"Come to me , all you that are weary and are carrying burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy , and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
Today's Gospel is a reminder of the love that our Lord has for each one of us. Reminding us as His followers to cast each and every care upon Him. We alone are not capable of carrying the crosses and burdens that may be present in our daily lives. Through Jesus and the teachings of the Saints we can each rest in faith knowing that we are not alone. It is often difficult to recognize this truth. Worldly pressures, familial commitments, financial woes, illness, loss, tragedy, anxiety, and other various things seem to weigh on us. It is in these times that the burden seems too much to handle. Jesus tells us in today's Gospel that He does not wish for us to carry our burdens alone. We are each called to seek Him for rest. We are invited to bring forth all of cares and our worries to the Lord. What a wonderful display of Love! I am reminded today of the "footprints" poem in which the man believed he ventured alone through all of his worldly struggles, burdens, and pains; only coming to find that Jesus carried him through all of it. Through strong faith and surrender we too can recognize amidst our burdens that we are not alone, and that our Lord indeed carries us and our heaviest loads upon His shoulders. When we are faced with burdens (as each of us are) we must turn toward the Lord and ask for His help. How often we recite our Hail Mary's, Glory Be's, Our Father's, and other various Novenas throughout our hardships, and yet fail to open our hearts and say Lord I feel that I can not do this without You, I need You, Your strength, and Your intercession amidst this trial and always. Come Lord and carry this Burden with me. I came across a wonderful reflection on Burdens by Padre Pio, he writes "We must become familiar with the sufferings Jesus will be pleased to send us as if we were to live with them always. Thus, when you least expect to be set free, Jesus , who cannot bear to see you suffer for a long time, will take care of it. He will come to relieve and console you, by instilling new courage in your soul. When he bestows a cross on one of his chosen ones, he strengthens that soul to such an extent that by bearing the weight of this cross the soul is relieved of it." (Padre Pio Letters)
Lord help us understand that we are not carrying the weight of our crosses and burdens alone. Thank you for loving us so much and not leaving us in our time of need. Forgive us for the times that we have doubted You were beside us. Forgive us for the times that we have turned away in the moments that we truly needed You the most. Lord I pray that you give each of us the strength to always persevere in our prayers and in our faith. Allow us to still praise You amidst our burdens. Strengthen our souls so that we can always serve You and do Your will. Thank you for giving us what we need to get through our difficult times. May we always turn to You and find rest. Amen (C.C.)
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