Slavery and Death versus God’s Love Through Salvation

Salvation Series: Part 1

"Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, He himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham."Hebrews 2:14-16, NRSV-ACE

Guiding Question:

“Reading this, how can we overcome the systems that enslave us and embrace the transformative power of Christ’s love in our daily lives?”


LF Reflection: Slavery vs. Love

Dear brothers and sisters, I come to you with a heavy heart. Many systems—economic, educational, technological, spiritual, and governmental—can enslave us, making it easy to succumb to the troubles in our lives. Amid these forces, we often feel overwhelmed, depressed, and hopeless. These reactions are understandable, but they only propagate a heavy heart. Furthermore, most of these systems are beyond our control, and those who hold power are often untrusted or unknown. This leaves many people feeling disconnected or tempted to Rage Against the Machine,” as the 1991 rock band had so famously named themselves. Suffice it to say these emotions are nothing new. People throughout history have faced similar struggles since the beginning of time. The way we react to them will either empower us or enslave us as one people—one nation under God.

Jesus, born with a flesh-and-blood human body, shares these struggles with us. As stated so clearly in Hebrews 2:14-16, He did not come for angels; He came to free us from the grips of Satan, who enslaves humanity through guilt and sin, reinforcing the negative emotions we face. With Satan affecting our society in such ways, it’s no surprise that our world is far from perfect. We witness so much horror and death that many have become desensitized. If tragedy doesn’t directly affect our community, it’s become too easy to feel ambivalent. This indifference has allowed society to sideline many Christian values and moral principles, replacing them with the ideology of supremacy and control. This all too often replaces love and compassion for our fellow man. Personal safety becomes paramount, leading to selling each other out. Sadly, this is the way of life in many nations worldwide, of which I will not name. But this behavior is especially prevalent in war-torn countries—again, nothing new. To make the point extremely clear, humanity has killed, maimed, and ruled with fear throughout history, and this has echoed across all faith traditions as they try to assert dominance and control over the world.

That is why Jesus’s command to “Love one another” was shocking then and still seems an unattainable ideal today. But I must clarify: the concept of love is also not new. In fact, it first appears in Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord,” dating back to 1400–1200 BCE—approximately 3,225 years ago. This command is repeated in the New Testament, first in Matthew 22:39 (Jesus quoting Leviticus): “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” It’s repeated in John 13:34, where Jesus speaks to His disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Jesus emphasized this teaching through His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. For many, loving others to that extent seems unattainable. Yet God’s perfect example of selfless love—sending His Son to die on the cross, delivering humanity from slavery and death, and granting us eternal freedom—is beyond comprehension. It’s a love that transforms and frees us.

The key is in Jesus’s response to the cost of discipleship, as emphasized in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Jesus was not speaking literally but metaphorically, calling His followers to a life of self-sacrifice, deep commitment, and daily dedication to His teachings—even if it meant suffering or facing difficult circumstances. Living out one’s faith in this radical and authentic way is a challenge—again, another goal that seems unreachable for humanity. Unfortunately, throughout history, authoritarian leaders have ignored Christ’s commands, though espousing them, ruling in ways that reflect the brutality of previous ages.

The good news is that we don’t have to live this way. God is on our side, and we can choose something different. “Love one another as yourself” means offering others the same grace, agency, and kindness we give ourselves. Love others with the same unconditional love that God has shown us in the Bible—it is freeing and saving. Forgiveness cleanses the conscience; humility softens the prideful heart, and wisdom tempers the tongue.

Imagine a world where people don’t disregard injustice but confront it with truth and wisdom. Picture a world where everyone is respected, heard, and treated with dignity, returning to the social norms of effective communication and mutual respect. One critical aspect of communication that has been lost is remaining calm and using respectful dialogue, where individuals listen to one another and respond thoughtfully.

If we apply Jesus’s eternal message of love, we will break free from the world’s misery and draw closer to God. We will shatter the chains of Satan and find shelter in Jesus, becoming His true brothers and sisters—children of the living God.

Amen

Saint Joseph, Pray for us.


