Once I had the opportunity to bless a spa and afterward, I was informed that the business was flourishing. In fact, the spa I blessed was their latest branch in their expansion. Why is there a huge demand, I queried? The owner said that their clients are mostly office workers and they have lots of stress to deal with each day. One way to deal with stress is: get a good massage in a serene environment and the scent of oil.

This brings to mind the words of Christ in the Gospel, “Come to me all you who labor and burdened and I will give you rest.”

How then can Christ give us rest?

1. First, He tells us “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” In other words, we are only passing by in this life. Like any journey, for us to enjoy, we have to travel light. Be it material or be it emotional, the challenge is to travel as light as possible. Hence, when it comes to emotions, Jesus would always say to forgive not only 7 times but 70 x 7 times. When it comes to material things, the challenge is contentment. The rest of our assets we are just stewards on behalf of humanity.
2. Second, Jesus tells us to “Follow Him.” Each person is here on earth because of a mission/purpose/calling. If we are faithful to the calling, no matter how difficult, all things will come to place because it is God who is in control, provides. “When he calls, he provides.” But when we do things our way, then it becomes stressful because we do really find our space in this world.
3. Lastly, a Virtuous life. God is the author of life and his Words are the instructions of life. The problem nowadays is that we have lost our moral compass. We set aside the Word of God because it is not convenient. We hit on the Church and find fault because we do not want to hear her teachings: about abortion, about abstinence, about forgiveness, about giving, about thinking about others before oneself, among many others. Then we wonder why so much fear, anxiety and stress..

That is why in the Mass we must realize that we cannot only live for the material. It is important to remember that we are human beings, composed of body and soul. We must never forget the spiritual. We must not remove God in our lives.