Referring to Matthew 11:25-30, Fr. Jonas talks about finding rest in Jesus at the 5:30 p.m. Mass at the St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center in Boston on Sunday, July 5, 2026.

Text of the homily

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest,” Jesus said in today’s Gospel.

It’s ironic that this Gospel is proclaimed during this Independence Day weekend, a time of celebration, vacation and rest. But many of us can find vacation and holidays as a time of stress and fatigue that we may need a vacation from our vacation.

Being tired differs from being weary. The first describes a loss of physical energy and the second the depletion of physical and emotional energy.

This difference raises the question of fulfillment. We can be tired yet satisfied that our tasks contribute to higher goals like personal growth, family and the wider community. However, most of us struggle with weariness that declares our work pointless, adding little to the world. The enemy of our human nature exploits that fatigue to hinder our acts of love. He mocks us, “Why bother being good? It’s too tiring. Take the easy way out: lash out, act out and enjoy the pleasures here.” His temptation leads us to anger, frustration and emptiness in our souls.

Instead, Jesus walks among us, loves us and sees our exhaustion and fatigue. He tells us: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.”

Wait a minute! Yoke? Didn’t last week’s Gospel state that we must take up our cross to be worthy of Jesus? Aren’t our crosses heavy?

Yes, crosses are heavy if we consider only our own capabilities. We often overlook another source of energy, which Paul described in today’s second reading: “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.”

The Holy Spirit is our untapped energy reserve, which we received in our Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation. Ask for his help. Through Him, we enter the Trinitarian love of giving and receiving. United to God, we help build the world with acts big and small.

Thus, finding rest in Jesus means reconnecting with God and his deeper purpose. During his public ministry, Jesus prays alone so he can be with the Father. We too must pray and meditate with God over Scripture daily for 10-30 minutes. For example, Venerable Pio Bruno Lanteri advised his Oblates of the Virgin Mary to renew their spirit monthly by meditating on Christ Crucified and the Sorrowful Mother. Sinners brought them agony on Calvary, but salvation triumphed on the Cross. Each Oblate must proclaim that Gospel, that rejuvenation of divine mercy to all.

Finding rest in Jesus also requires humility. Jesus is meek and humble because he receives and gives away freely everything from God the Father. Thus, Jesus praises the Father’s revelation to the meek because they know the essential truth that their sole strength is in the Lord. We too must remember that we can’t do everything. In taking care of the universe, God does all the heavy lifting.

With the Holy Spirit, we find rest and renewal in Jesus and contribute our tiny share to building the Kingdom of God. Paul’s words to Philemon should be our prayer to God: “Refresh my heart in Christ.”