By Edgar Mares Evangelization Specialist Archdiocese of Denver Have you ever reflected on what freedom is? On its different aspects? On its value and the effort it takes to be truly free? Like in many countries around the world, the United States celebrates its independence on a particular day. For the United States, the 4th of July is the day when it commemorates the event that led to our freedom as a country. While it's good to remember and celebrate collectively as a nation, it's worth going beyond just having a barbecue and fireworks to mark such an important event. Without taking time to pause and reflect, our celebrations can lead to a vague and superficial appreciation of the day's meaning and the concrete ways in which events like this affect our daily lives. That's why it's necessary to reflect intentionally on the effort and sacrifice that make our independence and freedom possible. In the case of what led to the independence of this or any other country, it would be good to meditate on the magnitude of the cost that brought our freedom about. For example, it would be worth meditating on the lives and blood that were shed to make independence viable, to enjoy this kind of freedom. The same can be said regarding the freedom we enjoy as Christians. It's of utmost importance to reflect on what exactly made this freedom, which surpasses any human expectation, possible. We have the freedom that is the fruit of being children of God. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal 5:1). But both the freedom we have in Christ and any other kind of freedom must be protected; they come at a high price, not only in the past but even today. In our case as Christians, this price is paid with our daily fidelity to Jesus' twofold command of love of God and love of neighbor. Otherwise, freedom can be lost gradually, and we can return to the yoke of slavery. Clearly, the freedom we have in Christ also had, and has, a price. But if we don't stop to reflect, it's possible that our appreciation and celebration of this gift might also be vague and superficial. That's why it's worth meditating deeply on the cost of our freedom in Christ: "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8). The cost of our freedom in Christ is his death and blood, shed in his scourging and crowning with thorns, on the way to Calvary and on the Cross. Here is the proof of God's love, not only for a nation or race, but for the whole world, and for you personally. In this is the proof for which you were redeemed. In this is the source of your freedom. In Christ, you have been liberated not from suffering, from the oppression of the world or some political tyrant, but from the Enemy himself, from sin and death. That is why we as Catholics not only remember and celebrate, as we should, the event that led to this freedom only once a year, but at least once a week. How and where? By attending Mass every Sunday, where we celebrate the event that led to our salvation and "independence" from the kingdom of darkness. It is in the Mass where we sacramentally celebrate, remember and commemorate the sacrifice that led to our freedom. Have you ever thought about Mass in this way? As the celebration and commemoration of Christ's sacrifice that led to your freedom and independence from the Devil, sin, and death? If you haven't, I invite you to do so intentionally the next time you participate in Mass. If you make this a constant practice, it's likely that your experience of it will never be the same, because the Mass is more than a vague memory of a past event; it is a current event, represented, made present again. It is the reality itself that led and leads, through grace, to your freedom.
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