Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

When we hear this Gospel, which comes to us several times throughout the year, our first thought may be that, through grace, Christ lightens our burdens. And that is certainly true. His grace gives us the strength we need to accomplish what he has called us to do.

We may also think that love itself makes a burden feel lighter. That is true as well. When we do something difficult for someone we truly love, we do it much more readily than we would for someone toward whom we felt no love at all. Love changes the way we carry a burden.

But we should listen closely to what Jesus actually says. He tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden light, and he invites us to learn from him because he is meek and humble of heart. His meekness and humility reveal the kind of rest he offers us.

Meekness is not weakness. It is the strength to endure suffering patiently without allowing that suffering to master us. Christ does not promise that our burdens will disappear or that everything we face will suddenly become easy simply because we follow him. Rather, his grace conforms us to himself. It makes us meek and humble. It gives us patience in the midst of suffering and the humility to endure what we cannot change.

Grace allows us to face suffering honestly, without constantly fighting against the fact that it is present, becoming consumed by life’s unfairness, or giving in to bitterness. This kind of acceptance does not mean approving of evil or refusing to change what can be changed. It means that, once we have done what we can, we stop allowing an unavoidable struggle to rule our hearts. We place it into God’s hands and continue doing the next faithful thing.

Hopefully, each of us has experienced this at some point. Perhaps there was a challenge you kept struggling against—something you kept trying to escape or remove. Then one day you realized, “This is part of my life, and I have to accept it.”

In that moment, you found a certain freedom. The suffering did not necessarily disappear, but the exhausting struggle against it began to loosen its hold. When you resolved to carry it patiently, the burden no longer felt quite so heavy. You felt lighter and freer because you were no longer carrying it through resistance and resentment.

That is the rest Christ offers us. We cannot avoid most of the sufferings that enter our lives, but, by his grace, we can change how we receive and carry them. Christ gives us the freedom to meet them with patience, humility, and trust.

We can remember that God remains in control and that he sees what we cannot see. God does not delight in our suffering, but neither does he waste what he permits. He can bring good even out of our trials: greater compassion, deeper faith, increased perseverance, or a more complete dependence upon him. We may not yet see what he is accomplishing, but we can trust him and entrust the present moment to his care.

So, whatever challenges we are facing today, let us place them into the hands of the Lord. Let us accept the grace by which we can face them honestly, carry them patiently, and entrust them completely to him. Let us take up the yoke of Christ and learn from his meek and humble heart, confident that he is with us and is drawing us toward something better.