Watch the Homily

Listen to the Homily

We all struggle with sin and habits we wish we could overcome. In this Sunday’s homily, discover why lasting freedom doesn’t come from trying harder but from surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us from within. Learn how Christ invites us to exchange our burdens for His peace and experience the freedom He desires for every disciple.

Read the Homily

Come to Me: Finding Freedom Through the Holy Spirit

Today’s readings confront us with a truth that is both challenging and incredibly hopeful. St. Paul tells us plainly:

“If you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

There isn’t much room for compromise in those words. Life according to the flesh and life according to the Spirit are moving in opposite directions. One leads away from God and ultimately toward death. The other leads toward Christ and everlasting life.

Many of us know what it’s like to live caught between those two paths.

We believe in Christ. We genuinely want to follow Him. Yet we continue struggling with the same sins and weaknesses. We recognize areas of our lives that don’t match the faith we profess, and our instinct is often to work harder.

We create plans.

We make resolutions.

We promise ourselves that this time will be different.

For a while, things improve. Then we fall again.

So we begin the cycle over.

We try harder.

We fail.

We become discouraged.

Eventually, many people simply resign themselves to the struggle, believing lasting change just isn’t possible.

But Jesus offers something entirely different.

In today’s Gospel, He says:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest… My yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Notice what Jesus does not say.

He doesn’t tell us to fix ourselves before coming to Him.

He doesn’t tell us to overcome every weakness first.

He simply says:

“Come to me.”

Come with your failures.

Come with your burdens.

Come with the sins you’ve battled for years.

Come exactly as you are.

Christ isn’t asking us to become perfect before approaching Him. He’s inviting us into a relationship where He supplies the strength we do not possess on our own.

That is precisely what St. Paul teaches.

He doesn’t say that we overcome sin through better planning or stronger willpower.

He says:

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

The power belongs to the Holy Spirit.

Our task is to remain close to Christ, allowing His Spirit to dwell within us and transform us.

Earlier in Romans, St. Paul famously admits:

“I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

Every Christian understands those words.

Paul knew exactly what it felt like to desire holiness while continually falling short.

His answer wasn’t to simply “try harder.”

His answer was the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Likewise, in Galatians he writes:

“If you live by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

The Christian life is not primarily about self-improvement.

It is about surrender.

It is about allowing God to accomplish within us what we cannot accomplish by ourselves.

Yet many of us unknowingly hold something back.

We readily ask God to remove the sins that cause us pain, but there are often smaller attachments we quietly keep.

Perhaps it’s gossip.

Maybe it’s pride.

Perhaps it’s judgment of others.

Or a habit that we secretly enjoy despite knowing it pulls us away from Christ.

We tell the Lord:

“I give You everything… except this.”

But genuine discipleship doesn’t work halfway.

We cannot cling to both life and death.

The Holy Spirit desires every part of our hearts.

One image offered in the homily illustrates this beautifully.

Imagine someone becoming engaged while saying:

“I broke up with two of my previous relationships… but I’m still keeping one.”

No future spouse would accept that.

Neither can we fully enter into relationship with Christ while intentionally holding onto the sins we refuse to surrender.

The invitation of Jesus is total.

Not because He wants to take our joy away.

But because He wants to give us something infinitely greater.

The small pleasures of sin always promise happiness but leave us empty.

The freedom found in Christ offers lasting peace, joy, and authentic life.

So where do we begin?

Jesus already gave us the answer:

“Come to me.”

Bring Him every burden.

Ask Him honestly:

“Lord, show me the sins I don’t really want to let go of.”

That can be one of the most powerful prayers we ever pray.

Sometimes we aren’t even ready to desire complete freedom.

So we ask for something even more basic:

“Lord, help me want to want to be free.”

From there, faith must become action.

As St. James reminds us:

“Faith without works is dead.”

If gossip is our struggle, intentionally speak words that build someone up.

If distraction consumes us, set our phone aside for fifteen minutes to spend time with God.

These actions may seem small, but Jesus reminds us His yoke is light.

He asks only that we begin walking with Him.

Day by day.

Hour by hour.

As we continually surrender ourselves to Christ and invite the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we discover that real change is possible—not because of our own strength, but because God Himself is working within us.

That is the freedom Christ came to give.

So today, let us pray:

Lord, I want to be free. I give You everything. Show me the places where I’m still holding back. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and teach me to walk with You each day. Amen.