Rest for the soul

A great contemporary human problem is fatigue. "How tired or tired I am" many people repeat every day. Others simply say: "I can't take it anymore" and there is another phrase that we hear frequently: "That goes, like this, no one can." All these expressions denote that whoever says them is on the verge of your forces. The most serious fatigue is not physical. No matter how exhausted a person is, a night's sleep, or sometimes just a good bath make us feel like new. There is another fatigue that does not go away so easily. It accumulates day after day and when we wake up each morning it seems that we have before us an inaccessible mountain, impossible to climb. Have you ever felt like this?

Such fatigue has the characteristic of annihilating our desire to live. And it often achieves this regardless of our physical, economic or where we live. People get tired - although sometimes we are used to thinking that they don't - in all parts of the world. Whether you live in Havana, New York, Buenos Aires or any city in Europe, the fatigue that destroys our spirits and paralyzes us is universal. It is caused by recurring situations that, whether family, social or personal, not only escape our control, but also become inseparable companions of our lives.

"Every day is the same," a man desperate for a family situation told me recently to which he, after many years of efforts and good intentions, saw no solution. I listened to his words and watched the house where he lived. There was everything necessary for a comfortable life, free of worries and even much more. If it were for money, this man could solve the problem that afflicted him. But he added, "My life is hell and I'm tired, very tired."

The irony is that those who know him think that he has an enviable, successful and trouble-free life. I am writing this story so that my readers understand that being tired to the point of not believing that you have more strength is a common experience. If you feel like this, I assure you that you are not alone in this world. We all too often feel that way.

That is why the following words of Jesus seem to caress us: Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For you and me they are very comforting words. In a world in which we constantly live at war against many situations and people who attack us, how good it is to know that our Lord is meek and humble of heart and is willing to give rest and peace to our souls!

Many do not believe that the yoke of Christ is easy, as the text says, but all of us who have tried it know that it is true. Life is so much easier — and more restful — when we are united to Christ.

God bless you and keep you!