On this July 4 weekend thoughts turn to “freedom.” 

Last Sunday the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians told us:  “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”  (Gal 5:1)

This freedom that St. Paul was referring to was spiritual freedom – the soul-deep liberation of those who live by Spirit, not by human ego or worldly values.  We, too, are called to spiritual freedom.  It requires that we release anything and everything that limits or restricts us from becoming our highest selves and fulfilling our divine vocations. 

What keeps us from experiencing this kind of freedom?  This little story can give us a clue.

Set in the Middle Ages, the story is of a man held prisoner in a dark dungeon for 20 years.  During all that time, the man saw no one except a jailer who came to his cell once a day with bread and water.  Finally, the prisoner became so distraught that he decided to attack the jailer, hoping that the jailer would kill him in self-defense and end his misery.  As he prepared for the attack, the man examined his cell door and found that it was not locked.  In amazement, he discovered that it had never been locked!  The man opened the door and quickly escaped by passing some guards who completely ignored him.  He made his way home and lived happily after.

If he had known enough, this man could have left years ago, but he did not.  He was a captive, not of stone and iron, but of false belief.  He was not locked in; he only thought he was.  Of course, this is only a legend, but a very thought-provoking one.

What prison do you live in?  Inadequacy, poor health, poor self-image, blind fears, negative thinking, etc., etc. ?  Our prison is in our thoughts and not in the nature of things.  We always have the power to choose and to change.

Victor Frankl  tells how during WWII concentration camps, some men went about comforting and aiding their fellow prisoners while others succumbed to the most selfish, basest motivations and desires.  “The highest and greatest of the human freedoms is to choose your attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Victor Frankl, “MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING.”