Reclaiming Our Freedom

We must remember that doing God's will leads us to freedom from the things that we are enslaved or attached to. This freedom allows us to experience God's love, which is a love greater than anything else in this world. St. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another." Imagine what life would look like being free from an attachment to social media, a certain limiting belief we hold on to, or a certain sin that we are struggling with. Imagine replacing that with doing something that will lead you closer to God such as more frequent confessions, spending more time in prayer and learning different forms of prayer, reading scripture, going to Mass during the week, and sharing the Gospel with friends and family. This is true nourishment that feeds the fire for our love of God and allows us to live a life of holiness.  

These are works that will create holy ripple effects that will have lasting effects in our lives and the lives of others that can create a lasting change. We are all called to be imitators of Christ and the more we surrender ourselves to Him, who is the ultimate good, we will freer in becoming who He is calling us to be and in doing shining brightly as a light before others. The more we die to our ego and our desires of the flesh, the more Christ will live in us and the greater His light will shine through us. The light I speak of are the fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, self-control, faithfulness, and gentleness.  

The fruits are soul expanding qualities while the works of the flesh are soul consuming. For example, love is willing the good of the other; generosity benefits our brothers and sisters; and self-control prevents our ego from causing chaos, division, enmity, etc. When we are led by the Spirit, we become an instrument for the Spirit to dwell in and produce notes of beauty, truth and goodness. And so, we too can be like the Spirit that hovered over the waters of a chaotic world and bring order and life amongst the chaos in our world. Yes, these do require sacrifices, hardships, changes in our schedules, and intentionality, but so does anything that is good for oneself and others and any other action that calls us to deny ourselves and carry our cross. Only through this self-denial can we truly be a disciple of Christ.