At Wits End

A young mother was at her wit’s end when her phone suddenly rang.

“Oh mother,” she sobbed. “I don’t know what to do. The baby was up all night sick and still won’t go back to sleep. The house is upside down, and we are having company for dinner tonight. Nothing is getting done, and I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Please, Dear, stop crying,” the woman replied. “Go take care of the baby. I will go to the market for you and pick up the groceries you’ll need for supper. When I get to the house, I will help you tidy up, and we can prepare supper together. When we’re done, I will take the baby for the night so that you can enjoy your guests and get a good night sleep. Before I leave, I will call Charlie and let him know that everything is taken care of.”

The young mother was confused. “Who’s Charlie?”, she asked.

“Why, Dear, Charlie is your husband,” the woman replied.

“My husband’s name isn’t Charlie. It’s Brad,” she said.

“Is this 555-7755?” The woman asked.

“No. It’s 555-7557.”

“Oh no. I’m afraid I’ve dialed the wrong number”, the woman said.

The young woman cried out, “Does that mean you’re not coming over?!”

When we are feeling overwhelmed and do not even know where to begin, it is natural for us to turn to our parents for help. However, they can only do so much. Nonetheless we have a Heavenly Father who knows all our needs and can provide them. He never calls the wrong number but comes to our assistance whenever the burdens of life become too much to bear.

This is the lesson the Israelites learned in the desert shortly after they were freed from slavery in Egypt. Though their captivity was bitter and cruel, they had grown accustomed to never having to worry about having enough to eat. Now the long trek through the hot desert and the hunger they experienced began to make them wonder whether slavery was not so bad after all. God answers by providing abundant manna in the morning and quail in the evening. He shows Himself to be their all-loving Father by not only freeing them from slavery but providing for them on the way to the land He promised them. In the same way He promises to provide for us no matter how great or small our need may be.

In the second reading, Saint Paul encourages us not to live as the Gentiles do. They are stressed out worrying about their needs and are focused solely on how to satisfy themselves. As Christians, we must have a different attitude. We have to eat and work and make a living for ourselves just as unbelievers do. However, we know that we do not have to rely on our own power to meet our needs. We know that we can also rely on our Heavenly Father to bear our burden with us, to carry us when we are unable to go on and to comfort us when the cares of life paralyze us.

We are different from unbelievers not only because we rely on our Heavenly Father, but also because our values and priorities are different. Like the Israelites who wandered through the desert on the way to a promised land, we live our earthly life with our hope fixed on an eternal life with God in heaven. We understand that this world is passing away and that a better world is awaiting us with God. Through faith, we perceive that what seems of utmost importance today will eventually be of little consequence. So, as Jesus tells us, we do not only work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.  Along with our jobs, we take time to pray, to read the Scriptures and receive the Sacraments. We nourish not only our bodies but our souls knowing that both are destined to share eternal life with our Heavenly Father.

That attitude also helps us to endure all the many hardships of life. We know that all things can work for our good. No matter what trials or sufferings we endure, God can use them to strengthen our spirits. Through the difficulties of life God teaches us patience, compassion and perseverance. Even when we face unemployment, sickness and poverty, we trust that God will give us what we need to get through it and that, when this earthly life has ended, the virtues we gained will remain with us. Therefore, we have no reason to fear because our Heavenly Father is in control, and we can trust that He will never forsake us.

Saint Francis de Sales has a beautiful prayer for those of us who find ourselves nurturing regrets over our past or worrying about the future: “Father, I offer up my past to your mercy, my future to your providence and my present to your faithfulness.” At this Mass, God renews His promise to us by offering us the bread from heaven. It is the true bread that endures for eternal life given to us who believe. We receive this bread, the Body of our Lord, with joy knowing that through it we will be strengthened not only to endure the trials of this life but to pass through to the unending joys of the life to come.

Slow Down!

In no other time in human history have we been so busy. Our society values keeping active, and so we fill our calendar with work and social events. The number one complaint most people voice is that they don't have enough time or that they are always rushing. We had hoped that technology would help us by making our work easier, but it has actually gotten worse! Because we have cars, computers and cellphones, we are expected to do more and to be ready for action at a moment's notice. All this rushing around has made health problems such as chronic fatigue, stress and anxiety a fact of modern day life.

We all need to take time out from our harried schedules to rest. Just as rest is important for our physical health, it is supremely important for our spiritual health and well-being. We can recognize immediately when our bodies are tired because we lose energy, our muscles ache and we get sleepy. But do we know when our soul is tired? And where do we turn when our soul feels empty and our spirits need a lift?

Among the symptoms of a tired soul are boredom, loneliness, irritability and anxiety. They are just a few signs that we have not been giving our soul the nourishment it needs.

Too often when we feel lonely or anxious, we turn to the TV, to alcohol or to other empty ways of wasting time in hopes that we'll eventually feel better. Though there's nothing wrong with watching TV or drinking alcohol with friends in moderation, these activities can often deplete us and make us feel even emptier than we felt before. This is especially true when we turn to sinful ways of comforting ourselves.

The only way to refuel our spirits and fill our hearts with joy is to turn to Jesus in prayer. Whether it is through meditation, reading the Bible or going to Mass, when we reach out to Jesus we find the rest our souls are longing for. The anxiety or loneliness that cause us so much heartache is very often a cry from within that something is missing in our lives. That missing piece is Jesus and his love.

The good news is that Jesus is never far from us. We don't have to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to find him. Nor do we have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get his attention. Jesus wants us to know him and wants us to love him. Because of this, he is always near to us when we call on him no matter how sinful we think we are or how undeserving we may feel.

Jesus takes delight in revealing the Father to us. The whole purpose of his life was to teach us how deep and how wide God's love for us is. Because Jesus and the Father are one, whoever sees Jesus sees the Father. Whoever hears Jesus hears the Father. And whoever is touched by Jesus is touched by the Father.

Who is this God whom Jesus reveals to us? He is not a God who is eager to condemn us or to scold us. No, the God of Jesus Christ is a God who is meek and humble, as we hear in the first reading from the prophet Zechariah. He is a God who is close to those who suffer. He is a God who is eager to forgive.

In today's gospel reading, Jesus rejoices that it is the little ones, the dejected and the outcast who gather to hear his words. Because his heart goes out in love to those who suffer and to those who are forgotten, Jesus stretches out his hand in welcome and comfort to all who seek rest in his words and in his presence. He calls out to all those who have lost hope and to all those who are weary from the cares of this world: "Come to me and find your rest."

When Jesus walked the earth, he revealed God's love through the words he spoke and the miracles he performed. In our day, Jesus continues to reveal the love of the Father through the Scriptures and through the Sacraments. When we hear the gospel, we hear Jesus speak. When we are touched by a sacrament - whether it be confession or the Eucharist - we are touched by Jesus himself. Jesus is alive among us giving much needed rest to our souls by revealing God's love and mercy.

God commands us to keep the Sabbath day holy. We observe the Lord's day as a day of prayer and rest. On Sunday, we are called to take a step back from all the hurrying and all the activity of the week to remember why it is that we are doing all this work in the first place. Is all this activity really bringing us closer to our family and loved ones? Is all this work really making us more secure financially? Or is all this running around really a way of avoiding our problems and neglecting our other responsibilities? And where have we been turning when our souls need rest?

As we gather in this place today, we prepare ourselves to receive the supreme gift of God's love and mercy - the Body and Blood of Christ. It is the most important way that Jesus feeds our weary soul. When we approach Jesus in the Eucharist today, let us place all our burdens and worries on his shoulders and receive him with love and devotion. He wants nothing more than that we turn to him and find our rest in him alone.