Invited to Find Rest - “Come to the manger”

When I stop in at the grocery store I often see someone from my parish. We stop and chat for a few minutes. An elderly woman told me that she was tired—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Her husband had recently been admitted into a nursing home, and she herself had cancer. She did not know how she could go on. She just did not have the strength. She felt utterly weary and burdened. I am sure we can all put ourselves in her shoes in one way or another.

The season of Christmas, supposedly a time to celebrate, often adds to their weariness, leaving little room for true joy. It’s hard to find time to prepare for Christmas when your time is already full of time for work and raising young kids and everything else that is going on. People on low incomes wonder how they can buy gifts and still make ends meet. Those who are recently bereaved wonder how they can stand the pain of missing their loved one. In my family we remember especially those we lost over previous Christmas seasons.

Perhaps you are weary too. If so, don’t go it alone. Listen carefully to the Lord Jesus as he invites you to come to him. Come to the manger where Christ was born.
Hold him in your arms. Feel his heart beating against yours as he sleeps against you. He will give you rest, the rest you desperately need. Jesus does not promise to take away all your troubles. But he does promise rest for your soul, the most important rest of all. Spend time with him, and you will find his strength and courage to meet the challenges you face.

Lord Jesus, at this time of the year especially, so many of us are exhausted. Open our eyes and show us that we need the rest you came to bring.

Deacon John Girolami
SSVP Spiritual Advisor ONRC