Fr. Don's Daily Reflection
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
Getting away from our ordinary schedule, our usual ambience, our work, even the people whom we encounter daily can give us a better sense of proportion. This platitude is part of the idea behind vacations, retreats, sabbaticals, leaves. But do we appreciate or value such opportunities enough?
So often when we are totally and happily absorbed in our work, we don't feel any need to get away from it or want to do so. But we can be surprised by how this can change our attitude or the way we do things. We get away from family concerns and problems, from continuing hassles on the job, and we see all this in a new light.
We might end up asking ourselves why we thought something was so important or why we let someone’s hasty word bother us so. Constant irritants begin to look like mere blips. Though the issues that have been such constant bothers might not disappear, we might return to them with a new outlook or, at times, even with some new ideas about how to face them.
Something as simple as a getaway can serve a very important function in revitalizing our life as followers of Christ. There are, of course, more specialized helps to this; we call them retreats. And even lesser changes, like getting away from the same meals, the same routine (coffee every morning in the same place with the same people) can refresh us. Change and variety are not just the refuge of “flighty” people. Once the “all clear” (from the virus) is sounded, all of us may be able to take flight.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”