Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." - 2 Corinthians 3:17

"I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts." - Psalm 119:45

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1

Prayer: Lord God, You call us to love all things in You, help us to see how this is the path to freedom, to real deep and true love. Move our hearts to desire this kind of love. Help us to love You with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. Amen.

Freedom in God's Love

When we seek anything less than God it cripples our growth in love. It does not allow us to be free. For us as Christians we want to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then we will find everything else in, with, and through God. 

Here is what I mean. Some classic storyline characters are those who get stuck in the past. Perhaps the captain of a sports team, or some other type of leadership, but rather than seeking God, they seek the glory of their former days. Seeking these past days places their focus there when they were a teenager. Those moments become an Idol and the character has to wrestle with the reality that time keeps moving on. Maybe they try to relive it through their children, but as the plot carries forward in time this only impinges on the freedom of their child and causes friction in the relationship. Both individuals become bogged down. If one or both are the main character of the story then there is a moment of resolution and growth and then the feel good story ends. For us as Christians the story only has a happy ending if we resolve to love God above all things.

If we seek our own glory, honor, power, perhaps we will find it, but perhaps we won't. Maybe what we find is never enough or their is a moment of falling out. Either way when it comes to the Kingdom of God it dead ends, causes us to sink and we never allow ourselves to find the glory of God as that was our main pursuit. The same is true for knowledge, earthly joy, anything apart from God.

We can even fall into this trap if we seek any creature or created good rather than God. If we love our pets, seeking their attention and good apart from God. We will not find the eternal good of knowing and loving God. If we seek to love children or spouse without the love of God it will not lead us to Him.

If we seek God's consolations, good feelings from God, more than God Himself we will risk loosing God Himself.

When we love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, and all our strength, then we see God. We are present to Him. We see His goodness and glory. His power. We see all that God has created in Him, as a gift from Him. That with Him we receive everything, and without Him nothing. And when our love is true, then we want nothing, but God and Him alone.

God give us the grace to love You alone, to love You with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.

May God richly bless you!

-Fr. Jeremy