Come to me, and I will give you rest

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A - 5th July 2020

Gospel Matthew 11: 25–30

Revealed to mere children...

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

My mind may be burdened with thoughts, regrets and loss from the past, as well as worries and ruminations as to what the future may hold. But now, in prayer, I desire to call my mind to awareness of the present moment.

God is eternally present in the here and now of my life. This is where God greets me, not in the past or future ... but now, in this very moment.

To help my wandering mind, I gently call the focus of my attention to what I can feel in my body, and see or hear around me.

I may softly focus on a candle, an icon, the cross, or anything that speaks to me of the presence of God.

I rest and linger in this presence for as long as I need, before turning to the Gospel. I read it reverently several times, until the passage becomes familiar to me.

I may choose to imagine Jesus speaking these words.

Does the tone of his voice change as he moves from talking with the Father to talking to the people?
As I listen, what do I notice arising within me?

I am free to focus my prayer on a part or the whole of this Gospel ... or perhaps I see Jesus looking deep into my being and saying, 'Come to me [my name], you who labour and are overburdened ...’
I let these words resonate within me, and share the depths of my feelings and thoughts with Jesus. I take time to listen ...  to be aware of my needs.

I finish by praying ’Our Father ...’, together with Jesus.

Click here for a 'One Minute Homily' on the Gospel!