How far are we willing to go to be a prisoner of Christ? How much do we long to see the face of the Lord?
These are pertinent questions that often surface when we contemplate the fallen nature of humanity.
One of the realities of the fallen nature of humanity is that it is likely that we are going to be prisoners of something. Addicts are prisoners of the object of their respective addiction. Anorexics are prisoners of whatever it is they compulsively avoid. Codependents are prisoners of whatever relationship they are codependent on. These are just a few concrete and common examples of prisons that we see in our society. Perhaps many of you have experience with these prisons at one level or another.
That said, there are prisons that are not as obvious as the examples I cited. People often become prisoners of their fear, of their resentments, of the lingering effects of past trauma, of their biases, and of their passions.
The reality is that the world, the flesh, and the devil offer an almost limitless number of opportunities to be imprisoned by those things in our lives that have become idols….often times, we do not realize they have become idols and that they have become prisons for us. To paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, they become a prison that locks us into our own ego.
The good news is that Jesus Christ has the key to our prisons. We just have to surrender our entire will and our entire life over to the care of Jesus….to be a willing prisoner of Him. We must be willing prisoners through grace, living by everything He teaches through His Holy Catholic Church.
This grace must inform and direct every aspect of our lives. To the point that we are true prisoners of the One Sacred Heart. Prisoners through one hope, one faith, one baptism. Prisoners in one Church, one Lord, one God and Father. Prisoners of the one and only Truth.
There are certainly times in our lives when we are tempted to think we know better than the Church. Especially those times when we fear we may lose something if we were to live that aspect of our lives in accordance with Church teaching. In those times that we fall to that temptation, we allow ourselves to be imprisoned by fear. If not fear, then perhaps were imprisoned by pride, unforgiveness, anger, or any number of potential prisons.
I believe determining what imprisons us comes down to a discernment of spirits. Whatever it is in our life: A decision to do or not do something related to a personal choice. A decision on how to vote for something or someone. A decision of how to interact with someone else in a conversation or how to participate in interrelational activities. Whatever it is, we must always examine and challenge our motives.
Am I reacting out of the spirit of fear, the spirit of anger, the spirit of revenge, or some other source of negativity? Or, am I truly responding with the love of Christ? Does what I am about to say or do align with Church teaching? Or, is my motivation detached from the teachings of the Church? Will my statement or action damage or deny the human dignity of others, putting what I think I need over the greater good of the children of God?
Being a prisoner of Christ means that we must always be willing to lay down our lives…even to the point of adopting a spirit of martyrdom. A spirit of martyrdom does not necessarily mean we will become a martyr by losing our physical lives. It can simply mean we are willing to lose our egos. It can simply mean we are willing to lose anything and everything in our lives that is wrapped up in our egos. We can make that sacrifice in faith that it will extend the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in this world.
To again paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, anything we give of ourselves to Him, we will receive a hundredfold in return and we will find true life.
Let’s pray for that grace. Pray that, as true prisoners of the Lord, His Will will be done through us and we will see His face.
Thanks be to God!
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