is the Holy Spirit who was sent to bestow upon us many gifts including being able to pray in tongues. This is a perfect form of prayer when you are not sure how to pray or when you are so concerned about something that words don’t seem to come to your mind. And then there is the Virgin Mary who is available to teach us with a perfect motherly love. Consider that we sometimes are advised to change our exercise routine. We need to also consider changing our prayer routine so that we can have spiritual growth. I once heard a homily that was given to mostly elderly congregation. The priest said that it is hard to expect spiritual growth if we are praying the same way we did in high school. We need change and a chance to move into a deeper prayer life. You may have some of your favorite warm up prayers, but you can change things around to promote growth and interest. A simple example might be the mysteries of the rosary. What if we always meditated on the same mystery? We would not give ourselves the opportunity to grow within the other aspects of Jesus’ life. I love the Luminous Mysteries. They have given me new growth and strength and insight as I reflect on them. Be open to different prayers, novenas, the use of intercessors and your own dialog.

When we exercise it is also helpful to have a partner for support. Having others to pray with you gives you that support. Seek out a prayer partner. Join in on CCRNO’s Wed. night prayer meeting. David and I always felt so enriched and lifted up when we regularly attended. If you can’t find a group and a time that works for you –start one. The rosary group I was in began with 3 mothers and grew to 15 moms gathered with their children for prayer. My brother-in-law says the rosary every Wed. at lunch with a group of co-workers at his office. Psalm 37 says Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will act. I’m certain that there is a group out there for each of you if you commit and trust.

I encourage you to leave here today with the plan to continue to visit God’s Heavenly Spa. To recap we need to:

1. Receive regular massages of our inner self through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

2. We are to feed our mind and soul with healthy spiritual reading from scripture and the saints.

3. We are to make Son bathing appointments with Jesus through the Eucharist at mass and visits to the Adoration Chapel.

4. And we need to continue an exercise routine with daily prayer.

Know that life’s curveballs sometime throw us off course. I am far from perfect and this happens more than I would like, but I am thankful for God’s Heavenly Spa which gets me back on track and gives me the ability to rest with God. Remember the spa it is open 24-7 and walk-ins are welcome.

With God’s Heavenly Spa we will find rest and will be able to face our trials, turmoil’s and demands with the grace of God. Others will notice our refreshed and rested attitudes. We will emit peace and joy. Our spiritual shape will be toned .We will fit in our new wardrobe, the Armor of God. All of this can be achieved by allowing ourselves the realization that on the 7th day God rested, that Jesus rested with God His Father, and that we too are to take the time to rest in God.

Let us pray:

God, we thank you for the gift of rest. Jesus, we ask that you continue to show us how to rest in God Your Father. Holy Spirit, please present to us the desire and ability to find the time to rest. And Dear Blessed Mother, be a vivid example to us that the more we rest with God the more we can achieve our goal to experience the peace and joy that God has to offer by resting with Him. Amen!