“After Jesus had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23). 

In this short passage from Matthew, Jesus teaches us about the importance of prayer.  He knows how busy life can be.  He is aware that prayer isn’t easy because we’re always tired, distracted, busy, bored, and caught up with many things.  Because of these, it is hard to find time and energy to center ourselves on God for some moments.  However, we see in the gospels how Jesus models for His disciples and all of us the importance of taking a respite from the “busyness” of life to be alone with God.  The gospels also tell us that every time Jesus had to make an important decision – like choosing the Twelve Apostles and entering His passion – He always was in the posture of prayer.  

Having known the need to pray, Jesus told His disciples to do it as well.  He even taught them how to pray – and in a very simple manner.  Jesus also invited His disciples to find a place where they could be alone with God.  In prayer we enter into communion with God, where we open ourselves of our needs and of discerning His answers to all of them in the silence of our hearts. 

On Monday, August 9, our parish staff will be going to Mount St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery here in San Jose for a day of prayer.   As we slowly wind down with our summer “get aways” and prepare for the new academic year, it is important that we nourish ourselves spiritually.  This is a time for us to center ourselves in Jesus.   This a time for us not just to restore, but to renew our commitment to serving God and all of you.  Our hope is that by spending time to recognize God’s presence in our lives, we can be more effective and affective in our ministry. 

I encourage all of you to find time to be alone with God – just a few moments of silence often is enough to find guidance from God and you’ll be surprise how it can lighten your load.   

Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, one of the greatest spiritual writers of our time, once gave advice on prayer to busy people when he said: “This is what I do: No matter what my day is like, no matter what’s on my mind, no matter what my distractions and temptations are, I am faithful to this: Once a day I pray the Our Father as best I can from where I am at that moment.  Inspite of everything that’s going on inside me and around me that day, I pray the  Our Father, asking God to hear me from inside of all the distractions and temptations that are besetting me. It’s the best I can do. Maybe it’s a bare minimum and I should do more and should try to concentrate harder, but at least I do that. And sometimes it’s all I can do, but I do it every day, as best I can. It’s the prayer Jesus told us to pray.” 

Indeed, communing with God in prayer need not be an intricate ritual. Oftentimes, God’s wisdom, love and presence bubble up, when we allow a few moments of silence to listen in the stillness of our hearts.