DAILY MASS, GOSPEL AND COMMENTARY: “LEARN FROM ME, FOR I AM MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART”
(Mt 11:25–30).
(Mt 11:25–30).
Gospel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Year A
At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Gospel Commentary from the Navarre Bible, Commentary to the Gospel of St. Matthew (with permission)
25-26 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
- The wise and understanding of this world, that is, those who rely on their own judgment, cannot accept the revelation which Christ has brought us.
- Supernatural outlook is always connected with humility. A humble person, who gives himself little importance, sees; a person who is full of self-esteem fails to perceive supernatural things.
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”27
- Here Jesus formally reveals his divinity. Our knowledge of a person shows our intimacy with him, according to the principle given by St Paul: “For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him?” (1 Cor 2:11).
- The Son knows the Father by the same knowledge as that by which the Father knows the Son. This identity of knowledge implies oneness of nature; that is to say, Jesus is God just as the Father is God.
28-30 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
- Our Lord calls everyone to come to him. We all find things difficult in one way or another.
- The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus. Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere people feel. Only our Lord, our Master — and those to whom he passes on his power – can sooth the sinner by telling him, “Your sins are forgiven” (Mt 9:2).
- In this connexion Pope Paul VI teaches: “Jesus says now and always, ‘come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; he is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life” (Homily on Corpus Christi, 13 June 1974).
- “Come to me”: the Master is addressing the crowds who are following him, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36).
- The Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf. Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls.
- Jesus tells these people, and us, about the kind of burden he imposes: “Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christ’s actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christ’s gives you wings. If you take a bird’s wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies” (St Augustine, Sermon 126).
- “All you that go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to me, and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you” (St John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, book I, chap. 7, 4).
VIDEO COMMENTARY ON TODAY’S GOSPEL
to reveal Himself to you and provide You with His directions?
A great and foolish King complained that the rough ground hurt his feet, so he ordered the whole country to be carpeted with cowhide. The court jester laughed when the King told him of his order. “What an absolute crazy idea, Your Majesty,” he cried. “Why all the needless expense? Just cut out two small pads to protect your feet!” That is what the King did. And that is how the idea of shoes was born.
If we desire for a world free of pain, we must take great pains to change our heart and not the world.
In today’s gospel, Jesus praises the Father for revealing things to the little ones and not to the wise. “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” (Matthew 11:25). Why, you may ask? It is because the wise may be too full of themselves that they don’t leave space for God to insert Himself in.
Oftentimes, we are the creation of our own imagination. When we succeed at something, our heads swell with pride, not realizing that if not for others, and certainly without God’s blessings, we will be nothing. Our pride at being “self-made” is really the fruit of many people who came into our life, again allowed by God, who sacrificed and suffered so that we may be who we are today.
Humility allows us to recognize that our success is like a cup of halu-halo – whose delectable sweetness and yumminess is due to the layering of sweetened beans, fruits, shaved ice drizzled with evaporated milk, and ice cream; in other words, not solely due to one ingredient.
We need the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is pierced by thorns and a cross hanging over it, to remind us to rid ourselves of the selfishness, insecurities, bloated fears, diminishing faith and swelling pride that may envelope us when we feel we are on top of the world and/or crushed under the weight of the world.
He suffered. He offered. We must also acknowledge that we too will and must suffer. Or we have nothing to offer. If our hearts are made to listen to God, it must empty itself first of the pride that seeks to crowd out God’s love. We cannot do it alone. We need the grace of God.
Thus, Jesus tells us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). You want to know what is the secret weapon of St. Padre Pio’s miracles? It starts with the prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.