Gospel for July 16, 2015 (Thursday) Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Mt 11:28-30

Jesus offers an invitation: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

The Word in other words

The effects of modern technology may two-sided.  Home appliances may shorten time spent in cooking, washing, cleaning and other household chores, but this "saved" time is often wasted in front of the television and the computer at home.  At the office, plenty of productivity time is lost answering e-mails and reading facebook posts and messages.  Mobile phones give digital access to social networks and real-time news.  But this ubiquitous accessibility of technology causes constant stress, which disrupts relaxation and recovery.  It encourages gadget addiction, which eventually hampers real social communication and personal encounter.

As if people in today's hectic world are not strained enough from the pressures of family and career work, many are yet faced with mounting and seemingly never-ending workloads.  We are expected to balance the demands between our jobs and ourselves.  We are torn apart between wants and needs.  Oftentimes personal creative projects are overtaken by practical concerns.  When unchecked, many stressed people suffer from burnout, feeling depleted and devoid of interest.  They often don't see any hope for positive change, nor do they find any exit from their stressful situations.

Jesus invites the burdened to come to him, because "his yoke is easy and his burden is light."  How does this apply to the modern predicament of work overload?  Jesus offers a change of mentality.  His gospel allows us to reassess our priorities.  Do we live in order to work or do we live for bread alone?  Can't we switch of our gadgets without feeling left out and take time to meditate and pray?  A healthy holistic spirituality entails taking care of our soul and body.  Jesus seems to tell those who are trapped in the web of modern entanglements to adopt healthy ways of eating, exercising, and sleeping.  Take a daily break from technology.  Even Jesus himself took him to pray and be alone after his public ministries.  Hermann Hesse, a German poet and novelist, once wrote, "Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself."  In this inner sanctuary, one may find God.

              -  Fr. Simon Boiser, SVD (Hamburg, Germany)

Gospel for July 15, 2015 (Wednesday) Feast of St. Bonaventure

Mt 11:25-27

At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son wishes to reveal him."

The Word in other words

A visiting friend told me of her experience when she visited one of our communities in the north.  When requested by one of the Sisters to bring the community to a place for a funeral, my friend readily agreed.  The Sister promised to direct the driver since she had previously been assigned to that place.  When it seemed that they were lost, another Sister suggested that they inquire from the people they passed by, but the confident Sister insisted she knew the place.  In the end, they were not able to find their way and had to go back home instead.

It is against this way of thinking that Jesus warns us in today's Gospel.  Jesus does not condemn intelligence.  In fact, it is one of God's gifts to us.  What Jesus condemns is our arrogance in thinking that, because of this gift of intelligence, we know better and therefore no need for further instruction, or that we don't have anything to learn from others anymore.

Through the attitude that Jesus enjoins us to acquire today, we can be open to another message of the Gospel; that, however advance is our intelligence, it is only Jesus who reveals God to us.  It is our Christian conviction that it is in Jesus Christ alone that we see what God is like, and that Jesus can give knowledge to anyone who is humble and trustful enough to receive it.

                 - Sr. Arlene F. Lobitana, SSpS (Manila)