The Treat of Hallowe'en

Happy All Saints' Eve! Happy All Hallows Eve! Happy All Hallows Even! Happy All Hallows E'en! Happy Hallowe'en! Happy Hallowmas Eve!

Let's play trick or treat!

Trick! Get distracted from your eternal destiny as a saint by celebrating tonight as a spook-fest and concentrating on (limited and already conquered) powers of darkness, letting Satan trick you into thinking he can intimidate you and scare you as if he were God's equal.

Treat! Remember your eternal destiny and that God not only calls you to be a saint but he promises to make you one (1 Thes 5:23-24) by celebrating tonight as a holy-day. You can still dress up and have candy, either by dressing as something dark, remembering that Jesus has over come all evil and gives us the ability to as well, or by dressing as a saint. And candy and treats are as equally valid on feast days too! Remember, liturgically speaking, the Solemnity of All Saints begins this evening.

Okay, now you pick. Trick or treat?

The Full Measure of God's Grace

I was struck by this morning's first reading from Ephesians 4:7-16:

Grace was given to each of usaccording to the measure of Christ's gift.Therefore, it says:
He ascended on high and took prisoners captive; he gave gifts to men.
What does 'he ascended' mean except that he also descendedinto the lower regions of the earth?The one who descended is also the one who ascendedfar above all the heavens,that he might fill all things.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,for building up the Body of Christ,until we all attain to the unity of faithand knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhoodto the extent of the full stature of Christ,so that we may no longer be infants,tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teachingarising from human trickery,from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.Rather, living the truth in love,we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,from whom the whole Body,joined and held together by every supporting ligament,with the proper functioning of each part,brings about the Body's growth and builds itself up in love.

Normally we are so caught up in looking at this reading as being about the various ministries raised up by Jesus Christ that we completely miss the main point Paul makes in the beginning about grace.

Let's hear that first verse again. "Grace was given to each of us according to the full measure of Christ's gift." In Greek it is "Ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡχάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ." Literally this means "To each one of us has been given the grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." As in English, so in Greek, "the gift of Christ" can be either, "Christ's gift," i.e. whatever Christ chooses to give (which may tempt us to think that Christ is arbitrary and plays favorites), or "the gift that is Christ." Given the context that Christ is to "fill all things" and that "we all" are to "attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the extent of the full stature of Christ," again all of us not some of us, the reading seems pretty clear. Though Christ has given different ministries of service and hence different "graces" to different people, we are all given the same measure of grace to attain to perfect maturity in Christ Jesus, a measure as deep as the infinity of the Godhead, everlasting and immeasurable, as is the height and depth and length and width of the love of God, who has given us himself by giving us Christ Jesus (cf. Eph 3:18). Truly then, by not sparing Christ Jesus, but rather giving him up for me and to me (especially in the Eucharist), God the Father has truly graced me with all things besides along with gracing me with the gift that is Jesus (cf. Rom 8:32 the Greek uses "χαρίσεται" "to give graciously, give freely, bestow" i.e. "to grace" where most modern translations use "give".). We remember that "grace builds upon nature and perfects it," according to the scholastic axiom. Therefore, in giving me Jesus, the Father has given me every grace according to the fullness of His very Godhead, not only in regard to my own sanctification - how I can fail to become a saint is now only a matter of what can stand in the way of my receiving the full measure of this grace, my vices and sins and especially my unbelief - but also in regard to the sanctification and salvation of everyone else. This seems a bold statement even as I think it and write it, but I am reminded by the upcoming feast of All Saints that the intercession of the saints indeed distributes to others grace from Christ as if it were the possession of the saints because Christ has indeed shared with them his salvific mission. They are completely united in him. Won't I, then, in heaven, and certainly more perfectly than here below, be one who distributes to others grace from Christ? Then what is to say that very role does not start here? Why else would the Church ask its members to lift up prayers of petition and intercession for themselves and for the world?

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Mt 7:7-8. How true this is when one is asking for the good of others just as one has already received in Christ as much grace as the depths of God himself!

