"For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters" – this is St. Paul's message to us from the second reading. Freedom is a hot topic in our times. People around us claim freedom as their right – "I'm free to act this way, I'm free to do that". We all make use of freedom for the better and sometimes for the worse. Let us reflect upon freedom and the readings that we have just heard.

Freedom, in itself, is a great good. We have been created for freedom, and our heart yearns for the liberty to forge our own path, to choose our own vocation, and to make a sincere gift of ourselves. Ultimately, freedom can be our way of searching out and finding the true, the good, and the beautiful. However, we need to keep in mind the sad reality that our sense of freedom has become skewed, off-balance, after the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve.

Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution of Vatican II, puts it this way: "Only in freedom can man direct himself toward goodness. Our contemporaries make much of this freedom and pursue it eagerly...Often, however, they foster it perversely as a license for doing whatever pleases them, even if it is evil." (GS, 17) And St. Paul adds, in the second reading: "do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh".
One of the ways that we make use of our freedom is in choosing a state of life – clerical, religious or lay. In the Gospel, Jesus was testing the true freedom of those who wanted to follow him – and most of these people did not have the radical liberty needed to follow the divine Master. Possessions, expectations, even family ties, got in the way.

Here, a story for you...
It is interesting how divine providence works in mysterious ways. A couple of years ago, a Polish couple from Mississauga gave me some audio books of some writings of a Polish sister, who had mystical visions of the Holy Trinity, and whose cause for beatification is currently underway. She is the Servant of God, sister Roberta Babiak. I took these cd's and put them in car, in one of the compartments – out of sight, out of mind. These cd's rode in the car for a couple of years. Last Monday, as I was heading to Toronto for some medical tests, I put them on. Keep in mind that last Monday was June the 24th, the solemnity of John the Baptist. One of the first things on the cd was sister Roberta's biography – and it turns out that she was born precisely on June the 24th, she was baptized on June the 29th, the solemnity of Peter and Paul, and this year marks the 90th anniversary of her joining the convent. What a day to put in a cd, one that was, for a couple of years, quietly waiting for its turn – right on the day of this sisters' birthday.

These are things that make you sit up and pay attention.
Sr. Roberta had to wait until her father's death until she was able to join the convent. Her parents had other plans for her vocation, for her state of life, and, in a way – they stood against God's plan for sister Roberta. This is similar to the true story of a young man who wants to become a priest, but his mother is firmly against it – because the Church is in crisis. What if his vocation to the priesthood is part of the solution to the Church's problems? Sometimes, even family ties can stand in the way of following the path that Christ is calling us to.
The Code of Canon Law states, "All Christ's faithful have the right to immunity from any kind of coercion in choosing a state in life". (CIC, 219)

The evil one will try to keep us from making a sincere gift of ourselves; he will try to turn us inwards; he will use passions, addictions – alcohol, drugs and pornography - and fears against us to corrode and weaken our sense of self, and to keep us from that freedom, that is rightfully ours – as Saint Paul writes in the second reading, "For freedom Christ has set us free".

This weekend, we also observe Canada Day – our national holiday, [the date when the British North America Act came into effect – July 1st, 1867]. Our national anthem contains a line that pleads, that asks, that "God keep our land, glorious and free". It is interesting that in the anthem, God is the guarantor of our freedom; God is the one who ensures that the land is free, and that the land keeps its freedom. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms begins with a statement that says "Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law". God is supreme. So we ask and plead that God may protect our land may its freedom and that all residents of Canada may have the opportunity to make of their lives a sincere gift . We also ask that we may live lives that are free from the flame of passions, especially disordered and unnatural passions.

"For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters" – and "serve one another through love" – this is St. Paul's message for us today. We ask Our Mother Mary, the one who experienced freedom and joy, that through her prayers we may grow in freedom, and so be able to seek God, who is the sum total of all truth, goodness and beauty.

(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, June 30, 2019)