Mt 11: 28-30

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy 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.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations

Finding Fresh Peace

We all carry the burden of sin with us. That weight is often increased by regret and shame after we have made a choice we wish we did not make. This weight increases in our soul and can drag us down. We are no longer nimble, but instead we can feel sluggish and encumbered by our past choices. Jesus urges us to give him these burdens today. Yet despite this offer, many of us choose to continue to carry the extra weight. Even though we are weighed down by our sins of the past, we have become so used to carrying this burden that we often feel uncomfortable without it.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us the opportunity to hand over this burden of sinfulness to the Lord. However, fear, anxiety and our past choices can still keep us from giving over this personal burden to Christ.

What steps can I take this week to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and hand over my personal burdens to Jesus?

—Brother Pat Douglas, S.J. lives and works at Creighton University, Omaha. He is also vocation promoter for the Wisconsin Province Jesuits.

Prayer

Lord, we pray for the grace to experience the “newness” of life in Christ.  When we empty ourselves of all that puts us at a distance from you – carrying our burden by ourselves, staring at the loss in our life and looking past so many blessings, depleting our energy by putting ourselves last or engaging in the black hole of negative conversation – we simply cannot celebrate the “newness” of life in Christ.

With profound gratitude, Lord, we place our life totally into your hands, and we know that your divine spark will deepen the significance of our day.

—The Jesuit Prayer Team