First reading Isaiah 26:7-9,12,16-19
‘Awake and exult, all you who lie in the dust’
The path of the upright man is straight,
you smooth the way of the upright.
Following the path of your judgements,
we hoped in you, O Lord,
your name, your memory are all my soul desires.
At night my soul longs for you
and my spirit in me seeks for you;
when your judgements appear on earth
the inhabitants of the world learn the meaning of integrity.
O Lord, you are giving us peace,
since you treat us
as our deeds deserve.
Distressed, we search for you, O Lord;
the misery of oppression was your punishment for us.
As a woman with child near her time
writhes and cries out in her pangs,
so are we, O Lord, in your presence:
we have conceived, we writhe
as if we were giving birth;
we have not given the spirit of salvation to the earth,
no more inhabitants of the world are born.
Your dead will come to life,
their corpses will rise;
awake, exult,
all you who lie in the dust,
for your dew is a radiant dew
and the land of ghosts will give birth.
Responsorial Psalm 101(102):13-21
The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
You, O Lord, will endure for ever
and your name from age to age.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion:
for this is the time to have mercy,
for your servants love her very stones,
are moved with pity even for her dust.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;
he will not despise their prayers.
Let this be written for ages to come
that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners
and free those condemned to die.
Gospel Matthew 11:28-30
My yoke is easy and my burden light
Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
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Come to me, and I will give you rest
Are you stressed and tired by the many things we have to do each day?
Today, let us listen to the gentle voice of Jesus to us who are burdened with loads of responsibility we have and the demands of others, “Come to me…”. Jesus, our Friend and Companion, invites us to a personal and intimate relationship with Him. When we draw close to Him, He will give us the rest we need. “I will give you rest”- This is His promise to us. However, “rest” does not mean that Jesus will remove the works and activities we have to do. Instead, His presence gives us the rest, the peace we need. With Him in us, we can face the daily tasks with renewed strength.
Today, let us listen to the gentle voice of Jesus to us who are burdened with loads of responsibility we have and the demands of others, “Come to me…”. Jesus, our Friend and Companion, invites us to a personal and intimate relationship with Him. When we draw close to Him, He will give us the rest we need. “I will give you rest”- This is His promise to us. However, “rest” does not mean that Jesus will remove the works and activities we have to do. Instead, His presence gives us the rest, the peace we need. With Him in us, we can face the daily tasks with renewed strength.
We need to trust that we are never alone as we walk through each happy and sad moment of life. As we draw close to Jesus in this quiet time of prayer, let us allow His presence to comfort us and give us the inner rest and peace we truly need.
Question for reflection:
How do I respond to Jesus’ gentle invitation, “Come to me”?
How do I respond to Jesus’ gentle invitation, “Come to me”?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