The Pro-life Stance

Sr. Joan's commentary is right on. Unfortunately, there are two kinds of reaction that people will have to what she says that will not help solve the problem. The first is the reaction of those who see how she shows the lacuna in the politically prolife stance and therefore think that their politically pro-abortion rights stance is justified. They end up doing nothing except agreeing with Sr. Joan in a smug "see-my-abortion-position-is-justified" fashion. The second is the reaction of those who notice that not all prolifers stick to only the political issue and feel slighted. They end up doing nothing but indignantly defending how their position is still justified (because it is right to defend life) and pointing out where Sr. Joan falls short (anyway, one doesn't have to take her words as a straight definition of all that exists and nothing more). The argument over, they go back to ignoring the needs of the poor.

Those whose faith influences their politics, and not vice versa, will recognize the wisdom of her words and seek to become the people who are both against abortion in all senses (its legality too) and who put their money where their mouth is by helping take care of children from crisis pregnancies. Let's pray that the Lord will give us the grace to be men and women of this kind of integrity to not just speak the truth but to live the truth as well so that we may truly be pro-life through and through.

How to Take Up the Cross: Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A

When it comes to picking up our cross there are two general attitudes. One says suffering and pain are to be avoided at all costs. Another says we must take up our cross and then God will bless us. Which of these two attitudes, dear brothers and sisters, is the Christian attitude? ... The answer, surprisingly, is neither. In the gospel Christ teaches us not to shun the cross, but he does not say that we are to bear it own our own strength like John Wayne. Rather our giving of ourselves, our self-sacrificing is to be done by God's strength, by the mercies of God, as Paul tells us in the second reading. We know St. Paul as the kind of guy who tried so hard to be perfect. And when he wanted to overcome a certain weakness he prayed and heard Christ say that his grace was enough, that his power is made perfect in weakness. This is why Paul would often say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It was not Paul's ability to face the cross, but Christ's strength enabling Paul to go through being jailed, whipped, lost at sea in a storm and shipwrecked all in his life as a witness to the gospel. Paul was no John Wayne. It was Christ that strengthened him in his prayer and through the sacraments.

We too dear brothers and sisters are called to face trying times. More immediately we have Hurricane Irene bearing down on us. After it has passed, we will be called upon to work for the good of our neighbors, feeding those who are without food, clothing those without clothes, giving shelter to those who have lost their homes, burying the dead, and consoling those who are grieving loss of loved ones or belongings. Where then are we to get this strength? My dear brothers and sisters, it is precisely in our Eucharistic celebration, it is in our prayer that God gives us the strength to face the coming storm and to face the cross of the aftermath. Here we offer to God ourselves, our hands, our feet, our willingness to serve others, and God renews in us the grace of His Holy Spirit, giving us a wellspring from which to draw strength when our hearts our thirsty and tired of giving. It is precisely here that we are called to standout and make a difference. It was by His becoming a human being, by His incarnation that Christ revealed to us the love of God. We too can reveal to others the love that God has given us, the love that God renews in us at this mass, through our works of mercy. It can be something as simple as helping a neighbor repair his fence or helping the elderly woman down the street to clear debris out of her yard. Whatever we chose to do we will be laying down our lives as Christ has asked of us, taking up the cross, with the strength that Christ himself gives us in the Eucharist. May the Lord give you His peace.

Tribulations

You know what they say about hearing the same thing three times in one day.

I woke up this morning with the song Everlasting God on my heart which of course speaks about drawing one's strength from God in the midst of trials,reminding us that "they that wait upon the Lord will have their strength renewed" (Is 40:31).

I wanted to post the song to my Facebook profile as my song for the day when I found a message from a friend who felt inspired to send me this reflection from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, Book 3, Chapter 47.

