This is the second instalment of the Lent series examining the spiritual journey from the wilderness back home to God. In this video, presenter Fr Michael Tran, explores how our lives fill up with burdens, drawing us away from a true relationship with God. He looks at what these burdens are and how to put them down gently. He discusses how we must depend on God to let these go so that we might follow in the footsteps of Christ.
These videos can be used as an inspirational companion series for parish groups and people undertaking a Lenten prayer journey. Continue watching the series each week of Lent to follow Fr Michael as he travels across dusty roads, sea sides and waterfalls sharing the wisdom of the Church.
Transcript
My dear friends, we all carry burdens. For me it might be the time I’m missing my family, particularly my late father. My culture, loneliness. And for you it might be a grudge against a loved one, or the fear of being judged for your faith. So even things that I think are essential sometimes turn out to be a burden. And we have to pay attention to the things that we pick up along the way. Otherwise our bags fill up with too much. It becomes very heavy. It slows us down. And our life comes to a standstill. And if we keep pushing, that’s when we trip and fall. And here’s the hard truth, we can’t really leave the wilderness until we unburden ourselves. Until we let these things go. During Lent, we are told to fast, give alms and to pray. We give up our comforts so that we can focus on the path ahead. We give up our possessions because they’re worthless where we are going. We lift up our words in prayer because that is what we’re made for. My dear friends, by letting go, we are aligning ourselves to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in the Gospels, to leave everything behind and to follow Him. This seems impossible. And it is by ourselves. But on this journey home, my dear friends, we are not alone. Jesus is by our side to pick us up when we fall. He helps us to put our burdens down gently and by doing so, they might become a path for others to follow. By letting go, we free ourselves to follow Christ. We embrace the true freedom of our identity as children of God. And we make room to receive something new.