Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

title: freedom
date: 02.17.2008
location: st. catherine of siena parish hall [lenten recollection]

From Today's Second Reading:
Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.

commentary: [I apologize for the momentary hiatus last week, I was in the Philippines on account of my grandmother receiving her eternal reward]

I am humbled always by the honesty of people when they come to retreats or recollections. This photo was taken last year during the lenten recollection we had. It was a small/short day for the youth and young adults to take a "break" from the world, and reflect more on their lives during the season of Lent. This picture was from an activity where every person wrote down something that they wanted from God on one side of a card and something that was keeping them from accomplishing that, or something they wanted to get away from on the other side. The author of this card is a mystery to me, but to this day I still have it in my possession - I actually have all the cards from that day still, and often find myself flipping through them and praying for the people who wrote them. They are reminders of the struggles and joys, and truly the hope that the people of God have, and they allow me to meditate on themes such as love, loneliness, and in this case freedom.

The notion of freedom is something that we all seem to want, but often times we don't know what that means, what it is that we really want. St. Paul gives us a different perspective of that in today's reading. He reminds us of the great responsibility and power in our freedom. "Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible." It echoes the great paradox of God who is all free and all-powerful, yet still, he slaved himself to us. What a beautiful a thing. What a challenge. What will you do with your freedom?