EVERY TRIAL MUST BE BORNE FOR THE SAKE OF ETERNAL LIFE

THE VOICE OF CHRIST: MY CHILD, do not let the labors which you have taken up for My sake break you, and do not let troubles, from whatever source, cast you down; but in everything let My promise strengthen and console you. I am able to reward you beyond all means and measure. You will not labor here long, nor will you always be oppressed by sorrows. Wait a little while and you will see a speedy end of evils. The hour will come when all labor and trouble shall be no more. All that passes away with time is trivial. What you do, do well. Work faithfully in My vineyard. I will be your reward. Write, read, sing, mourn, keep silence, pray, and bear hardships like a man. Eternal life is worth all these and greater battles. Peace will come on a day which is known to the Lord, and then there shall be no day or night as at present but perpetual light, infinite brightness, lasting peace, and safe repose. Then you will not say: "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" nor will you cry: "Woe is me, because my sojourn is prolonged." For then death will be banished, and there will be health unfailing. There will be no anxiety then, but blessed joy and sweet, noble companionship. If you could see the everlasting crowns of the saints in heaven, and the great glory wherein they now rejoice -- they who were once considered contemptible in this world and, as it were, unworthy of life itself -- you would certainly humble yourself at once to the very earth, and seek to be subject to all rather than to command even one. Nor would you desire the pleasant days of this life, but rather be glad to suffer for God, considering it your greatest gain to be counted as nothing among men. Oh, if these things appealed to you and penetrated deeply into your heart, how could you dare to complain even once? Ought not all trials be borne for the sake of everlasting life? In truth, the loss or gain of God's kingdom is no small matter. Lift up your countenance to heaven, then. Behold Me, and with Me all My saints. They had great trials in this life, but now they rejoice. They are consoled. Now they are safe and at rest. And they shall abide with Me for all eternity in the kingdom of My Father.

Soon after reading this I went over to Church for my Holy Hour. And as today is the Memorial of St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, CSSR, I came across excerpts of his meditation on the advantages of tribulations in my Magnificat.

THE ADVANTAGES OF TRIBULATIONS

What things soever were written were written for our learning, that through patience and the comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. (Epistle of Sunday. Rom. xv. 4-13).

In tribulations God enriches His beloved souls with the greatest graces. It is in his chains that St. John comes to the knowledge of the works of Jesus Christ. Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which we are chastised have happened for our amendment and not for our destruction (Judith, viii. 27).

I.

By tribulation we atone for the sins we have committed much better than by voluntary works of penance. "Be assured," says St. Augustine, "that God is a physician, and that tribulation is a salutary medicine." Oh, how great is the efficacy of tribulation in healing the wounds caused by our sins! Hence the same Saint rebukes the sinner who complains of God for sending him tribulations. "Why," he says, "do you complain? What you suffer is a remedy, not a punishment." Job called those men happy whom God corrects by tribulation; because He heals them with the very hands by which He strikes and wounds them. Blessed is the man whom God correcteth... For he woundeth and cureth. He striketh, and his hand shall heal (Job v. 17). Hence, St. Paul gloried in his tribulations: We glory also in tribulations (Rom. v. 3).

Tribulations enable us to acquire great merits before God, by giving us opportunities of exercising the virtues of humility, of patience, and of resignation to the divine will. The Blessed John of Avila used to say that one Blessed be God in adversity is worth more than a thousand in prosperity. "Take away," says St. Ambrose, "the contests of the Martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns." Oh, what a treasure of merit is acquired by patiently bearing insults, poverty, and sickness! Insults from men were the great object of the desires of the Saints, who sought to be despised for the love of Jesus Christ, and thus to be made like unto Him.

My Jesus, I have hitherto offended Thee grievously by resisting Thy holy Will. This gives me greater pain than if I had suffered every other evil. I repent of it and I am sorry for it with my whole heart. I deserve chastisement: I do not refuse it: I accept it. Preserve me only from the chastisement of being deprived of Thy love, and then do with me what Thou pleasest. I love Thee, my dear Redeemer! I love Thee, my God! And because I love Thee, I wish to do whatever Thou wishest. Amen.

II.

St. Francis de Sales used to say: "To suffer constantly for Jesus is the science of the Saints; we shall thus soon become Saints." It is by sufferings that God proves His servants, and finds them worthy of Himself. God hath tried them and found them worthy of himself (Wis. iii. 5). Whom, says St. Paul, the Lord loveth he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Heb. xii. 6). Hence, Jesus Christ once said to St. Teresa: "Be assured that the souls dearest to My Father are those who suffer the greatest afflictions." Hence Job said: If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil? (Job ii. 10). If we have gladly received from God the goods of this earth, why should we not receive more cheerfully tribulations, which are far more useful to us than worldly prosperity? St. Gregory informs us that, as a flame fanned by the wind increases, so the soul is made perfect when she is oppressed by tribulations.

