Matt 11:25-30Jesus 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

There are times when Jesus words “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened” seem to be hidden from the clever, and known only to those who live lives – often quite complex lives – which are characterised by simplicity.

Being over-burdened needs analysis.  It can be the result of family circumstances and responsibility for loved ones, and help may be needed. It can be the result of unreasonable workplace demands which require investigation. It can also be a consequence of personality or personal psychology, a state of mind in which we need to be overburdened to feel useful or we don’t trust anyone else to do the tasks as well as we can, or we have enlarged a simple task well beyond what is really necessary.

 Thinking about being over-burdened in the context of All Souls Day can be enlightening. On All Souls Catholics all over the world remember and pray for loved ones who have died, and pray for all the Holy Souls. To do this inevitably reminds us that death will be a reality for all of us.  How important will the burdens we carry now be when we reach the point of death? Will we regret time we spent on work and not on family? Was the care of others something that helped our spiritual growth or made us resentful? Did we enjoy being a martyr to our burdens?  

Jesus said: “My yoke is easy and my burden light”.  It might be time to sort through the bundle of burdens we carry and ask ourselves some questions.