“Responding to the Invitation of the Lord!”
(Based on Is 40:25-31 and Mt 11:28-30 – Wednesday of the 2nd Week in Advent)
Many of us would have come across the acronym “RSVP” in Invitations for marriage, baptism, birthdays, wedding anniversaries or some other social events.
RSVP stands for Repondez S’il Vous Plait ( in French) which is translated as
Reply, If you please!
The purpose of this RSVP is that the person sending the invitation, would like you to tell him or her, whether you accept or decline the invitation.
Today, Jesus, the King of all Hearts, presents a thrilling and a pleasant invitation…”Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden…”(Mt 11:28)
Every invitation is to contain “By Whom”, “To Whom”, “What” and a “When!”
Let’s analyse these aspects in the Invitation of the Lord
- By Whom is the invitation:
Jesus came into the world, primarily as a Saviour!
He’s in deep love with us!
“…You are precious in my eyes and I love You!” (Is 43:4).
As a Beloved Lover, it is He who tugs at the strings of our hearts & beckons us to Himself.
- To Whom is the invitation:
Jesus extends His cordial and warmest invitation to each one of us who is weary and heavy-burdened….personally!
The Greek word for Weary is ‘Kopiao’…which means to toil & become weary to the point of exhaustion!
Weary could refer to the internal exhaustion caused by seeking Divine Truth through mere Human Wisdom.
Heavy Laden could be the external burdens caused by futile peripheral efforts & works to seek the Divinity.
Many of us certainly, reach the point of exhaustion and fatigue in our everyday works and life and in our search for salvation.
Yes, You and I – each one of us – is today, an honoured and a privileged Invitee!
“Behold, I stand at the door and Knock!” (Rev 3:20).
- What is the invitation?
To rest in His Sacred Heart & to Learn from Him Gentleness and Humility.
A haughty heart robs the person of spiritual insights…
Pride renders a person to look only to oneself; the gaze on the Lord is considered meaningless.
This is where the Pharisaic Mentality went wrong.
They saw legalism as the vehicle to heaven.
They lost sight of God’s desire for the heart.
They glorified the Law of Moses, but failed to see the Glorious God of the Law!
The Kingdom belongs to the Gentle and Humble…
… and that’s what Jesus invites us to learn!
- When is the invitation?
NOW!
“Why delay good things in life, isn’t it?”
The Yoke of the Lord is easy… because it is HE who takes up the burden…
… we are only sharers in His Divine Yoke!
He gives us a yoke which is made to fit our needs and abilities perfectly well!
And the Time is NOW!
The Invitation is already posted and the Master is waiting!
What is our Response….
RSVP…. Repondez S’il Vous Plait?
Today we also seek the intercession of St Ambrose of Milan, whose feast we celebrate.
He was the Bishop of Milan, a Biblical critic, a doctor of the Church
His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns.
He is also remembered as the teacher who converted and baptized St. Augustine of Hippo, the great Saint!
Let us give heed to the exhortation of St Ambrose:
“Open wide your door to the one who comes.
Open your soul, throw open the depths of your heart to see
the riches of simplicity…
… the treasures of peace, the sweetness of grace.
Open your heart and run to meet the Sun of eternal light that illuminates all men!”
God Bless! Live Jesus!
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE CONFESSION OF SINS
The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others.
Through such an admission, man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them…… and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible. (CCC # 1455)
Reflection Capsules 