Jesus said to the apostles, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. If I were one of the apostles I would have been upset. I would have (calmly?) explained, “Jesus, you know we are tired. You invited us for a mini-vacation. Butl you immediately get back to work with no break at all.” Doubtless Jesus would just smile at me and get back to caring for the people. Other great souls would have understood him. For example there is a famous prayer of St. Ignatius: “Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve. To give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to seek reward, except that of knowing that I do your will.” What a challenge — to get the focus off of me and and what I am going through and instead focusing on how I can love others since God has loved me.
