Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Today's Mass Readings

 

It might seem hard always to believe it, but God is present to us in the difficult moments of life. We hear Jesus say to us today, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest,” but we may not experience that rest; life continues in its labors and burdens. So, what do we do with that?

We read in the first reading from Exodus that God reveals his name; he says, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord, the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This revelation is important, not just because we have something to call God but because he says I am a God of relationship, persons, and experience. You know me because you have known Isaac, and Jacob, and Abraham.

We must recognize that God, that Jesus Christ, relates to us in the same way. Jesus encounters us through our friends, our families, kind strangers. We might imagine him saying to us, “I am Jesus Christ, the God of Robert, the God of Megan, the God of Rebecca, and I come to you through them.” The next time when you are tired, or anxious, burdened, and heavily labored and your friend Rebecca comes to you to support you and comfort you, it is also Christ there with you giving you rest.

Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB

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