Daily Thought For March 7, 2020
Jesus Says, "Come to Me"
What is most burdensome in life . . . is a lack of love. It weighs upon us never to receive a smile, not to be welcomed. Certain silences are oppressive, even at times within families, between husbands and wives, between parents and children, among siblings. Without love, the burden becomes even heavier, intolerable. I think of elderly people living alone, and families who receive no help in caring for someone at home with special needs. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden," Jesus says (Matthew 11:28).
Dear families, the Lord knows our struggles; he knows them. He knows the burden we have in our lives. But the Lord also knows our great desire to find joy and rest! Do you remember? Jesus said, ". . .that your joy may be complete" (cf. John 15:11). Jesus wants our joy to be complete! He said this to the apostles, and today he says it to us. Here, then, is the first thing I would like to share with you this evening, and it is a saying of Jesus. "Come to me, families from around the world," Jesus says, "and I will give you rest, so that your joy may be complete." Take home this word of Jesus, carry it in your hearts, share it with the family. It invites us to come to Jesus so that he may give this joy to us and to everyone.
Pope Francis - Address to the Pilgrimage of Families, St. Peter's Square October 26 2013