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TODAY’S WORD…

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Come to me all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest.

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– Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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No one understands our fatigue and tiredness better than Our Lord.

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As we carry out our duties and daily chores,

as we generously go about our work,

as we use up so much of our energy in apostolic initiatives to spread the Good News

and in altruistic care for others,

it is natural that fatigue appears as an almost inseparable companion.

But far from complaining about this inescapable reality – a reality that is common to all of us –

we have to learn how to rest, how to rest close to God.

O Jesus, I rest in You! we can often state inwardly

as we seek our support from Him.

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No one understands our tiredness better than Our Lord.

Throughout His life,

He Himself experienced something as consonant with human nature as fatigue

and was often in situations that sapped His human strength,

which left Him feeling exhausted and weary at the end of the day

and in need of rest…and peace…and quiet.

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And the Lord regularly made it a point to go to a quiet place,

to rest in His Father

and to recover His strength.

So too must we learn to recover our strength.

We must go to Jesus; stay close to Him; rest in Him.

Come to me, He says to us,

all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest.

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We make our burden lighter when we unite our tiredness to that of Christ,

when we offer it up for the intentions of others who are so in need

and for the redemption of souls.

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We must also sanctify our leisure time

by offering it to the Lord in sincere thanksgiving;

by using it to find more time to get closer to Him

and to reflect God’s love, joy, peace and compassion on to others around us.

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What we must not do

is use the time as purely selfish compensation for our exertions.

Selfishness is not Christian

…and love does not take holidays.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Jesus, I rest in You!

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.