Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health Vailankanni

Originally the Law was promulgated for slaves so as to instruct the soul, by means of exterior and corporeal things, by leading it with a chain, so to speak, towards that docility towards the commandments whereby a man might learn to obey God. But the Word of God set the soul free; it also taught it to purify the body, freely and voluntarily. From then on those chains of servitude, thanks to which man was able to enter into training, could be taken away and, from now on, he could follow God without chains. Yet, even as the precepts of liberty were held out to him, he needed to affirm his submission to the King so that no one might fall back or show himself unworthy of his Liberator... This is why the Lord gave us as a watchword: instead of not committing adultery, not even lusting; instead of not killing, not even falling into anger; instead of simply paying taxes, distributing our goods among the poor; not just loving those dear to us but also our enemies; not only being “generous, ready to share” (1Tim 6:18) but, even more, surrendering our goods freely to those who take them... Our Lord, then, first of all enlisted men who were in slavery with regard to God and subsequently freed those who were subject to him. As he himself said to his disciples: “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father,” (Jn 15:15)... By turning his disciples into friends of God he clearly shows that he is the Word of God. For it was because he followed his call in unfettered freedom, in the generosity of his faith, that Abraham became “the friend of God” (Jas 2:23).

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No longer slaves, but friends (Jn 15:15)

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