Come and Be Lovingly Hugged by Jesus

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
06 July 2008

We are God’s people, the sheep of his flock:
come,let us worship him, alleluia.

First reading Zechariah 9:9 - 10
Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion!
Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!
See now, your king comes to you;
he is victorious, he is triumphant,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He’ will banish chariots from Ephraim
and horses from Jerusalem;
the bow of war will be banished.
He will proclaim peace for the nations.
His empire shall stretch from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 144

Second reading Romans 8:9 - 13
Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.

Gospel Matthew 11:25 - 30
At that time Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘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.’

Reflection
By Anabelle Payod-Balla



How I long to be hugged and cuddled like this by Jesus! Just by looking at these pictures, I already get that feeling of complete solace. I feel peace and an overwhelming gladness within me. These pictures bring back memory when I was inside St Joseph Parish’s Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel in Gagalangin, Tondo. I was praying earnestly and I felt Jesus was hugging me. It made me sob, really sob that I cried my heart out. It felt so great to let it all out with Jesus hugging me. That memory is so vivid that I can still feel the joy deep within me. It is truly euphoric!

This Sunday’s gospel is all about Jesus offering us rest and comfort. This is the key message that I wish all of you will take to heart. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble at heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is good and my burden is light.” He is calling us, “COME TO ME”. What a very warm and sweet invitation! Jesus already made the first move, now is our turn to respond. All we have to do is to take that step, walk towards Him and hug Him back.






Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. We long for Your warm embrace, please hold us close and keep us within the circle of your arms all days of our lives. Amen.

Turn to Jesus today and He will give you the most satisfying rest you could ever hope for.