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Today's Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30

Today's Gospel reading may have you thinking, great, one more thing to do. Not only do I have the yoke of my family, the yoke of my boss or business, the yoke of groceries and laundry, now Jesus is asking me to take on one more yoke.

But His request is different than everyone else's. He wants us to lay down the yoke of stress, frustration, irritation, depression, disappointment, and self-expectations and pick up His yoke. Why? Because, as He tells us, we will "find rest for our souls." His yoke "is easy" and the burden He lays on us "is light." His yoke is the yoke of love. This doesn't mean we won't still have our families, jobs, and duties, it just means we change our attitude about it all and do it out of love for Him and for others.

St. Benedict taught in his Rule that everything we do should be done so "that in all things God may be glorified." Possibly the best way to do this is to remove the yokes we mentally place upon ourselves and replace them with the yoke of Christ's love by doing them as a gift of self. In the end, the same things are accomplished, it's just that we "find rest" when we do them out of love for others, not just because they need to be done. Today try doing the same chores you always do but think about those for whom you do them with the love of Christ.

Ponder:

Do I think about those for whom I perform the daily duties as I am doing them? Could I say a prayer for my husband as I pick up his laundry, for my children as I pack their lunches, for my co-worker as I help him/her meet a deadline?

Pray:

Lord, you are the giver of life, even the hectic and stressed life that I find myself living. Help me, through the intercession of Your Mother and mine, to live every moment in love and self-gift because it is there that I will find You and will find the joy only You can give. Amen.

Copyright 2014 Diane Schwind