A Christian finds God to be a blessing

Father Paul Hesse is pastor at St. Pius X Parish in Corpus Christi.
 

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For the past several weeks, I have been working on a personal goal, which is to trim down some of my weight. While I do not consider myself excessively overweight, I realized that I have a need to live a healthier lifestyle and to do some things that would improve my overall quality of life. By the same token, it would also enable me to be a more effective servant. 

So far, I have made some decent progress losing a few pounds and I notice the benefits. What precipitated this desire on my part? Well, I noticed an increased difficulty in doing something that priests always do—kneeling and genuflecting. I knew that when I was unable to do a complete genuflection, something was wrong. 

Unfortunately, one of the occupational hazards of a priestly vocation is food. This is particularly true at St. Pius X where opportunities for eating abound. So, with the help of my staff and a rigorous regimen of what foods I eat, I have embarked upon a new lifestyle that is paying off. It is not always easy, but I attribute my gains—or losses, as it may be—to God. 

This new lifestyle has not been quite as difficult as I anticipated. I do confess that there are moments when I would love to have pancakes drizzled with syrup or a batch of fresh French fries, but for the most part, I have not had too much craving for those things. 

I certainly have to credit God for my recent discipline in this regard. I could not do this without prayer. While changing eating habits can hardly be considered a major challenge or adversity, it nevertheless represents one of many struggles we face in life. 

Anyone who has lived any length of time on Earth knows that life can often be burdensome. There are lots of things that we have to do that we do not want to do. There are lots of situations that arise in our lives that really test our mettle. Sometimes, we feel overwhelmed or even oppressed by life’s burdens. Sometimes the burden is a health problem, sometimes it is the loss of someone we love, sometimes it is a relationship problem and other times it is a work-related situation. 

There are innumerable things that can weigh heavily upon us. What I find interesting these days is that some people find belief in God to be burdensome. Increasingly, there are people who are turning away from God and religion. They are seeking liberation from what they see as an imposition on their will and personal freedom. They do not want the “restrictions” that religion places upon them or they resist the moral requirements that belief in God brings. They dismiss God as a figment of the imagination. 

By dismissing God, they dismiss the relevancy of any call to virtue that God may place on them. In the end, they feel that any kind of belief in God is too confining—that it obstructs freedom and creates a burden that is unnecessary to carry. Without knowing it, though, they are really subjecting themselves to greater isolation, deeper slavery to their own passions and increasing discontent. They have no clue that by alienating themselves from God and religion, they are ultimately creating a harsher reality for themselves and the world around them. 

A Christian, on the other hand, finds God to be a blessing. Rather than being an imposition or a burden, a true follower of Christ finds freedom and strength in God. God enables such a person to find a greater ability to grapple with the harsh aspects of life. Prayer and faith carries a believer through the turbulent seas of life and ultimately helps him or her to draw upon inner resources where the peace of God resides. I cannot imagine how an atheist deals with life’s burdens. Dealing with problems all alone should be utterly crushing in my opinion.

Jesus extends an invitation to all in the Gospel, “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 meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light (Mt 28-30).”

Whenever life starts to weigh heavily upon us, it is so much easier to deal with when we bring it to Christ. He does not necessarily remove the weight of burden from our lives, but he certainly gives us the ability and the strength to handle it. His power helps to lighten the load we carry. He spurs us on and encourages us to stick with it. 

This has been true for me when I have faced seemingly insurmountable difficulties. I know the same is true for most, if not all of you. I certainly would not be able to change my dietary lifestyle without Jesus’ help. Whenever anyone of us is overwhelmed by life, we will certainly not find help by turning away from faith. It is precisely when we submit ourselves to Jesus and take his yoke upon our shoulders that we find freedom and life. At the outset, it may seem like a burden to submit ourselves to Jesus, but in the end, it will empower us to greater resilience and deeper rest. 

God bless!