Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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.

We all labor and are burdened, but not all of us have rest. When we do not pray to God for the graces to accomplish our works, we shall be crushed be them. When we do not take the time to listen in silence to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, we shall lose our way and fall into the pits and snares of the Devil. When we do not have faith in God, we lose hope, become paralyzed by our fears, and are suffocated by our worries. When we do not turn to God and the sign of the cross in our times of need, then we turn our backs on God and abandon Him in selfish despair. However, if we take upon ourselves the yoke of faith, becoming meek and humble of heart as Jesus did in his own life, then we shall find rest. We shall discover that the grace of God makes our labors easy and our burdens light. Not that we will be spared sacrifices and sufferings, but our hearts are filled with the peace that comes from letting go and letting God lift us into His arms... allowing Him to take up our burdens.

Do we come to God in all our labors and burdens? Are we willing to take upon ourselves the yoke of the Christ-like life? How can we become meek and humble of heart?

O Lord, we accept the yoke of doing your will.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin

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.

We all have labors and burdens in our lives. We toil to keep ourselves clothed, sheltered, and fed. We toil to overcome our temptations, anxieties, and doubts. We toil to increase our knowledge and wisdom. We toil to know, love, and serve our God and our neighbors. All of these things could wear us down with worries and work, but if we take upon ourselves the yoke of Christ and learn how to be meek and humble, then we can carry any burden. God never gives us more than we can handle. He always gives us the graces we need. All we have to do is to give up the yoke of pride and accept the yoke of humble faith. Once we do that, all our burdens will be light compared to the strength of our faith, hope, and love.

Do we seek God when we have labors and burdens that are weighing us down? Are we willing to put on the yoke of meekness and humility? Are we willing to let go of our pride and seek God’s help in our daily lives?

O Lord, we accept your yoke with meek and humble hearts.

Amen.