Blog - June 2019 RSS Feed

The second reading today reminds us of the origins of our freedom. It is, as all things, a gift from God. Paul says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” God wants us to live in freedom. Freedom is our calling. God does not want us to live a buttoned-down, constrained life. He wants us to live a full and abundant life.

But Catholic doctrine and the truths to which it holds don't in and of themselves inoculate us from straying from these words our savior gave us. Discernment is an every day challenge for each of us. We need to ask ourselves, are we closer to an "Our Father" prayer life or something closer to a "My Father" version? This type of discerning is something we need to learn, practice and apply, no matter what age or level of commitment to our faith at which we currently see ourselves.

In this Gospel, Jesus prays for us to come together as one. In fact, he sees us as one already. When Jesus looks at Christians, he does not see us as isolated individuals. He recognizes us as persons, certainly, but as persons in community with one another. He does not see us as apart from each other. His vision is that we are one. If Jesus sees us that way, the implication here is that we should see ourselves the same way.