Share the Burden

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). These words of our Savior seem to be in stark contrast to the previous chapter from the same Gospel, when we were told that if we do not take up our crosses, we are not worthy of Christ. Connecting these two messages might help us on our faith journeys. Being a follower of Christ surely means that we must embrace the cross, in its mystery of both suffering and triumph. This is something that we need not do alone, for the burden is often too heavy for us to carry by ourselves. Who, then, do we turn to? We can turn to the Body of Christ—the community of disciples gathered for worship. When we find the burden too heavy, let us remember that we can share that burden with our Christian sisters and brothers, who can help bring us rest.

Larry Mastrovich’s PSA Audio

Listen to Larry Mastrovich as he explains what the PSA is and how it can help our parish grow. This audio was taken from Holy Trinity’s 10:30am mass on June 26, 2011.

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Food From Heaven

God sustained the people of Israel for forty years in the desert with manna sent down from heaven, and Moses doesn’t want them to forget it. God brought forth water from stone for them to drink, and Moses doesn’t want them to forget this, ei- ther. And Moses tells them—twice—that the food that God sent was a food that neither they nor their ancestors before them had ever experienced before.

Jesus, too, speaks of food come down from heaven, food that the Jewish people had never experienced before. Recalling the manna in the desert, Jesus doesn’t want them to forget it either, explaining that he is the food and drink of eternal life. And Paul reiterates to the Corinthians and to all of us that in the bread and in the cup, we share in the body and blood of Christ.

Sequence Reading from Pentecost

The Richness Of The Spirit

Students, and most adults recalling their school days, are familiar with the phrase “compare and contrast” that shows up from time to time on tests. Today we hear two different accounts of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Let’s contrast, then compare. Luke’s account from Acts is filled with arresting details: the mighty wind from heaven, the tongues of flame, the miracle of different languages. John’s account seems timid: fearful disciples, the wounded Christ, the expelling of breath from his risen body, not from the sky. Our literal, modern minds wonder which way it happened; our noisy culture probably makes us prefer the former. But if we compare the two, we find that the dazzling richness of the Spirit fills both accounts, for it is the very breath of the risen Christ, ascended to the sky in Luke, that appears to his disciples in John and sends his followers forth to carry on his mission of forgiving sin and proclaiming the mighty acts of God.