Freedom For The Real Mission
Is your life muddled with things of this world, or do you live in the world as a soldier of Christ? I am very grateful to be a Catholic who was born and raised in the United States of America. This good fortune provides me with the freedom to worship the traditions and teachings of the Church instituted by Christ. I must admit that most days I take this for granted. I am blessed to attend Mass somewhere every day, and I am permitted to discuss my beliefs openly. The life I enjoy has come with great price, as recorded throughout salvation history and American history.
Salvation is real history! These accounts found in the Bible are not fairy tales, but an authentic collection of poetry, prophecy, wisdom, letters and history. These stories are about our redemption in Jesus Christ, who came down from Heaven to be our rescuer. Mankind has journeyed since the beginning of time with God’s unfailing love, which delivers us from our sinful nature. Sharing the truths of salvation history is true evangelization. It is important to know who we were in the beginning, and what we will be at the end of time. The answers to the restlessness found in the hearts of each human person are found in salvation history. Our knowledge of God’s saving plan for man is important if we plan to live in perfect union with Him forever!
Our American history is also very factual; to change the details or apologize for the protection of our freedom is denying future generations the knowledge of what continues to make America strong. Consider all the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom in this 241-year-old country. It is recorded that over 1.1 million American lives have been lost in U.S. wars; beginning with the Revolutionary War, up to the more recent Global War on Terror. Only two significant powers have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ who died for your soul, and the American soldier who dies for your freedom.
The correlation between these two “special forces” is important to every living person. Faith and freedom are synonymous with peace and harmony, and the battle to obtain them is real. Most important – when you understand that God is for you, then you also realize that nothing can be against you! The authority of an all-knowing triune God cannot be matched, but even the Founding Fathers of this country understood that without God they were powerless. Have you read the Declaration of Independence lately? www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document “And for the support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, and sacred Honor.”
Our country is divided on many issues. The transformations in social morality and secular matters are often challenging for me as a Catholic.
“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division” (Luke 12:51). Jesus knew that His message would be difficult to accept; and for those who did not comprehend, their households would be divided.
Our culture is being challenged like never before, and in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 we read: “Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him.”
Keep soldiering, soldiers. Christ is counting on you! Amen!
