Saturday 8 February 2025
St Jerome Emiliani; St Josephine Bakhita
Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want – Psalm 22(23). Mark 6:30-34.
Don’t be afraid to take time out
A good friend of mine, Fr Barry Ryan of Ballarat, who died last year, was influenced greatly by Wilfred Bion, an Anglo-Indian psychiatrist and physiotherapist who founded the famous Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. His work with soldiers during the Second World War led him to value the importance of group therapy in restoring the mental health of a traumatised people.
Barry applied this in his own priestly ministry. In today’s Gospel we see Jesus suggesting to his closest followers that they take time out and retreat to a quiet place. Despite the crowds pressing around waiting to be healed, Jesus considered it more important to retreat with his disciples so they could listen to each other and share ideas, opinions and questions. To Jesus, this was essential in building community among his disciples. This retreat seemed to fail. The crowds won, so compassionate Jesus ‘teaches them many things’.
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