Simplicity of heart is closely linked with humility; the queen of virtues that forgets oneself in order to love and serve others for their sake. The humble of heart are the freest of all emptied of vanity and self-concern they can single-mindedly focus on the welfare of others. The Lord Jesus is our model. He proclaimed to his disciples, “I am gentle and lowly of heart” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus came “not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for the many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus’ “gentleness” is not weakness or powerlessness. It is “strength under control” which is at the service of good rather than evil. True humility – which is the opposite of false modesty or feeling bad about oneself frees us to pursue what is good, right, holy, and true. Scripture tells us that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). What does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the Gospel (Matthew 11:29) The Jews used the image of a yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, the yoke of God. Jesus says his yoke is “easy”. The Greek word for “easy” can also mean “well-fitting”. Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen well. We are commanded to put on the “sweet yoke of Jesus” and to live the “heavenly way of life and happiness”. There’s a story of a man who once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. “That’s a heavy load you are carrying there,” exclaimed the man. “He ain’t heavy; he’s my brother!” responded the boy. No burden is too heavy when it’s given in love and carried in love.