“Thou, o Lord, hast loosed my bonds” (Ps 116:16c).
How infinitely profound is our redemption, how immensely it brings us freedom!
On the contrary, how much sin binds us, how much we are attached to this fleeting life, how often we are captives in ourselves, not daring to place our life completely in God’s hands and thus live it to the full!
Various chains can hinder and obstruct our walk, and in spite of all our sincere efforts, we are often unable to get rid of them. But this verse of the Psalm gives us hope.
Our Father Himself wants to set us free; He wants to loosen our bonds. He spares no effort to lead us to the true freedom of the children of God: He calls us from the path of damnation to the path of salvation; He leads us from blindness to the path of light; He leads us from a disordered life to the ordered life of grace; from restlessness and anxiety to the path of peace….
Little by little, we will notice how our life becomes more and more free, how the Lord loosens the bonds and speeds up our walk. When we give ourselves completely to Him, the Lord also frees us from the slavery of human respect, which easily shackles our lives.
Although we have already begun the path of following Christ, we still need a deeper liberation, and we will receive it if we walk this path sincerely. St. Nicholas of Flüe, on his inner journey of following Christ, addressed to Him three petitions that would lead him to full freedom and would loosen all his bonds:
“My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you.
My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you.
My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.”