In fine, the scourges of Heaven are sent, not for our injury, but for our good. Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which, like servants, we are chastised, have happened for our amendment and not for our destruction (Judith, viii. 27). "God," says St. Augustine, "is angry when He does not scourge the sinner." When we see a sinner in tribulation in this life, we may infer that God wishes to have mercy on him in the next, and that he exchanges eternal for temporal chastisement. But miserable the sinner whom the Lord does not punish in this life! For those whom He does not chastise here, He treasures up His wrath, and for them He reserves eternal chastisement.

O Will of God, Thou art my love! O Blood of Jesus, Thou art my hope! I hope to be from this day forward always united to Thy Divine Will. It shall be my guide, my desire, my love, my hope. Thy Will be done! My Jesus, through Thy merits grant me the grace always to repeat: Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!

Ah, my blessed Mother Mary, thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, obtain for me, by thy merits, sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of life which will always be light in comparison with my demerits for I have often deserved hell. Immaculate Virgin, from thee do I hope for help to bear all crosses with patience. Amen.

So I guess I am to infer that God is preparing me for tribulations. And if that be His holy will, then blessed be God!

Back in the US of A.

So, I've been back in the US since March assigned again in the same parish I was before going down to Honduras. I have just been lazy in posting to my blog. Some day I will write up a reflection on my time in Central America and how I saw God's providence even in taking from me the thing I thought He was calling me to: namely mission work.

A New Assignment: Honduras

As of August 10th, 2010, I will be transferred down to Honduras. Here is a little blurb I wrote up for the parish bulletin that explains the situation. Names have been removed for privacy sake.

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Dear brothers and sisters,


When my provincial asked me this summer to consider an immediate transfer to Honduras, my heart sank. I asked myself: who would want to give up the fraternal support of Fr. X and Br. Y and the warmth and vibrancy of the people of St. Z? And yet as I began praying over this decision I remembered, from when I first started discerning a call to religious life, how much I wanted to be generous in my response to God’s love and to let Him do with me as He wills. In 2008, the last time I was in our missions in Central America, my prayer as to whether I was to come to the missions after seminary was answered with what I discerned to be God’s reply of “not yet”. I asked what I was to do in the interim and was shown that God had growth in a particular area in mind for me. So my discernment in response to my provincial’s proposal was not a matter of asking God “if” He was asking me to go, but rather “when”. My own plans were that I spend three to five years in the US as a priest before going to the missions, and I had hoped that I could stay here for that. Yet as I prayed over the decision for a few days, I noticed that God was reminding me of the generosity to which He was calling me and showing me that the area of growth He wanted from me was near completion. So, fully aware of my limitations, but with trust in God, I answered “yes”.

At the same time I realized the answer, I became acutely aware that by placing more trust in God and being more generous in my response to God’s will, I would be, in fact, asking Fr. X, Br. Y and the entire community at St. Z to place more trust in God and to be more generous to God in their response to His love, to dedicate themselves more to the Lord’s work for His people, the Church. Though I do not leave easily, I can only hope that the void left will inspire others to lend a hand to help the parish fulfill its God given mission of evangelizing the families of D... . I also hope that some of our youth may discern God calling them to the consecrated religious life and some of the young men to priesthood.

I thank you for opening your hearts and home to me and for your well wishes and prayers. Please know that I will also be praying for you and offering the sacrifices of mission work for you and your families. ... God bless you all.

Peace and Good,

Fr. Chris Gaffrey, OFM

Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C

Here is my homily for this Sunday, August 8th. (Note: I never deliver a homily the way I write it).

If the greatest thing we can do while on earth is truly love God and our neighbors, than faith is the first step toward loving. In the gospel Jesus tells His disciples to not be afraid, that the Father is pleased to give them the Kingdom. By doing so, Jesus is asking them to have faith in God, to believe that God is indeed present in their lives in a way that is not seen with our physical eyes, but discerned through the eyes of faith.


