Day 8: Jesus Leaves Capernaum (Mark 1:35–39)

By Sindhu Nadarajan · September 17, 2026

v. 35: "Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed."

Mark is moving very fast, but he doesn't want to go on without showing the most important aspect of Jesus' life: prayer, and how to pray. Let's focus on that today.

"Very early before dawn." This may not sound convenient to young people. Believe me, it's hard for anyone, even a pro, even someone who has had more than enough sleep! Even when you're awake, it takes a firm decision and desire to leave the comfy bed and blanket and go to pray. St. Josemaría Escrivá calls getting out of bed immediately at the first sound of the alarm "the heroic minute." One tip is to desire this and ask for the grace before you go to sleep. Knowing that people all over the world struggle with this helps us not to give up but to keep pushing.

"A deserted place." Stripping ourselves of comfort, which can pull us back into indulgence, is essential for prayer. What do you expect in a desert? Dryness, animals, nothing to amuse you. There you have to face the silence outside and all the noise within. If we are attentive, there we will hear the gentle voice of God lovingly conversing with us.

On distractions. A question may arise in your heart about the millions of distractions that plague your prayer time. Hear this from a veteran of prayer and master of the spiritual life, St. Francis de Sales: "If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master's presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord's presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed."

Prayer and action. It's good to think a little about prayer versus action at this point. In the next verse, the disciples come looking for Jesus. They don't think of joining the Master in prayer. Instead they ask him to go and minister to the crowds looking for him!

A saying often attributed to St. Francis de Sales puts it this way: "If you have time, pray; if you have more time, pray more; if you have even more time, pray more and do good deeds." Prayer and good works should go hand in hand, and we should strive to make time for both in our lives.

Similarly, St. Teresa of Calcutta believed that prayer and action are two essential parts of the Christian life. In words often attributed to her: "I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, 'Love one another as I have loved you.' Ask yourself, 'How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?' Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery."

This understanding of the Father's heart is vital for fruitful ministry and a meaningful Christian life. The contemplative and active sides of our life must always be deeply rooted in one and the same experience: being alone with God. This foundational experience is called the "monasticism of the heart," where you are invited to be alone with God in your heart. The word "monasticism" comes from the Greek monos, meaning "alone."

St. John of the Cross says: "In the first place it should be known that if a person is seeking God, his Beloved is seeking him much more." He teaches that the spiritual journey involves purifying the soul's desires, so that our love for God becomes the dominant force in our lives. This requires a deliberate effort on our part to seek God in prayer, contemplation, and the practice of silence.

Thus the seeking of the soul and the seeking of God are intimately connected. As we seek God, we become more attuned to his presence and his movements in our lives. And as God seeks us, he draws us ever closer to himself, transforming us into the image of his Son.