I just got off the phone with a friend who feels she is a burden to everyone she knows. I don’t like to ask for help from others, yet I rarely feel burdened when someone asks for my help. And now this word burdened comes up in the Gospel for this Sunday. What am I to make of that?
We all carry burdens in this life. Some of our burdens are of our own making. Some of these we can place at the foot of the Cross in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Some of our burdens are life situations over which we have little or no control. We can ask God to help us carry the weight of the burdens so that we not break under the strain. And some burdens we may cling to, refusing to lay them down, because they have become part of our identity. We may wonder, “If I give it over to God, what will I have left?”
How are you spending your summer weeks? Have you started a new habit, been reading the Mass readings, or started praying more? Is there a burden you’re struggling with? If so, maybe this Sunday’s Gospel holds a special message just for you.
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