Knowing that God is near that His providence is at work in our lives calms our anxieties over our daily needs and enables us to hope in God for our welfare. No longer afraid for ourselves, but trusting in God and confident He will provide should we be lacking, we no longer cling to possessions, to the excess just in case, but are able instead to open our hearts and turn our attention to those who have-not, to be willing to give to others in light of God’s goodness to us now and in light of the reward awaiting those who are truly God’s servants, those who served their fellow men and women in need.

Oddly enough we have a bad example in the steward who begins to beat his fellow servants and is busy eating and getting drunk on the very food and drink he should have been distributing to his fellow servants. What went wrong with this servant? Why did he stop doing the master’s will and turn instead into a selfish servant? Jesus tells us he began to think that his master was delayed in coming.

We too can begin to think that “our master is delayed in coming” when we begin to think that God does not actually want to have anything to do with us, when we question whether He is even present in our daily lives. We too can easily get caught up in fear and selfishness when we forget that God is indeed present in our lives even when we can’t “see” it.

The stronger our faith, the more we hope to receive from God, the more we let God love us and are willing to give back to God in love. One example of this is Abraham who the letter to the Hebrews extols as an All-Star of faith. Abraham had just as many difficulties to face as we do, if not more, and yet he always faced them with God, firmly depending on Him and not relying on his own strength. As a result Abraham grew steadily in wisdom and holiness. He trusted God and hoped for all things from Him, and God was able to advance his plan of salvation through him, preparing Abraham to be willing to give all back to God and to do all for the good of others.

Abraham is an example that we are called to imitate. We too are called to follow God no matter what. We too are called to let God do wonderful things for us and through us. But if we want to have greater hope and if we want to love more we need great faith that is strong and mature. The question that comes to us today is how can we grow in our faith? The answer is just as easy as developing strong mature muscles. Just as we need to eat carbs and protein to build muscles, we need to feed our faith on the sacraments and prayer, just as we are doing here today at mass. And just as we exercise our muscles, likewise we need to exercise our faith. One way we can exercise our faith is to say small, spontaneous, and sincere acts of faith, mini-prayers, every day, in the quiet of our hearts. When we see a beautiful sunset or feel the tangy ocean breeze, to say, "Thank you Lord; I believe in you." When we visit a loved one who is sick or dying, to say, "Lord, I believe in you; don't abandon this person, give them strength." When we experience life's sorrows, to say, "Lord, you suffered for me; teach me to suffer with faith for you." When we experience life's joys, to say, "Lord, this is just a small hint of your love for me; teach me to believe in you more deeply." Today, when Jesus comes to us in Holy Communion, let's consciously exercise our faith. And let's promise that we will continue exercising it all week, so it will grow, and we will be able to live life to the full, hoping in God and loving Him and our neighbors both now and for all eternity. May the Lord give you peace.

Homily for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C

Here is my homily for last Sunday, August 1st.



This is one of those gospel passages that can really puzzle us if we don’t understand what is happening. Here is a man who comes to Jesus with a real problem. His brother is trying to make off with most of the inheritance. He asks Jesus to step in and arbitrate, to get his brother to give him his share. Yet Jesus refuses to do so. Instead he tells a parable about a man who is so busy searching out wealth and luxury that he dies without having had any regard for what comes after this life. In essence, Jesus is telling this man: don’t be so concerned with this life that you end up taking your eye off the prize, the gift of eternal life in heaven. How true this is and the readings today are chocked full of reminders.


We hear in the first reading how pointless and vain it is to work so hard without any thought for our soul or for our salvation. In the psalm we prayed that God give us wisdom to realize that this world is passing and that we need to be attentive to God’s voice to show us what is really worth working for, what labors of ours truly bear lasting fruit. In the gospel we hear how the man in the parable spent so much time working that he did not prepare his soul for death and all his earthly treasure went to others.

Jesus reminds us that it is important to be rich in what matters to God, and in the second reading, St. Paul reminds us what that prize is that is truly worth working toward. He tells us to keep our eye on the prize of our life in Christ, not only that life in Christ that we already possess even now, but that future life of glory that we will live with Christ after death. Paul reminds us that we are to be busy at putting an end to the reign of sin in our lives and to seek Christ as our all. In no way does this mean we shouldn’t work for the things of this earth. We don’t hear the author of Ecclesiastes, St. Paul, or Jesus condemning our earthly work. Instead they are simply reminding us that the good things of this world are not the end all and be all of our lives. Instead, the prize is our life with God, our victory over sin and death in Christ Jesus, our becoming saints with the help of the Holy Spirit.

