Resting in the Lord: Weekly Message for 08-28-2018

Dear Friends in Christ,

School resumed for most students just a few weeks ago, and we’re already approaching Labor Day weekend. Whether you’re a student or not, a certain changing of gears happens around this time, and just as things are starting to shift to a higher gear (work, school, etc.), suddenly we’re faced with Labor Day weekend. As you got back into the regular swing of things, did you lament the things you were going to do in the summer, but didn’t? Labor Day weekend is an opportunity to learn from that mistake.  However, if your thoughts are drifting to having the Kegger of all Keggers (that refers to a party with a keg of beer—don’t ask me how I know), take the advice of the patron saint of brewers: our heart is restless until it rests in the Lord (see the first paragraph of St. Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions). Saint Augustine of Hippo became the patron saint of brewers because of his wild youth: he was a party animal, but he was also restless. The party life did not satisfy him. He was searching for something deeper.

After years looking for love and the truth in all the wrong places, it was the sound of a child’s game coming from a neighbor’s house that struck a chord in him and made him read a passage from St. Paul with new eyes: “let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:13-14; see Confessions 8.12). My point is not that debauchery is bad (although it is, and it’s no coincidence that people coming to Our Lord after having a wild life are said to have experienced an “Augustinian conversion”), it’s that Augustine needed a moment of silence and openness to hear the word of God not just in his ears, but in his heart and soul. He satisfied his restlessness by resting in the Lord.

When you know you’re going to have some extra personal time, does setting some of it aside to be in silence with Our Lord enter your mind? Don’t be ashamed if it doesn’t. Prayer can be hard work, but it is not always hard work. Resting in the Lord, in silence, renews us spiritually and gives us insight, because it means letting the Lord get a word in edgewise, and letting us have a peaceful conversation with him that’s not distracted by the daily grind. Whether prayer needs more priority on your weekdays or your Labor Days, take some time to rest in the Lord.

Have a restful week in the Lord.

Father Nikola Derpich, L.C.

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One Comment
  1. Dear Fr. Nikola,
    I do not know how I was on a list to receive your message, but thank you so very much as I needed to read this and it came at a perfect time for me.
    God Bless you,
    Victor

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