The Only Yoke Jesus Asks us to Carry is Charity, which Bears All Things

In the Gospel for today, the 14th Sunday in ordinary time, we hear Jesus say to us:

“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 yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

What is this yoke but to "love one another as I have loved you"? This is what he commands of us. The endless Charity of Christ is that refreshment of which he speaks, that gives rest to the weary. It must be remembered here too that it is not we who bear all things. It must also be remembered what charity is: "It is not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us."

Man today has the experience of trying to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders, chasing after this appointment and that schedule, attempting to find a good life in filling up his day with one thing after another, and the result is a terrible weariness that drains the human spirit and deflates the heart. Yet it is only "Charity bears all things." We cannot bear much. We exhaust ourselves this way. Our life will not be measured by anything but how well we love. And not our love for others, but the love of Christ that is constantly being held out to us through the Holy Spirit.

When we see each person every day, our work then isn't to try to reach down somewhere in our hearts and find love for them. This is like looking for water in a dry well. It is rather to discover Christ's love for them and follow him in this work. "Where the master is, there the servant shall be."

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a great source of love for Jesus and for souls. In this cradle where the Son of man was placed we find it is the point in the universe where divine love and human love intersected and continue to intersect. For this reason, it is the place where that awkward process becomes gracious - of emptying ourselves of our own capacity to love and allowing rather the capacity and potentiality of God's love to consume us and overflow into the lives of all we meet.