Gospel Reading
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"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 little ones.
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
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
"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."
Reflection
Praised be Jesus Christ!
A measure of the depth of a relationship is how much we know about a person -- how much he or she has revealed about him/herself, and vice versa. The same is true with our relationship with Christ.
Jesus tells us in the Gospel that He thoroughly knows His Father and wants to reveal Him to us. He has an intimate relationship with the Father and wants us to have that same deep and intimate relationship with Him. Such a relationship is a great gift, but it also requires effort on our part.
The relationship requires sacrifice, for Christ tells us to take up our crosses daily and follow Him to Calvary (cf Lk 9:23). At the same time, however, He also tells us to lay our burdens upon Him, to be yoked to Him, so He can make our burdens easy and light (cf Mt: 11:30).
Finally, in all this, we are called to spend time with Jesus, just as two people in any intimate relationship desire time together. This time with Our Lord is spent through an active prayer life. In that active prayer life, we will truly come to know the Father as the Son truly wishes to reveal Him.
So today, let us recommit ourselves to a daily and active prayer life so that we can really create an intimate friendship with Our Lord.
As always, know of my prayers before Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+Bishop Schlert
