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The readings for this past 13th Sunday in Ordinary time matched perfectly with our nation’s upcoming celebration of freedom from tyranny and oppression. Our founders fought long and hard to break the chains that held them bound to an unjust and unfair leader. They made countless untold sacrifices to ensure liberty and justice for the generations of descendants that would follow them. They passed on the mantle of vigilance to us hoping we would continue the fight for freedom against anyone who might impinge on its existence.
As important as their fight for freedom was for us as a nation it pales in comparison to the war waged by Jesus against the oppression of the Devil. Jesus’ victory on the Cross broke the chains of bondage that had enslaved the entire human race since the sin of Adam and Eve. He claimed independence for all generations when he beseeched the Father to forgive us of our sins. His act of forgiveness from the Cross clothed us once and for all in the mantle of his obedience, thus setting us free from the constraints of sin and death and thereby making it possible for us to discover how to know and follow God’s will for our lives.
This Independence Day, as we celebrate the freedom our nation hold dear, let us also celebrate the eternal freedom that being a faithful disciple of Christ offers us. We are truly free because Christ has made us so. It’s now up to us to live in that freedom. It’s now up to us to fight for freedom for both the born and yet to be born. We are soldiers in the army of God. The weapons we will hold in our hands will be the Cross of Christ and the Rosary of Our Lady. Our prayers will be the bullets God uses to penetrate the hearts and minds of his children. Our efforts today will win freedom for generations to come.
God bless and have a safe holiday.
Father Nolte
