Tag: burden

“I am the LORD, your God.” | Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:11-15)

Jesus said to the crowds: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Jesus makes clear to the crowds that he is the one who is to come, the Messiah. In the first reading, the voice of God is distinct; there is no question who is speaking: “I am the LORD, your God. . . . I will help you.” In the same way, Jesus claims his divine identity by saying that John is Elijah—the one who precedes the coming of the Messiah. In that coming, he opens the Kingdom of heaven to all who are willing to accept it. This is the same Lord whose Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and whose dominion endures through all generations.

God, in Isaiah I hear you speak in a booming voice that echoes throughout the world: “I am the LORD, your God.” In the Psalms, you stoop to meet me where I am, the God who is “gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.” In the Gospel, I hear your mild, insistent invitation to enter the Kingdom of heaven: “And if you are willing to accept it . . . whoever has ears ought to hear.” Now that I have heard you, give me the grace today to continue to hear you speak in the events and the people I encounter today. I want to be merciful and kind, but I know moments will come that I’m anything but that. Help me remember throughout the day whose divine assistance I call on: “That all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

From the first reading: “I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, “‘Fear not, I will help you.'” Saint John of the Cross, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:28-30)

Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

In speaking to the crowds, Jesus invites us to come to him to find comfort and rest. The invitation is also an example. When we see those who are burdened with many cares, Jesus shows us how to enact compassion by lightening their load. But there is a paradox here as well: “Take my yoke upon you.” No one with the intention of helping lighten a fellow human’s load would say, “Take on this additional burden.” Yet, that’s just what Jesus says. In taking on his yoke and burden, we find in the one who is fully human and fully divine humility of heart and supernatural rest from our labor.

God, my ways are not your ways. Just as you spoke to crowds, saying, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” you say the same to me. Each person who hears these words hears you call them by name. You are the God who gives strength to the weary: “They that hope in the LORD,” Isaiah says, “will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” Lord, give me confidence that in coming to you and taking on your yoke and burden I will find inner peace and renewed strength and the grace to ease the burdens of those around me.

From the first reading: “The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound.” Saint Lucy, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:28-30)

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel are familiar and comforting, and many people —even people of non-Christian faiths—know them. Jesus simply says, “Come to me.” He knows human labor and burdens. He knows that work tires the mind, body, and spirit. So he invites anyone who hears his words to join their burden to his. “Take my yoke,” Jesus says, “and learn from me.” The yoke that Jesus bears is easy, and the burden is light. How does that compare to a yoke and burden borne alone? Jesus is meek and humble, and in humbling ourselves we lighten the awful burden of prideful self-sufficiency.

God, help me today to take upon me the invitation and the yoke of your Son. I am inclined to be driven by accomplishing tasks I deem as important, using the abilities and gifts you have given me. Help me recognize when I am being stubborn and prideful in putting my aims above your will. Give me the grace to remember instead to put on the easy yoke of doing the will of your Son, whose will is in perfect accord with yours. Help me be meek and humble today in all I say and do.

Lord, stay with me today so that I remember to rest in you. Help me call to mind your name, “I am who am,” and that just as you sent Moses, you send me to do your will and be a witness to your love.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 9:18-26)

A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.

In the Gospel for today, Jesus is on his way with the disciples to the house of an official, whose daughter has just died. The official tells this to Jesus, saying, “But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Immediately, Jesus and the disciples rise to follow him to his house. As Jesus makes his way, the woman suffering hemorrhages finds him and in touching the tassel of his cloak is immediately healed. Both the official and the woman place their complete trust in Jesus’ ability to heal. Just as the woman’s faith leads to healing, the official’s faith is tested and is also rewarded. Jesus puts out the ridiculers, and those who remain are witnesses to the miracle of the daughter’s resurrection.

God, help me understand that your Son demonstrated power over sickness and death. In recognizing that astounding authority, the official is an example of great faith in the face death, which Jesus conquers. The woman in the Gospel teaches me that with great faith only a little effort opens up the vast reach of your love and mercy. Give me the grace to approach you with faith and complete trust for whatever I need.

Thank you, God, for your word and for the death and resurrection of your Son. Thank you for the gift of faith, which I ask you to strengthen. From the responsorial psalm: “Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress. In you, my God, I place my trust.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:25-30)

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

In today’s second reading from Saint Paul, he compares the Spirit and the flesh. Living according to the flesh leads to death, while if living by the Spirit, “you put to death the deeds of the body” and you will live. In the Gospel, Jesus exclaims in praise the same message through his relationship to the Father. The little ones Jesus speaks of have a childlike faith that acknowledges what it means to live in the Spirit; namely, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son.” No one knows the Father as Jesus, meek and humble of heart, knows the Father.

God, as the psalmist says, you lift up all who are falling and raise up all who are bowed down. Help me remember to come to you when I feel burdened and heavy with the cares of this world. In receiving the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, I want to live courageously in the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body. “Learn from me,” Jesus says. Help me take on the humility and meekness of Christ, who lived every moment of his life in your gracious will. Taking on that yoke, uniting myself to him, help me learn to find rest in assimilating myself to him.

“I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.” Lord, through your Spirit that dwells in me, reveal to me through your Son what you hide from the wise and the learned.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.