Memorial Day weekend held the promise of a significant period of time for moments of relaxation, outdoor activities, to slow down and revitalize.  Such has passed us by with the beginning of the State Fair and just seven days before the first day of school.  From the musings of Christian writer Sarah Christmyer, “Summer used to be one lazy day running into the next: swimming and picnics and hand-cranked ice-cream, nights full of stars and fireflies. Above all, there was time to rest. Time to watch the clouds or fish and paint and time to dream. Where did that all go?  She alluded to the possibility of serenity within the few days of summer before us, exhorting: “Make the Most of the R.E.S.T of the Summer.

As Jesus calmly spoke to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.”  And his invitation to us all,  “Come to me, you who labor and are heavy laden,” Jesus said, “and you will find rest for your soul.” (Matthew 11:28-30) With Jesus’ invitation, acknowledging God’s own need to rest on the seventh day, we may consider the possibility of R.E.S.T. within the brevity of summer before us.

Relax & Remember - Enjoy - Simplicity - Trust

RELAX & REMEMBER:

“Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport.” (Pope Francis) “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” (Lewis Carroll) “Perhaps nothing helps us make the movement from our little selves to a larger world than remembering God in gratitude. Such a perspective puts God in view in all of life, not just in the moments we set aside for worship or spiritual disciplines. Not just in the moments when life seems easy.” (Henri Nouwen). “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” (Marcus Aurelius) ENJOY “We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are.” (Bill Watterson) “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.” (Charles Spurgeon) SIMPLICITY  “If you stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” (Rainer Maria Rilke) "I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; Probe the earth to see where your main roots run." (Henry David Thoreau) In the end, St. Teresa of Avila says it best: “Thank God for the things I do not own.”   TRUST “To be sure, it was not Easter Sunday but Holy Saturday, but, the more I reflect on it, the more this seems to be fitting for the nature of our human life: we are still awaiting Easter; we are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.”  (Golda Meier) “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts ...There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” (Rachel Carson) R.E.S.T.  “Nature, time, and patience are the three great physicians.”  (Ancient Proverb) 

God Bless,   Fr. Tim

FYI: “As long as teachers give tests, there will always be prayer in schools.” (Unknown)