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December 10, 2014

“When it rains it pours.”

You must have heard this saying. A lot of people don’t like the rain because it’s wet, it’s bothersome. It’s difficult to commute when it rains because traffic is heavy. The feeling becomes worse when the rain is strong and continuous because the effect is flooding.

When misfortune strikes, it’s not just one, but one after another. When someone in the family gets sick, another problem comes like financial difficulty. Then the house needs major repair, then… the list goes on and on. It’s not easy and oftentimes we really want to just give up and scream and cry asking God when will all these problems end?

On the other hand, when blessings come our way, more blessings follow. It comes one after another as well. And we give thanks to God for all the blessings.

Yes, life has its ups and downs. When we are up, we are up. Everything comes pouring in, and we live as if it will never end. But when we are going down, it feels like we are really crashing and drowning as if there is no hope for our survival. It may feel like it is the end of the world.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives us hope. He tells us to come to him and he will refresh us. He tells us to “take his yoke.” What is this yoke of Christ which he says is easy and light? It is to do the will of God in our lives. And what is God’s will for us? It is basically to love God first and foremost, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Concretely, God invites us to be like him, to be unselfish, to give our best to others without reserve.

We can do this if we realize how much God has loved us in Jesus Christ and how much He continues to love us every day. Happiness is in doing things for God, for Jesus, because we love Him. This is our vocation as Christians – to love as Jesus loved. Truly, his yoke is easy and his burden light.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 1

<< Wednesday, December 10, 2014 >>

Isaiah 40:25-31
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Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10

Matthew 11:28-30
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Y'ALL COME

"To whom can you liken Me as an equal? says the Holy One." —Isaiah 40:25

No one equals God in anything. Consider God's strength; He is unequaled in strength. Almighty God is so strong that He made and sustains the millions of stars which span light-years in space (Is 40:26).

Almighty God is willing to share His unlimited strength with us. "He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak He makes vigor abound" (Is 40:29). When God strengthens old or weak people, they can outrun, outwork, and outlast young folks. Those who let God renew their strength "will soar as with eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint" (Is 40:31).

It gets better. God will make you so supernaturally strong that you will be able to say with St. Paul: "In Him Who is the Source of my strength I have strength for everything" (Phil 4:13). God's love in you will be stronger than death (see Sg 8:6). Death, sickness, pain, and Satan will wear out before you will. You will have the strength to enter into eternal life and rest (see Mt 11:29).

To receive this supernatural strength, all people must come to Jesus. "All you who are weary and find life burdensome" (Mt 11:28), come to Jesus.

Prayer: Father, beginning this Advent may I have Your strength for everything.

Promise: "My yoke is easy and My burden light." —Mt 11:30

Praise: For decades, Chris has volunteered at a retreat center by continually mowing grass, landscaping, and tending the grounds. With strong faith, he prays daily in Eucharistic adoration for all those who attend the retreats.