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“For freedom, Christ set us free.” Galatians 5:1 

I spent some time this summer in North Carolina visiting friends and family and enjoying a place I love so dearly; a place that still feels like home. My daily routine pretty much went out the window, as did my constant connection to email, texting, and social media.

Instead of feeling unmoored by this distance from my familiar distractions, I was more grounded, more present, more grateful, more aware of God and those around me.

I saw Him in the hours I spent playing dominoes with my siblings, talking about everything and nothing all at once.

I drove with Him as I picked up food from the local spots that my pregnant friend, Liz, was craving for breakfast. 

I delighted with Him as I watched my friend Claire’s four boys wrestle in the background while the adults sat around on the floor, sharing stories and laughing.

I celebrated with Him when I found out that my friend Danielle was pregnant and putting an offer on a new home with her husband.

I craved silence with Him, so I stopped by my old parish to sit with Him in the chapel.

He was everywhere! And as I reflect on my experience, I ask myself: “What was different? What allowed me to see the familiar with new eyes?”

This year, I have been diving into the freedom of jubilee. It is a perfect freedom that only God can bring about – He who is ultimately free. Jubilee freedom is not only a freedom from the things that keep us bound – sin, distraction, apathy, fear, to name a few. It’s a freedom to see the world through a sacramental lens, to experience God in all things because ultimately, all things are being drawn together in Him. 

My prayer this year – for jubilee freedom to reign in my heart – is answered every day. And every day, I need to pray for it all over again. It’s easy to lose sight of the truest nature of our freedom: freedom to choose the good, freedom to live an abundant life, freedom to trust Jesus without reservation. This is the kind of freedom “for which Christ set us free.” (Galatians 5:1)

St. Paul reminds us in the very next line to “stand firm and not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” In this year of jubilee, I offer a prayer that lives in my heart as I seek the freedom only God can give. I invite you to add your own words as you pray! 

Come, Holy Spirit.
I pray for the spirit of jubilee to reign in my heart.
I pray for freedom from distraction.
…for freedom from vice.
…for freedom from worldly idols.
…for freedom from apathy.
…for freedom from comparison.
…for freedom from ego.
…for freedom from shame.
…for freedom from selfishness.
…for freedom from _________.
I pray for the freedom to pursue only you.
As I sit in the presence of Jesus, I know what true freedom is.
And as I move throughout my day, I pray for a good memory.
Amen.