Discover ‘Freedom of the Gift’ with Us!

Freedom figures in big to the Gospel: Jesus declares that His truth ‘sets us free’, fully and completely, while St. Paul declares to us that Jesus ‘has set us free from sin’ (Rom. 6:18): ‘For freedom Jesus freed us! Stand firm, then, and refuse the burden of slavery’ (Gal. 5:1)!

Freedom matters to St. John Paul II as well, DSM’s 20th century guide to biblical freedom. In his writings, especially Theology of the Body, he spotlights how God gifts us with our humanity, how sin threatens to enslave the gift, and how God’s gift in Jesus invites us to liberate the gift of our masculine and feminine personhood from its shackles.

Growing up under the oppression of Nazi fascism and Soviet communism, John Paul witnessed the dehumanizing impact of an individual’s loss of voice and choice. That sensitized him to the deeply personal way an individual can respond to Jesus and thus, his or her truest self. Rather than impose rules, he cast vision for profound redemption, from the inside out. Deep calls to deep! Jesus summons what is most authentic in us from our confusing mixtures of vice and virtue. Freedom!

For forty days, from Wednesday October 13th-Sunday Nov. 21st, we as the DSM/LW community will walk daily through a biblical reflection and witness, often flavored by our friend St. John Paul ll. We will look at many aspects of human freedom that Jesus won for us—little invitations to engage with Him and His friends as to integrate that freedom.

Will you join us in discovering the freedom for which Christ set us free? We can know the gifts we are from the Gift-giver Himself. And we can offer ourselves wisely and fully to others and so confirm the gifts they are as well. The staff of DSM is expectant in this season of breakthroughs in interpersonal freedom. Will you join us in discovering ‘The Freedom of the Gift’?

You will receive a brief daily ‘blast’ every morning. You may want to fast something that gives you a little more attentiveness to the truth at hand. Every day from 3-4pm, CST, the DSM staff will pray through the theme together. Let’s take ground in the human freedom Jesus won for us!