There once was a young man from a wealthy and influential family, whose father owned a prominent newspaper firm. Despite his father’s financial success this young man was more interested in helping the poor than he was at securing his inheritance or making a name for himself in politics and business. He deeply loved Christ, went to mass daily and prayed the rosary three times a day. Yet his devotion and faith did not stop him from continuing his studies, going on hiking trips with friends and looking to better the plight of the poor with social activism. One cold night, when he returned home without his coat, his frugal father scolded him for having given it to a poor old man. The young man replied “But you see, father, it was cold.” This young man’s name was Pier Giorgio Frassati, who Pope John Paul II beatified and called a man of the beatitudes. Upon Pier Giorgio’s death the greatest outpouring of love was not from the social elite that his family knew and not from his circle of friends, but rather from the poor of Turin, who had no idea that Pier Giorgio was even from such an influential family. Blessed Pier Giorgio understood that it is necessary for us to keep our eyes on the prize, that living for Christ and for others, becoming saints, is more important than riches and wealth.

Not all of us are called to the kind of charity practiced by Blessed Pier Giorgio, especially since not many of us come from rich and influential families. However, like Blessed Pier Giorgio, we are all called to keep our focus on Christ, our eyes on the prize of eternal life. This may seem a bit difficult today, but it is not impossible. Today we live in a society that values work and recreation. We work so that we can afford the pleasures of television, movies, vacations, sports. After the recreation, we go back to work. Yet all too often we can get trapped in the idea that we work so as to afford recreation and do recreation in order to take a break from work. In the midst of this pendulum between the toil of work and the pleasure of recreation we can easily loose sight of why we are here in the first place.

One way we can keep our eye on the prize and not forget that our life in Christ is what is most valuable is for us to plan out time for a retreat. This doesn’t have to mean going off for a few days to a monastery to pray, though if we did that it certainly wouldn’t hurt. However, going on retreat, taking some time to be silent and pray can be as simple as scheduling an evening where the tv, computers, cell-phones and video games are turned off and the family can gather for the rosary or for reading a passage of the gospel and sharing one’s reflections on it. Or ‘a retreat’ could be as simple as scheduling one day in the midst of vacation for silent prayer, or for visiting a holy site, like a monastery, a shrine, or a basilica. For those who like to travel on their vacations, the idea of taking time for a retreat could be as simple as arranging to go some place on pilgrimage instead of simply touring. No matter what for our retreat may take, it can be for us the perfect opportunity to take inventory in our lives, to see where we are going, how we are living, if we are truly happy, and for us to not take our eyes off the prize of the life that God calls us to live in Christ. May the Lord give you Peace.

Independence Day and True Freedom

Here is my homily for the 14 Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 4th, 2010. The reading may be found here.

Today our nation celebrates the freedom that we have because of our independence from the King of England. The liturgy has the church celebrating the freedom that we have because of our dependence on the King of Heaven and Earth. We as Americans remember how the Sons of Liberty struggled to throw off the reign of tyranny in order that we might live in a country built on freedom. And as Catholics the gospel presents to us disciples throwing off the reign of evil so that, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we may enjoy the liberty of the sons and daughters of God. As citizens of New Hampshire, today we celebrate in a special way the state motto “Live Free or Die”. And as Catholics we recognize the eternal truth in that statement that unless we live free from sin, we will indeed die spiritually and not come to enjoy the blessings of eternal life promised us by God.

Yet on this Independence Day, a day we celebrate freedom, the good news given to us is that we can indeed live in the freedom of the sons and daughters of God, free of the power of sin in our lives, that we can indeed become saints, in and through our dependence on God.

With God, what seems impossible to us is possible. After the people of God had been scattered and Jerusalem had been destroyed, it seemed impossible to our ancestors in the faith that their nation would ever be restored. And yet as Isaiah announces in the first reading, God brings about what is beyond our human capacity. He promises to restore Jerusalem, to comfort his people as mother comforts her child, and this promise He fulfills.

