JT Parker 7/2/26 (From the Spring ETP Magazine Edition)
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“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1)
If you asked this to me my sophomore year of high school, I probably would have responded with something like “What the heck does that really mean? I can’t do what I want when I want. The Church tells me not to do a lot of things. How can this actually be true? Aren’t these rules about controlling us, not setting us free?”
At this point in my life, I was deeply insecure, anxious, depressed, and wrestling with serious habitual sin. How could Jesus want freedom for me? If he did, why wasn’t I becoming free?
Fast forward to my junior year of high school. I was on a weekend retreat out in the Pennsylvania mountains. No phone, no clock, no immediate responsibilities, just myself, my friends, our leaders, and God. Days of talks on God’s love, the personal witness of mentors and friends, free time surrounded by beauty – all of it gave me the space to breathe. To be open to God’s voice.
On Saturday night, the retreatants walked into a simple but beautiful, candlelit lodge. In the loft was an altar – it was time for adoration. I knew that the Eucharist was supposed to be Jesus. I sort of believed it. But I had never really personally encountered the love of God. Tonight would be different.
As the priest placed Jesus into the center of the shining monstrance, something new happened. Emanating from this small white host was a tangible, powerful, and personal love. I was overwhelmed with His Love. I felt that I was enough for God. That He really knew me. That He even knew my sins and all the pain that I had caused others. Yet, I was still loved by Him completely. It was a tender love. A love that says “I delight in you because you are you. Nothing you do could ever change that.” I felt free. Free from insecurity. Free from the weight of carrying life’s burdens on my own. Free to be myself.
This experience fundamentally changed who I am and has helped me to understand what type of freedom Jesus offers us. It is not the freedom to do whatever we want. It is not freedom from pain and suffering. It is the freedom that comes from being seen, known, loved, and secure. It is the freedom of being a beloved child. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)
Often when I pray, I beg God to change the circumstances of my life. “Please take away my suffering. The pain feels too much. Take away these heavy crosses.” But slowly, over time, I am learning to see that God wants something more for us. He invites us to be the type of people that have true freedom, peace and joy even amidst suffering. To be the type of people who can love powerfully even amidst suffering.
Which is better? To be a person who is always freed from suffering? Or to be a person who feels peace, joy, and love even within suffering? I want to be the second because I want to be capable of great things and great love. And God wants that same thing for us because it is choosing love within suffering that makes us like Christ.
So how do we grow in this interior freedom of heart? We must persevere in three things: Daily personal prayer, frequent reception of the Eucharist (Sundays at a minimum), and regular confession. You don’t need to be a saint already to do these things. You can begin today. If we persevere, God will take care of the rest. Suffering will remain in your life. However, joy will grow, freedom will grow, and love will grow.
By persevering in these three things, over time you will experience for yourself the Goodness and Love of Jesus. We will begin to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8) that He Loves us, and that we can trust Him in everything. It is God’s love that frees us! I invite you today to make three small resolutions for growing in prayer, reception of the Eucharist, and regular confession. Sit down right after reading this and make three goals. Tell a spouse or a friend your goals. You won’t regret it!
Lord Jesus Christ, be our refuge. Lead us to the freedom of heart that we long for!
“For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is God” (Psalm 62:5-7)
JT Parker is a husband and father of 3. He received his MA in Moral Theology in 2021. JT lives on Long Island and is the founder of Five Loaves Ministries, a Catholic ministry that helps young people encounter, receive, and respond to the love of God.
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