As we reflect on the readings today, I am reminded of the life of our founder, Saint Francis of Assisi, who embodied the values of justice, humility, and simplicity. In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to come to him with our burdens and find rest in his yoke. This invitation is a call to surrender our will to God's will, to let go of our fears and anxieties, and to trust in his loving providence.
In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear words that echo the desires of Francis' own heart. He longed for God's justice to be revealed on earth, and he spent his life striving to bring about that justice through his actions and prayers. For Francis, the path of justice was not about imposing his own will, but about aligning himself with God's will, trusting that God's way is always smooth and peaceful. Before he could help others find peace, he himself had to rely and trust in our Lord to help him with the turbulence in his own heart.
Francis' journey was marked by moments of great struggle and darkness, but he remained steadfast in his devotion to God. He saw himself as a servant of God, rather than a leader or authority figure. He understood that true power comes not from human achievements, but from surrendering to God's will.
In the Gospel, Jesus' invitation to come to him with our burdens is not a call to force ourselves into some kind of self-imposed discipline or rigidity. Rather, it is a call to gentle surrender, to letting go of our need for control and embracing the peace that comes from trusting in God. Jesus' yoke is not heavy or burdensome; it is easy and light because it is centered on his loving presence. There are so many things beyond our control in this life, but we just need to trust. This week has been marked with very dramatic events within the political arena. An assassination attempt was just millimetres from ending the life of former president Donald Trump. He was spared, yet others weren’t and the lives of families have been shattered forever. Having survived the attempt, we are sure that the former
president had much to ponder in the following days, because there is something more important than politics, wealth, honour and power and the pleasures of the world, and that something more important is trying to live God’s will in our lives. We pray for all leaders and authorities and the influencers of this world, that the Lord protect them from the deceiver, the father of lies, who lurks in the background with his demons seeing how to put an end to our relationship with God. It all boils down to that when dealing with the diabolical—the devil’s desire to terminate our connection with our loving Father.
The assassination attempt makes one thing clear: none of us know the day or the hour, when God will allow for us to make our passage from this life to the next, knowing that death and judgment await us all with the possibility of purgatory, heaven, or even, and God-forbid, the eternal torments of hell. While so many things are beyond our control, we need to remember that we do have our free will to try to be more consistently in sync with God’s will. We entrust to him all those things beyond our power. The politicians have a great responsibility to abide by God’s laws. Yet, when they decide to allow immorality to run rampant throughout our countries and the world, again, we must entrust it all to God to whom none of these things are impossible to change.
At the end of the day, he has destined us all to go to heaven, and to be with him forever, but he imposes his eternal love on no one. It is a free choice, which comes with a real, maturing, and gradually unfolding relationship with him. Our Lord in the gospels, strived to make this clear to us. We are in a relationship.
As we reflect on Saint Francis' life and witness, we are reminded that true freedom comes not from achieving great things or accumulating power, but from living in harmony with God's will. Francis knew that true joy and peace come not from external circumstances, but from being centered in God's love. Let us remember these words when in these days political intoxication we can be swept away with the triumphalism each party desires to celebrate. Let us keep our gaze fixed on the crucified Lord Jesus. He is our lighthouse which will see us through our difficult journey.
As we walk our own paths today, may we seek to emulate Francis' example of humility and trust and may we find rest in the knowledge that God's way is always smooth and peaceful, even in the midst of our greatest challenges. All we need to do is take our burdens and our heavy hearts to the Lord who is able to calm the storms of life, and who lovingly brings peace to our hearts and souls. Amen
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