LET US PRAY

Young girl praying

Please take a moment today—this week and pray for the following aircraft-related incidents:

Over the past week, two significant aviation accidents resulted in multiple fatalities:

1. Midair Collision in Washington, D.C. (January 29, 2025):

A midair collision occurred over the Potomac River between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. All 67 individuals aboard both aircraft were killed. The victims included 55 passengers and crew members on the American Airlines flight and 12 military personnel on the Black Hawk helicopter. The collision is considered one of the deadliest aviation incidents in the U.S. since 2001. — reuters.com

2. Medical Transport Plane Crash in Philadelphia (January 31, 2025):

A Learjet 55 medical transport plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, resulting in seven fatalities, including a motorist on the ground. The aircraft was en route to Mexico and had six people on board. The crash caused a massive fire, damaging several vehicles and homes in a densely populated residential area. Among the victims was a young girl who had been receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the accident. — politico.com

These incidents highlight the ongoing challenges in aviation safety and the profound impact such tragedies have on the victims’ families and communities.

“May the Lord comfort the families in this great time of sadness. May He hold them in his grace and love. May God accept the deceased and bring them home to his great and beautiful kingdom. May they find rest and comfort in his heart forever and ever.”

Amen 🙏


WAYS TO GIVE:

DC PLANE CRASH: GoFundMe Verified Fundraisers: GoFundMe has established a page featuring verified fundraisers for families impacted by the deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C. You can donate directly to these fundraisers to support those affected.

PHILADELPHIA CRASH: Shriners Children’s Donations: The medical transport plane that crashed in Philadelphia was associated with Shriners Children’s. While specific fundraisers for the affected families may not be available, donating to Shriners Children’s can support their ongoing efforts to assist children and families in need.

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NOW, GO SPREAD THE WORD!

The All-Consuming Passions of Mankind pt.1

The Differences between Love and Hate

In this first installment we will explore man’s definition of love, and in that the two all-consuming passions that utterly take us over and blind our reason forcing us to do both heroic and barbaric things to others depending on whether we feel love or hate for them.  In reality there is a very fine line between love and hate and in our brain there is virtually no difference between them.  That I know is a shocking statement in and of itself, but never the less this strange and scary construct has been scientifically proven to be true.  But before we go there let’s begin with scripture and then apply man’s definitions we have created for these two all-consuming emotions.  Let’s examine them biblically first then move into science.

1 peter

8 “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” ~ 1 Peter 3:8-9

The Perfect Example of Love

The simple message carried throughout the Middle East and into Europe in the decades after the death of Christ by His disciples was a very basic one, “Love one another.” The absolute “Love” of God or “Agape Love” was the example and is today the hardest to achieve. I have to think that God would not have shown us such a perfect love if we as mortals could not attain it and in that we look to Jesus who throughout all the hateful things others did to him and others he loved never once acted out with anything in his heart other than this agape love of Gods.  So with that said we can extrapolate this purest of all love is attainable and should be our starting point in our search for the true definition of what Jesus really meant by;

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34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” ~ John 13:34

Love Defined

It has been long debated what love is, how we should love, what love looks like, how to handle heartbreak, and the strong emotion love overwhelms us with. We have undoubtedly struggled with this concept we call love and in our rational mind love makes us do things which makes no sense to our personal well-being but rather fulfills a basic need all people are born with from the start.  This struggle all people contend with in both their personal and professional lives is further complicated with our struggle to understand an equally overwhelming emotion known as hate.  Hate presents the same questions as does love and it appears as strongly in our hearts as does love. One could even argue that hate is loves evil twin who twists loves goodness into a pool of unrecognizable film of darkness.  Therefore, love is an emotion which is equal to hate, and the line which divides them is much thinner than we could have ever imagined.  It boggles the mind how love could be at the root of a hateful act, and vice-versa, how hate could ever be linked to love.  In an attempt to explore this paradox we must first start with the modern definition of love;

Love is defined as –

  1. A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
  2. A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.
  3. Sexual passion or desire.
  4. A person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
  5. (Used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?
  6. love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.
  7. Sexual intercourse; copulation.  ~ Found online at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love

First Form of Love

Each of the seven definitions covers a huge realm of emotions, feelings, and actions that are linked to other emotions that help to build this intense feeling of love.  An example of this is found in the first definition: a profoundly “tender”(the word “tender” is different than the word love and is uniquely described as being: weak, immature, easily moved, soft, young, delicate, not strong or hardy, and or gentle. ~ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tender ).  This word “tender” must then be viewed as nothing more than a supporting feeling of love linked in our actions for or against others while always playing a minor role in the background.

