Pope: Jesus "does not take the Cross from us, but carries it with us", let us entrust people and situations to him
“So many goals are illusory: they promise some respite and distraction, they guarantee peace and fun, only to leave the same solitude as before, they are "fireworks". That is why Christ indicated where to go:"Come to me".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – “Christ does not free us from the burdens of life, but anguish of heart; he doesn't take the cross from us, but carries it together with us", he invites us not to give in to sadness, but to find our peace in him, trusting people and situations to him. THis is how pope Francis commented on the Gospel passage today in which Jesus says "Come to me those who are tired and oppressed and I will give you rest" (Mt 11,28).
"The Lord," the Pope explained to the 20,000 people in St. Peter's Square for the Angelus, "does not reserve this phrase to some, but it addresses all those who are tired and oppressed by life. And who can feel excluded from this invitation? Jesus knows how much life can be heavy. He knows that many things fatigue the heart: disappointments and wounds of the past, weights to bear and torments to bear in the present, uncertainties and worries for the future."
"Faced with all this, the first word of Jesus is an invitation to move and react: 'Come'. the mistake, when things go wrong, is to stay where you are. It seems obvious, but how difficult it is to react and open oneself! It's not easy! In the dark moments, it is natural to want to be alone, to think about what is unjust about life, about how others are ungrateful and how bad the world is and so on. We all know, we have experienced this experience. But in being so, closed within ourselves, we see everything black. Then you become accustomed to sadness it lays down roots. Sadness is such a bad thing. Jesus instead wants to get us out of these 'quick sands' and therefore he tells everyone: 'Come!' The way out is in relationships, in stretching out your hand, and in looking up to who really loves us. In fact, going beyond oneself is not enough, you need to know where to go. Because so many goals are illusory: the promise some respite and distraction, they guarantee peace and fun, only to leave the same solitude as before, they are "fireworks". That is why Christ indicated where to go:"Come to me. Many times, in the face of a burden of life or a situation of pain, we try to talk to someone who listens to us, with a friend, with an expert ... It's a good thing to do this, but do not forget about Jesus! Let's not forget to open ourselves to him and to tell him labout our ife, to entrust him with people and situations. Perhaps there are some 'zones' of our lives that we have ever opened to Him and that they have remained obscure because they have never seen the Lord's light. Each of us has his own story, if you are in these dark moments, go to a missionary of Mercy, go to a priest, go to Jesus. Today He tells each one of us: 'Courage, do not give up on the burdens of life, do not close yourself in front of them to fear and to sin, but come to me!'".
"He is waiting for us not to solve the problems magically, but to make us strong in our problems. Jesus does not lift our burdens of e, but anguish from our heart; He does not take away the cross, but carries it with us. And with Him every burden becomes light (cf. v. 30), for He is the refreshment we seek. When Jesus enters into life, peace comes, the one remaining in the trials. Let us go to Jesus, give him our time, meet him every day in prayer, in a confident and personal dialogue; Let us become acquainted with his Word, rediscover his forgiveness without fear, let us share his Bread of Life: we will feel loved and consoled by Him. He himself asks us, almost insisting. He repeats it again at the end of today's Gospel: "Learn from me [...] and you will find refreshment for life" (v. 29). Let us learn to go to Jesus and, while in the summer months we will be looking for a little rest from ails our body, let's not forget to find true refreshment in the Lord. May the Virgin Mary our Mother help us in this, who always takes care of us when we are tired and oppressed and accompanies us to Jesus."
.png)
