Today's Thoughts...

​Today’s Thoughts: I think sometimes we struggle because God doesn’t seem to be present in ways we would like. We cannot take God fishing like Peter and the other disciples did. We cannot invite God in for a meal like Zacchaeus did. We cannot stop in the midst of our daily work and have a conversation about life like the woman at the well did. We cannot argue a frustration like Martha did. We cannot ask a question and get an immediate answer like the disciples often did. We cannot feel that loving embrace like Mary and others surely did.
 
We have to live by faith and hope not personal contact. Our time is a time of trusting in God’s presence and having faith that God is at work in us helping us make the right choices, helping us live a good life.
 
We might say that throughout his time as pope, Pope Francis has challenged us to take up the “yoke” that Jesus mentions in the Gospel today (Matthew 11:28-30). It is the “yoke” and “burden” of the people around us who do not have the necessities of life, who are hungry, cold, homeless, suffering, immigrants without a home, children born and unborn without a voice, women not respected, people fleeing war and violence of all kinds.
 
Yes, seeing these people, encountering them, perhaps even being one them is a burden and a yoke that is heavy, difficult to carry and a problem which often seems impossible to solve. Yet, Jesus says pick it up, carry it, but not alone. Like Jesus, Pope Francis, knows that if we do this we will learn from Jesus and we will come to know that the impossible can become of the possible.
 
Perhaps our challenge today is to be “humble of heart” and trust in God’s strength to help us help the world. Have a great day everyone!
 
Have a blessed Advent Wednesday everyone!