In the gospel, Jesus sends out 72 disciples, giving them authority over evil spirits, and they come back rejoicing that what had seemed impossible to them was made possible by God, that they might be able to overcome the power of sin and evil in their lives and help be instruments of God's Kingdom in the lives of others. 

Saint Paul reminds us of how important it is for us to become new creations, that as important as the our rites and sacraments are, they mean nothing if one is not willing to break free from the reign of sin in one's life. This is why at mass we recall our sins and ask God for pardon and the strength to to break from sin. This is why in the sacrament of reconciliation when we say the act of contrition we express, not only our sorrow over our sins, but also our intention to pick up where we left off in our struggle against sin and its power over us, so as to reform our lives and sin no more.

St. Paul also stresses how important the power of Christ's cross is. He does not boast of his own ability to be righteous but in the power over sin that Christ has given him (Paul) in and through His death on the cross. This is why Paul speaks of being crucified with Christ.

Being free from sin and becoming a new creation can seem impossible to us. Often we tend to fall into the same sins, and we can get discouraged. We can even begin to think it impossible for us to not give in to a certain temptation. And yet Jesus Christ overcame sin and death through his cross and resurrection. To his disciples he gave the “power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions ... upon the full force of the enemy”, that is power to overcome sin and to resist temptation. Not only that, but as he does in the gospel, Jesus also warns us when we are about to fall into sin. The disciples come back from having done so many amazing things and are overjoyed. Yet Jesus warns them about one of the most sneaky temptations to sin, the temptation to spiritual pride, that is getting puffed up in one's own not so humble opinion of one's self. Jesus reminds them that it is not so important what they are able to do but that God so loves them that He has revealed himself to them in order to free them from sin and bring them into the joys of His Kingdom. So we see a couple of things that may surprise us. Jesus give his disciples the ability to overcome sin and temptation through a sharing in his power and his authority. But Jesus also has his disciples' backs. He warns them when they are in danger of sinning. If this is what he does for his disciples in the gospel, can he not also do this for us? He can indeed do this. This was indeed His plan when He gave us “power from on high” in the person of the Holy Spirit. God is with us in our own struggle for spiritual freedom. And if God is for us, who can be against us. As long as we persevere in our struggle against sin and not get discouraged at our own lack of results.

One such saint who struggled and did not let herself get discouraged was St. Therese of Lisieux. Despite realizing her inability to do great penances or to pray without being distracted or without occasionally falling asleep, and even coming to terms with her own personal struggles, St. Therese took comfort in the words of Isaiah, “As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Therese decided to trust God in her smallness and follow what would be called the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood. Because of the prophetic value to the Church of her teaching of simple childlike trust in God, Pope John Paul II declared her to be a doctor of the church in 1997.

We have a great need for Therese's childlike simplicity and dependence on God's goodness. In a world that prides itself on rugged individualism, on know-how and technology, we can easily begin to rely on our own strength and our own capabilities even in the spiritual life. And yet our true freedom, our true strength and joy, come not from declaring and proving our independence from God, but from recognizing our very dependence on His goodness, on His mercy, on His grace and on His love.

To help us cultivate our trust in God in imitation of St. Therese we can practice what's called an attitude of gratitude. Often times we look at our lives in terms of successes and pleasures that are tangible instead of remembering that our true happiness comes from God. We tend to take our eyes off the prize of heaven and forget that God is completely and totally for us and on our side when it comes to our spiritual life and our sanctification. To counter this tendency we can take some time to count our blessings, to remember that our names our written in heaven. Whether at the end of the day or on the way to work or especially when we feel down and out, we can take the time look back and think of all the blessings God has given us, the very gift of life that we so often take for granted, the friends and family members, who at the least have been there for us or provided for our needs, the many small ways that God has answered our prayers, even going so far to recognize the good things that have come from suffering and trials. All these can help us to see God's hand at work in our lives.
 
If we take time to count our blessings we can indeed grow in the hope and the trust that God is on our side and that God is for us, and that through Christ's passion and cross, He will indeed give us the strength and power to live free from sin, to cast off the tyranny of temptation, and to celebrate our true freedom as sons and daughters of God. This Independence Day, we Catholics celebrate our true freedom, because in God, and in His power to overcome sin at work in our lives, we trust.