rest
Come to Me, All You Who Are Weary
14th Sunday Ordinary Time
Fr. Joonbin Lim
Preached: July 5, 2026
Perhaps all of us have had moments when the burdens of life felt too heavy. I have had such moments too.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” These words are not only for those who have departed from this world, but also for all of us who are living today under the weight of life.
I still remember the day of my father’s funeral. As my friends and I carried his casket, the weight I felt on my shoulders was far greater than the weight of the wood itself. It was the weight of a life I would now have to live without my father, the weight of a cross I would carry from that day forward.
Even after becoming a priest, the weight of life has come to me in different ways. After visiting the sick and giving the Anointing of the Sick, the faces of those near death and the sorrow of their families sometimes remain in my heart for a long time. When I stand at the ambo carrying that kind of heart, it becomes even more difficult to speak about life and faith. I myself do not fully understand my own life, and my faith is not always firm and unshaken.
But this is probably not only my story. All of us carry our own burdens in life. Even those who seem peaceful may have worries they cannot speak about. Even those who smile may carry hidden sadness. Even those who believe may have moments when their hearts are shaken. In the end, every person in this world carries his or her own cross.
In today’s Gospel, the “wise and the intelligent” are those who believe they already know God and rely on their own righteousness. Jesus is speaking especially of the Pharisees and the scribes. The “infants,” however, are those humble enough to know that they need God’s mercy. The “heavy burdens” refer not only to the struggles of life but also to the burden of the Law that weighed down the people of His time. It is precisely these burdened people whom Jesus invites: “Come to me.”
Life cannot always be explained. Sometimes good people suffer. Sometimes our sincere efforts seem to lead nowhere. Sometimes even believers struggle with doubt. We may not always understand why, but we are never left alone.
Jesus does not speak these words from a distance. He lived these words Himself. He was born in poverty in a manger. He fled to Egypt as a refugee. During His public ministry He had nowhere to lay His head. He was misunderstood, rejected, betrayed, and finally abandoned on the Cross.
As a human being, Jesus entered into the deepest pain of human life. He descended into the deepest depths of human suffering. That is why He alone can truly say, “Come to me.”
The rest Jesus offers is not the promise of a life without burdens. Our crosses do not suddenly disappear. Rather, He promises that we will never carry them alone. When Christ carries the cross with us, it is no longer only a burden of sorrow; it becomes a path of grace, hope, and even transformation.
As I look back on the day I carried the casket, I realize that I was never carrying that weight by myself. The Lord was already walking beside me, even though I could not yet see Him.
The same is true for us today. Whatever burden we have brought into this church, let us not carry it alone. Let us come to Christ with humble hearts. The One who descended into the deepest place of human suffering will walk with us, strengthen us, and lead us to the true rest that only He can give.
Are You A Healthy Catholic?
16th Sunday In Ordinary Time
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: July 18, 2021
Are there any good Catholics in here? I do not think that speaking about good or bad Catholics is a very helpful discussion. The problem is that when we think of “good”, we often think of a conformist, someone who does not disrupt anything, someone who follows all the rules and so on.
But, Jesus would not be considered good in this sense. Jesus was not a good guy, who went along with the crowd, who followed all the rules, and so on. Remember, Jesus was executed by the empire of the day. He was put to death. The empire of the day considered him a problem and the religious authorities of his day supported and encouraged his execution. Jesus would probably not be considered a “good” Catholic by the empires of our day nor by the religious authorities of our day.
When we start making judgements, dividing people into good or bad Catholics, we are usually on the path to being self-righteous. We normally think of ourselves as the good Catholics and see others as the bad Catholics.
It seems to me a much better reflection is to ask myself, am I a healthy Catholic? Are you a healthy Catholic?
In this Gospel we see Jesus call his disciples to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Jesus is concerned with his disciples being healthy. Healthy as human beings, healthy spiritually. One essential need for us to be healthy as human beings and as Catholics, is the need for time of rest. We need time of solitude, time of silence. The church realizes this need with priests. Canon Law requires that a priest does a yearly retreat.
But, all of us in our life need times away from work and doing things. We need silence, solitude, rest that allows us to be healthy. I know that for some of you new parents with young children that can be a challenge!
In the story of Creation from the Book of Genesis it says that God rested on the seventh day. This became the Sabbath principle within the Hebrew tradition. The need for rest is something very human and necessary for a healthy human life.
Jesus and the disciples go off to a deserted place to rest, but soon a crowd finds them. These were needy people. It says when Jesus saw the crowd, “he had compassion for them.” A healthy Catholic is someone who looks out at the world, looks out at others, with eyes of compassion. To see others with eyes of compassion, not judgement, not rejection, not avoidance. A healthy Catholic is one who cares for others.
When I was a vocation director and men were coming to explore the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood, what I was looking for was not, is this man a “good” Catholic. Rather I was looking to see if this man was a healthy human being.
Jesus calls each of us away to a deserted place now and then. A place of silence and solitude and rest. Jesus realizes that this rest is necessary for us to be healthy human beings. Time away for rest and prayer with Jesus is also what opens us to see with the eyes of compassion.
So, do not worry if you are a good Catholic. Rather, are you a healthy Catholic. Make sure you take time for rest and solitude. This will allow you to be a healthy Catholic, one who sees others with the eyes of Jesus, with the eyes of compassion.