“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.”  This is the wisdom, this is the confidence, this is the peace that the Father has revealed to the little ones, to those who have simple hearts, those who cling to the Lord like a child clings to his mother, those who find their rest and refuge in the gentle arms of the Heavenly Father.  And it’s a call to action for us as well.  Because the best way to lighten our own burdens is to help someone else to carry theirs.  

What we’re talking about is compassion.  The word compassion means “to suffer along with.”  Compassion is what Our Lord shows us, profoundly, when he invites us to come to him in our labors and our burdens, in our need for rest and comfort, in our urgency to have our load lightened.  He says, come to me.  I want to help you.  I want to share your suffering.  And what an example that is for us to follow.  His compassion should inspire us: not to mind other people’s business, or insert ourselves where we don’t belong: but just to let those we care about know: I’m here.  You can talk to me if you need to.  You can ask my advice.  We can just quietly in a room together.  Whatever you need.  A true friend, a friend who can be trusted and relied on, is a friend who wants to be there in those moments too; not just for the fun and the joy, but in the moments of sorrow and pain as well.  A true friend doesn’t just have camaraderie.  A true friend also has compassion.  He or she rejoices with you, and he or she suffers with you as well.  Be that kind of friend.  This is why, in a very real way, Jesus Christ is in fact your very best friend.  He’s a real person with whom you have a real relationship.  And he is always there for you, he’s always ready to listen, he’s always ready to support you, he’s always ready to just sit calmly and quietly with you.  And he never lets you down.  

Compassion is what we all need.  Our Lord offers each of us compassion, very directly, in the real, dynamic relationship we have with him in our prayers and in the sacraments.  But so often, our Lord wants us to be his sweet voice; he wants us to be his tender ears; he wants us to be his gentle quiet presence; he wants to make his compassion real for others, through us.  This could not be a more timely message.  It’s the 4^th of July: it’s when we celebrate our great nation with its freedoms and its liberties.  But it’s also 2020, and our nation has been suffering for the last year, in so many ways: souls are suffering and souls are weary.  It’s easy to look for human solutions to our problems and we must do everything we can in this regard.  But in the end, as St. Paul said so many centuries ago to another society in turmoil, “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.”  The love of God conquers every evil; the mercy of God heals every wound; and the peace of God soothes every suffering heart.  Let us pray that the Lord would give us hearts like his.  And, that by helping others bear their burdens, ours too might become light.