12/7/2016 - Wednesday of the 2nd week of Advent - Matthew 11:28-30

       It is hard to believe that I arrived in Ecuador more than 20 years ago, in May 1996, in order to serve for three years as a lay missionary.  I remember that at the first year mark, I was reflecting upon my missionary work, really wondering what I had accomplished.  I had arrived in the rain forest jungle, having to acclimate to a tropical climate and a very different culture and a language I did not know.  Yet, reflecting upon in through the lens of my faith, I knew that I was there working in the vineyard of the Lord, there to serve him with all my heart.  Knowing that I was trying to please God and serve God, knowing that I was indeed accomplishing something under difficult circumstances, helped me put everything into perspective. We can feel very burdened by things in life, we can feel overwhelmed by the reality around us.  In the midst of it all, there is Jesus.  We can find rest and encouragement and fulfillment in our relationship with him, in the way our faith can put it all into perspective.  

     In the context of today’s Gospel, I wanted to mention today’s saint - St Ambrose.  He lived in the 4th century, the same century in which the Christian faith became a recognized religion in the Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine.  What is interesting is that Ambrose was the governor of the region of northern Italy when the Bishop died.  Ambrose was chosen as the new bishop by the people, as was the custom in that day.  However, not only was Ambrose not a priest, but he was not even a baptized Christian at the time.  Ambrose was baptized, ordained a priest, and ordained a bishop in a very short period of time.  As Bishop of Milan, Ambrose became an insightful commentator on Sacred Scripture and devoted himself to serving the poor.  Ambrose became the mentor and spiritual advisor of St Augustine, who would become one of the great theologians in the history of the Church. One wonderfully simple but profound quote from St Ambrose is this: “No one heals himself by wounding another.”  May we come to Jesus today with all that weighs us down on our Advent journey, asking for healing for ourselves and for others.