14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 4/5, 2026

So today we are fortunate to have a guest speaker, our old friend Douglas who stops in from time to time. . .

Hey guys, it’s me again, Douglas, I’m passing through Kansas City to watch a few soccer games and wanted to spend some time with you.  How about that US soccer win, pretty awesome, huh?

Anyway, I wanted to talk to you today about giving your worries, your anxieties, your burdens, your fears and concerns, to God, because none of us have to carry those things on our own. . .

You know, Satan really wants to get ahold of our souls by making us feel alone and overwhelmed and stuck.  Satan wants you to feel as if you have no hope, then he has you in his possession rather than God. . .  But as followers of Christ, we know that we always have hope in Jesus Christ, we don’t have to carry our burdens by ourselves and we don’t have to get overwhelmed.

Let me go back to soccer for a minute.  Every time we have practice, when the end comes, we put all the soccer balls into a big mesh bag.  It ends up being a bunch of balls, some 20 or 30.  And even though soccer balls are filled with air, with that many, the bag becomes heavy.

After one practice, I was the one who had to load up the balls, put them in the bag, and get them out to the coach’s car. I tried to pick the bag up, but just could not do it. It was just too heavy to carry, so I was just dragging it along the ground.

Slowly but surely I was making some progress, but then the coach saw me and said, “Douglas, you don’t have to do that by yourself, let me help you.”  And just like that, I was relieved of the burden, as he got on one end of the bag, I was at the other end, and we carried the bag to the car.

It got me to thinking,  we do the same thing in life. . . sure we get weighed down by a lot of stuff:

• worries about family

• financial burdens

• stress with our jobs and in our relationships

• health problems and concerns

• maybe we are overwhelmed with grief

• or anxious about a move or a new job

• we can worry and fret over peace in the world or the quality of the environment - or whether or not the sun is going to come out tomorrow and whether or not we are going to be alive to see it. . .

We can carry all those things in our minds and our hearts and our lives, and most of us just want to buck up and say, well, that’s life, and I have to do the best I can. And we do just get weighed down. But, and this is the kicker, it doesn’t have to be that way!

Because Jesus has offered to help us, just like coach helped me with the soccer balls.

Jesus us told us very openly and bluntly: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus said that, and he means it!  He doesn’t want us to play the strong man or woman and try to carry all of that on our own. All we have to do is say, “hey God, I need your help with this.”  And God WILL simply love to help us, because God loves us so much, and believe it or not, there are others who love us,  and are willing to help too!  We just have to ask. . .

And the really cool thing is, God is SO BIG, it doesn’t matter how big or heavy your worries, fears, or burdens are. It’s not too big for God.

And so that’s my challenge to you guys today:  that you will be willing to cast all your burdens and fears, and worries and anxieties.  That you will be willing to take all this stuff,  and turn it over to God:  That you will talk with God, pray to God, tell God what is weighing you down, what you are struggling with, what your problems are, what’s keeping you from your dreams or keeping you from being the very best version of yourself.

As a friend of mine always says:  “Let go, and let God” because God loves us all so much,  God wants to help us carry our burdens.

Make the prayer you say at every Mass your prayer everyday:  Lord, by the help of your mercy, may we always be free from sin and safe from all distress as we await in blessed hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Or how about the song we sang at the beginning of Mass:  Leave your worries and fears in the arms of God, and the burdens you carry will fade within God’s care.

Okay, thanks for letting me spend time with you today.  And allow me to say USA, for the soccer team and our 250th anniversary.  I’ll see you next time I’m here in Kansas City,  which may be that football home opener when the Chiefs beat the Broncos. . .