Bear one another's burdens

By Barbara A. Schoeneberger

French peasant women tilling soil circa 1917-1920, public domain photo image enhanced

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ. (Gal. 6:2)

When participating in Sunday Snippets this past week, I came across Michael’s post at “To Love and Truth” titled Listening to God’s Soft Whisper. One great thing about the Catholic blogging world is the opportunity to participate in spiritual observations of others, and this post really made me think. The post began:

 We often thank God for sending a particular person into our life.   God blessed us through that person.  It is easy to see God’s action in those He sends into our life in response to our prayer.  It is more difficult to be the person who God sends in response to someone else’s prayer.  [My emphasis.] I am often very conscious of my own needs, aware of the constant pressure points against body, mind, and soul, preoccupied with my own problems, worries, hopes, etc. Sometimes this can cause me to close off others, to be blind to their needs. Yet Jesus expects us to bear one another’s burdens, and in fact not to be anxious over what we shall eat or wear, or anything else because our Father takes care of all our needs (Matt. 6:25-32).

 Forgetting of self to be present to others implies being open to God’s call to be the person He sends to someone else in need. If we are to be God’s gift to someone else, we must constantly be corresponding with His grace to grow in the direction He wills, a scary thought when you come right down to it. We all know how fragile and imperfect we are if we’re honest with ourselves, and how we neglect to follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in us.

Continue reading at Barbara's blog Suffering With Joy.