Sunday, July 9 : Saint Aelred of Rielvaux

People who complain about the roughness of the Lord’s yoke may not, perhaps, have cast aside entirely the heavy yoke of worldly lusts… But tell me, what could be sweeter or more restful than no longer to be tossed about by the uncontrolled stirrings of the flesh?… We come close to sharing the tranquil rest of God when insults have no effect on us, when persecutions or penalties have no terror for us, when prosperity or adversity have no influence on us, and when friend and enemy share the same measure of our consideration. This is indeed to resemble closely “Him who makes His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust” (Mt 5,45). All these things are rooted and done in charity, and in charity only, which brings with it true peace and delight, since charity is the Lord’s yoke. And we know that if we answer our Lord’s call and bear his yoke, our souls will find rest, since: “His yoke is sweet and his burden light.” Saint Paul describes charity as “patient and kind; it is not pompous or inflated; it does not seek its own interests and is not ambitious” (cf. 1Cor 13,4-5). The other virtues help us as a carriage bears the weary traveler upon his way, as marching rations strengthen the tired soldier, as a light shows the road by night, or as arms help in winning a battle. But charity, which we must have in conjunction with the other virtues, is in a special way the tired man’s rest, the traveler’s shelter, the voyager’s destination, and the victor’s trophy.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team