“O Lord, who art as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land,

who beholds Your weak creatures
weary of labor,
weary of pleasure,
weary of hope deferred,
weary of self;
in Your abundant compassion, and unutterable tenderness,
bring us, I pray You, into Your rest. Amen.”
– Christina Rossetti

“The mind that comes to rest is tended
In ways that it cannot intend:
Is borne, preserved, and comprehended
By what it cannot comprehend.

Your Sabbath, Lord, thus keeps us by
Your will, not ours. As it is fit
Our only choice should be to die
Into that rest, or out of it.”
– Wendell Berry

“Grant to me, above all things that can be desired, to rest in You, and in You to have my heart at peace. You are the true peace of the heart, You are its only rest; outside of You all things are hard and restless. In this very peace, that is, in You, the one Chiefest Eternal Good, I will sleep and rest. Amen.” – Thomas Aquinas

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.”  
Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29

Moving From the Head to the Heart

• Are you  “weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self? Are you just profoundly weary in your very soul?
• For you, is the life of faith like a well in you springing up, after refreshing you, to bless others – or are you simply gritting your teeth and “doing what has to be done?” (and asking God to bless)
• Can you allow yourself to “die into that rest” that Jesus offers “and find the rest for your soul” that he promises? Can you “learn from” him how to rest? I know what this means I must do. What would it mean for you?

May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back. – Rainer Maria Rilke