Friends of Faith:
“Take, Lord, and
receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will—all that I
have and possess. You, Lord, have given all that to me. I now give it back to
you, O Lord. All of it is yours. Dispose of it according to your will. Give me
love of yourself, along with your grace, for that is enough for me.” –St Ignatius
of Loyola (1491-1556)
I search for truth: for liberty and justice for all. And I
find I need to say nothing, except to quote this week’s scripture and the
prayers of the Saints scattered amongst prayer book after prayer book to remind
me that if I put God FIRST, and never second then I too will have the freedom I
am seeking.
“Brothers and sisters: For freedom
Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of
slavery. For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another,
beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Gal 5: 1,13-18
Serve
God, not the law: don’t abuse the freedoms and the free will that God has given
us (God may have given me a choice, but if it isn’t God’s will, then it might
not be a good choice).
Give him my memory—my memory? (put into my
head, my memory, only what is truly God’s understanding, and forgive and forget
any injustices I may have received so that I may love my “enemies” as
unconditionally as God loves me.)
And a
reminder that the world is made of things to serve our flesh (good things to consume,
look at, buy, and use) but that the Spirit which guides us would only give us
these things to sustain us and to use for the good of others. Food is to
sustain, sex is to procreate and unify a marriage, and time, talent AND
treasures are to give away: so that others may also be filled with Christ
(physically, emotionally and spiritually.)
Only
God’s law IS law: and man’s laws which override the commandments take away our
freedoms instead of protecting them.
“O God our Creator,
from
your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us
the
right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and
your Son, Jesus Christ. Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you
call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing
the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask
you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to
readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us
courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of
your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome— for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Prayer of St. Thomas More, patron for religious freedom)
Happy Independence Day! May you seek and be blessed with the truth
of God, the Spirit of Undivided Liberty and Justice, Joyful Freedom from
worldly desires, and be justified thru the Grace of God.
In Faith,
Charlotte
