A Commentary for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time by Sr. Mildred Wannemuehler, OSB

In reading the section of Matthew for today’s Gospel I am reminded again how our Founder, St. Benedict, was steeped in Scripture. This section brought back many thoughts from our community retreat given by Fr. Brendan Moss, OSB.

Today’s section from St. Matthew follows the chapter where Jesus calls His twelve disciples and sends them out to continue teaching His message about the Father. Today’s section is addressed to the “little ones” who are the recipients of the message. Here I was reminded of the opening of our Rule, “Listen, my daughter, to the master’s instruction, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.” We are called as Benedictines to be students in the School of the Lord’s service.  We follow the Gospel as we “seek God” throughout our lifetime.

Knowing that this learning can become difficult Jesus gives us today
one of the most compassionate invitations of the whole Gospel. “Come
to me all who labor and are burdened..take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” This brought me back to our conference during retreat on simplicity and moderation. A yoke is a heavy burden but it is also a means of balance. Picture the yoke on a pair of oxen. Together they share the weight and the burden. Isn’t our Rule noted for its moderation and balance? Doesn’t St. Benedict assure us that as we “seek God” we don’t do it alone? Doesn’t he refer to many areas in our life that need to be balanced? Out of curiosity I went to RB 80 and found the references to moderation: there were twelve areas listed. Just a few: it must be a quality of the Abbot, it has to be evident in our daily schedules, in the food we eat, in the arrangement of the Psalms, in speech, in punishment and many more.

In conclusion, in today’s Gospel we are reminded of the life we are committed to: we are continual learners, the “little ones” and we need to remember that none of us carries the burdens of life alone.  We are “yoked’ to Jesus and to a group of other women who are also sharing our life with its challenges. We continue the work of Jesus in making the Father known through the Gospel message.