Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest

In a recent Sunday gospel reading, Christ proclaimed these significant words. Naturally I was drawn to the message of the gospel, but also its relationship to the work we do at Catholic Social Services (CSS) on behalf of Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M., and all of the Catholics who make up the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau. As I learned from our homilist that Sunday, Christ was referring to each of us being invited to take his yoke upon us as symbolism for being joined more closely to him and, in turn, more closely to our God and creator.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest in me.” This is a good part of our mission here at CSS. We strive to give rest to the weary traveler, food to the hungry, and welcome to the stranger, the immigrant or refugee far from home often without the support of family and in need of housing and employment. In 2025 alone, CSS housed nearly 1,500 men, women and children in our three shelters. We served almost 1,300 clients through our refugee and immigration support services, and we fed 13,953 people through the St. Francis House food pantry, the largest and only daily food pantry operation in Alaska.

Fr. David Nations, C.M. and the men’s group from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Anchorage grill burgers for Brother Francis Shelter in June. (Courtesy of Catholic Social Services)

We don’t do these things  just to spread our faith, but also, by doing these things and supporting these services to the needy, marginalized, and most vulnerable among us, we are more closely living our faith and the teachings of Jesus Christ who bids us time and again: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, and welcome the stranger. As He says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Nor are these efforts a byproduct of our faith. In fact, they are central to who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI in his 2006 encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” (“God is Love” in Latin) identified the threefold duty of our faith: to proclaim the Word of God, celebrate the sacraments and exercise the ministry of charity. Likewise, Pope Francis emphasized throughout his pontificate that the obligation of all Catholics is to offer accompaniment, service, and mercy to the most vulnerable among us.

In the gospel reading I mentioned, Matthew 11:25-30, Christ goes on to say, “For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” I like to think that by yoking ourselves more closely to our brothers and sisters in need, in crisis, or in fear, we are more closely following the teachings of Christ and hopefully becoming closer to Christ Himself and the Father. The more we can volunteer or contribute to the efforts of our Church through CSS and other chartable works the lighter our burden will be and the lighter we can make the burden for our brothers and sisters in need. God bless you all who serve and thank you for your ongoing support.