Being a member of God’s family is more than just belonging; it’s also an adventure of learning to love each other the way God loves. Fr. Joe Freedy explained this during our first workshop of the afternoon.

For Fr. Joe, that adventure began with learning to love himself. As a young adult, he battled with addiction and anxiety. The different ways in which he was struggling, and also the ways he was trying to prove himself in sports, were really a result of a fundamental need that we all share: the need to be fully seen, fully known, and fully loved.

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In this session, Michael had a difficult, yet profoundly simple message: Fear prevents healing.

So often, we have wounds and struggles that we keep hidden. We might pretend that we don’t have any sins or problems at all. We might, like Michael did as a teen, go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation without acknowledging the deepest and most painful wounds in our hearts. And God, who is the Divine Physician, cannot heal the wounds that we will now show Him. Many times we can fall into cycles of sin due to feeling pain, regret, and shame. Those cycles can lead us to sin over and over again. This is often the case with sexual sin, such as pornography and masturbation. These sins cause us to forget the beauty of humanity and sexuality. They cause us to reduce ourselves and others to body parts for use, instead of whole people that are made for love.

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“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you… plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”
– Jeremiah 29:11

God created us for fearless relationship with Him. From that beginning, we enter a life that sometimes throws us situations that seem bigger than we can handle – situations that leave us feeling alone. In that space, we can start to doubt and ask hard questions.

Does God see me?
Does God love me enough to change this situation for me?
Is there something wrong with me?

Somewhere along the way, we might start to believe that God is not the answer to the problems in our lives. The voices that whisper distorted lies of fear and shame impede our ability to fearlessly pursue the love of God.

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This weekend, something happened. We are no longer the same.

Sin is a twisting of the truth, and we often minimize it to convince ourselves that it’s okay or not that big of a deal. This weekend God has restored our hearts and our understanding of the truth of Jesus Christ. We know better now. We are changed. However, we are going home to friends and family that may expect us to be the same. We will encounter people who don’t have our restored vision.

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“Scars tell a story. Your scars tell a story. My scars tell a story.”

There are different kinds of scars. Some are physical, visible scars. Others are scars that no one sees.

What are the scars on your heart?

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