The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel really hit me. “Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest”. Jesus knows that being overburdened is very much part of us all. We cannot escape it. We might try to pretend that it is not true or that the things can only happen to others. Nevertheless the reality is that very often we face things that cause us anxiety and unpleasantness. What are we going to do in this situation? “Come to me”. Trust me because I know what is going on with you. I am not deaf. I am very interested in what you are going through. He knows exactly what is going on. In the book of Exodus, which is the second book of the Bible, we read about the call of Moses. After forty years of tending sheep for his father in law, Jethro, one day Moses decided to take the flock further from the usual place. Because of this, he encountered God in the burning bush. These are the words that God said to Moses, “I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave drives. Yes, I am well aware of their suffering”. (Ex 3:7)

So, the first thing that I can do when I am surrounded with difficulties is to understand deep down in my heart that I am not alone; Jesus is with me. This is his promise. Because of the confidence that I have knowing that Jesus Christ, is taking good care of me, I will do whatever I can to face what I need to face, or to make right whatever needs to be improved and leave the rest to Jesus Christ. There are situations that I can solve quickly or eventually but there are also other situations where all I can do is to try my best, take the best advice, be guided by competent people but the solution is beyond my control. In these moments, I need to tell Jesus Christ alive in me, “Lord Jesus, you know what I am going through at the moment. I believe that you are with me. Guide me, give me the right wisdom to say what needs to be said, and to do whatever needs to be done and what I cannot achieve I entrust it to you. You know what needs to be said and done I will do my best and you Lord, you do the rest”. This was the attitude of my grandmother as she spent the war years in an underground shelter with ten kids. When I asked her, “Grandma how did you cope with that situation?” her reply was “I did my best and God did the rest”.

This leads us to another important decision that we need to make. When surrounded by adversity there would be the strong temptation either to run away from what we are experiencing or else to make very rash and quick decisions that will eventually make the situation much worse. Because we believe that Jesus Christ is with us, we need to decide to stay there in the mud, in the hurt and in the anxiety. But we stay there not as paralyzed people, but because of Jesus Christ in us we can bring hope and provide a way forward.

During this coming week as a Diocese we will be receiving as guests over five hundred young people from different parts of the world. This evening we have with us eighty young people from South East Asia mainly from Vietnam, Thailand and China. These young people are animated by our Catholic faith and try to live this faith adopting the principles of the YCW. See, Judge and Act. They are here in Bendigo on their way to the World Youth Day events in Sydney to also learn about water conservation because this is an important issue in their countries. They are taking part in a program organized by the South St Albans Catholic parish and the Victoria University.

We have been subjected to so many different views and opinions about World Youth Day. It is easy to give up. It is easy to concentrate on the negative issues. It is easy to point out and embellish the faults and mistakes. As Catholic Christians we need to approach things different. We will make sure that World Youth Day will be a great experience where Catholic Young People from many parts of the world will be together to celebrate our faith and to be guided to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the attitude displayed by Janet Fraser in an article in the “Weekend Australian”. She writes “The point is, that many pilgrims coming to Sydney are from poverty stricken, war-ravaged countries …… an organization called Aid to the Church in need is coughing up $66,000 to bring 44 youngster from Sudan: they’ve never known anything but violence and fear ……. Forty pilgrims are coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina as ambassadors of peace following the Balkan wars and ethnic cleansing ….. Tonga has never sent a pilgrim to WYD; this time it is sending 800 ….. Solomon Islanders are selling coconuts to get here ….. How could anyone feel resentful about their coming? …. And we are complaining about traffic jams and other inconveniences. Their presence should humble us spoilt brats”.

In short when faced with difficult situations we are called to adopt the attitude of one of the great saints of the church, St John of the Cross. What I am going through is not all right. It’s a mess. But you are not alone in this. God is present in this. Now is the time not to loose faith in Him.

Don’t panic, God never abandons those who seek Him.

God Bless