Example: I can argue in a “tender” way and thus be perceived as not being strong or weak on the argument. I can console another person “tenderly”, and thus be perceived as being soft and delicate. I can have a crush on another person and thus be perceived as being young or immature in my actions towards them, even biased when compared to others. None of which equals the emotion of love, but are qualities found in love. I could easily argue with my girlfriend or wife in a tender way so as not to hurt their feelings, I could console them softly, and act childish in my actions in private and when defending them become very bias because of my love for her. This extends to our children and other family members. We say this is love but in reality it is the expression of love in its weakest or mildest form.

Love Me Tender

So being “tender” is the first act of showing a growing emotion for another person and consequently the step to becoming vulnerable and complete exposed. It is proceeded by the second definition of love: a feeling of warm personal attachment – (here again we now are part of something bigger than ourselves and this most basic of emotions fulfills a primal need programmed into every person on earth by our creator – the need to belong. ~  http://listeningfaithfullyblog.com/2009/04/18/reflections-1-a-real-relationship-with-god-relationships-series/ )

In this first ever blog posting of Listening Faithfully I try to point out how we are hot-wired from the start by God in order that these emotions should guide us to serve our Lord emphatically.  However, the love that manipulates our choices and decisions are profoundly linked to first becoming willingly subdued to the strong over powering emotion of love. Therefore, the first sign of this would be to do something for someone else that in reality you would not have otherwise done and in this your actions are “tender”, others may perceive you as being silly or weak and even soft.  This perception can be both good and bad and carry with it a diverse volume of consequences, both unintended and intended.

Example: The irrational act of giving flowers or presents to a person you’re infatuated with without knowing their true feelings for you first – spending money you probably should have kept – defending a person even if it puts you in a weaker position with others – and my personal favorite, the games we play with ourselves when trying to justify these actions either to ourselves or others who have called us out on it.  However intense the act of being “tender” is in our own mind we are in reality sending signals out to the world like a probe in search of love – to test if this new connection will fulfill our most basic needs of belonging.

The Evolution of Love

Again, in all of this love is becoming stronger, our actions more manipulated, our ability to reason is more compromised, and this wonderful all-consuming emotion drives further into our heart and mind as it progresses into the next more powerful definition of love – that being: sexual passion or desire.  In this stage of love we as human-beings are able to express the deepest of emotions – the power to share without fear of being compromised – the need of confession is realized as is the bond between two people is thus born into it’s infancy not unlike an impenetrable bridge made of iron and concrete.  Sadly many people confuse the pleasures of this stage of love with the act of having sex which is a primal effort to pass ones genes on so as to insure the survival of one’s own lineage. In this confusion of feelings love becomes the act of having sex rather than the tenderness of giving flowers, or the soft manner we hold each other’s hand, or even the ability to argue softly with love in our voices. These pleasures are then lost as our bodies begin to crave carnal pleasure and our mind and emotions become detached from the true purposes of love. Therefore, what some would call love is in reality a sin and an abomination in the eyes of God. For no other reason is there so many divorces and children born out of wedlock.  For no other reason is there the crimes of passion we see played out nightly in the news, and the broken hearts of children who are left wondering why their parents are absent in their lives. ~ For a deeper explanation Click Here

FAMILY

On the other hand when these emotions are handled in a mature responsible way with dignity and respect do we see the miracle of God in the faces of our children, is there the foundations drilled deep that support a whole productive and balanced family unit, and in this do we see couples love and honor each other until death do they part.  But even this outcome is dependent fully on the trick of our minds and emotions that love weaves that allows us to do things we would not otherwise do with not clear benefits to ourselves but yet greatly benefits others around us. In this more complete definition offered by the bible do we find the root of love and also it evil twin – that of hate.

With that firmly rooted in your mind, I am always called back to the biblical definition of love – a definition where love is defined in a broader and more diverse way; one that goes far beyond the online dictionaries we have at our fingertips today and which I have quoted from in this posting.

1Corinthians_spread1.0

“4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

With this universal standard we can begin to understand what love really is and how powerful it can be.  We begin to fully view the greatest gift of all and how it manipulates our thinking, alters our actions, and provokes both heroic and barbaric deeds. We literally scratch the surface of this gift given to us by God and yet just start to uncover the deepest consequences it holds for all man-kind.

Amen

If you liked this Reflection – The All-Consuming Passions of Mankind pt.1… then please leave a comment.  Also please “LIKE” and “SHARE” this post with others.

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SPECIAL NOTE:

Dr. Kallay was my boss and God Mother at Ascension Catholic School and she has recently retired due to health issues.  I am sharing the video I made on behalf of the Ascension Community to Honor her 11 years of service. CLICK HERE