Pastor Notes July 9, 2023
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“Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
From our gospel passage this Sunday, accentuating the burdens we face in our daily lives, and the remedy-if we have faith—in the acceptance of Christ’s grace at our side.
Loss, illness, worry, violence, financial hardships, grief, guilt, marital tension, resentments, misunderstandings, prejudice, addiction, loneliness. Just a few of the many burdens that we may take on, and struggle to work through or simply manage. Trusting in his companionship regardless of how far we have strayed from our faith or elusive the resolution, Jesus’ promise remains a constant grace at our side. In his book, Five Things with Fr. Bill: Hope, Humor and Help for the Soul, Fr. Bill Byrne provides straightforward spiritual acts of faith for everyday encounters. In chapter five, “Fight the Good Fight,” he highlights how God doesn’t cause detrimental things to happen. We do live in a ‘wounded’ world by our neglecting God. As the Gospels relentlessly remind us, God never forgets us —His creation. If we bring God into our lives, and focus on the Light offered to each person within any and all moments of our personal lives, hope flourishes. Fr. Bill offers these five approachable acts of faith to counter the burdens that either distract our good intentions or wear us down.
Create a house of prayer. When we think of the most basic level of church, we picture our local parish, but Vatican II told us that the home is the first building block of the kingdom. . .calling the home the “domestic church.” Make our house, apartment, condo, dorm room a place where Christ is welcome and comfortable. Always practice humility and forgiveness. . . .Saying ‘I am sorry’ keeps a home beautiful.
Take a minute. The morning offering should become a common spiritual practice. When you open your eyes, thank God for the gift of the day. Offer the day back to Him, and ask yourself to be an instrument of His peace.
Recall. If you are trying to remember something, write it down. Put a note at your desk or in your calendar that says, ‘Remember!’ Powerful things happen when we intentionally remember them. Savor the in-between. Much of the day is filled with the “in between” or the “not yet.” We wait in line, sit in traffic, drum our thumbs waiting for someone to show up. These times should not be drudgery but opportunity. Fill them with prayer. Keep a list handy of the people you know who need prayer the most. Sitting in the doctor’s office, put the magazine down [or the smart phone] and lift up your soul.
Recognize the last minute. As you are going to bed, thank God for the day. {Graciously remember the simple blessings and the shared moments with others.] Replay the mental video of our day and recall where God was and where you might not have been there to meet Him. Make a plan for the next da to build on the graces of that day. When you wake up the next morning, your offering is the plan from the night before.
“Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give your rest.” Jesus’ promise is not a sophisticated twist of faith, just a straightforward desire on his part to interrupt our weariness with the grace of His reassurance. As St. Augustine assures us, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
God Bless, Fr. Tim
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer, is too small to be made into a burden.” (Corrie Ten Boom, Christian writer who protected Jews during WWII)
