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Yoked to Jesus

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“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 gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” †  Mathew 11: 28-30  What is the labour and burden that Jesus is asking me to deal with? Perhaps I have to let go of the compulsive burden (or is it a sort of entitlement?) that my spouse and children should choose a spiritual path that I know to be right. Jesus accompanied Judas Iscariot to the very end but never deprived him of his freedom to choose his own destiny. Jesus on the other hand, uninterrupted by Judas's choice to reject him, continues to accomplish his mission. He does become a victim of Judas's betrayal but he seldom takes on the victim's identity. In divine wisdom, Jesus chooses to die in our place (and that of Judas) in a redeeming act of love. Rather than being compelled to fix those whom God has entrusted to my headship by m

It is no longer I but Jesus

When I come to realise that my body causes me to sin, I live in conflict with my body. Like St. Paul I lament in despair " how wretched I'm, who will deliver me from this mortal body ". All my efforts seem futile and I'm discouraged. It is not by my sincere striving that I become holy but by my faith in Jesus. My sincere striving must be to believe with absolute certainty that Jesus has taken my broken body and replaced it with His. The word of God says  "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."   [Gal 2:20] When I believe in the word of God that says I'm a new creation, the Holy Spirit makes the Word come true in me. It is the profession of this faith that renews our mind. The body follows suit. The old body with all it's disordered passions is crucified with Jesus. "He hims