September 29, 2026

The Freedom To Overcome Yourself

Above all the graces and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives to His friends is that of conquering oneself and willingly enduring pain, insults, humiliation, and hardship for the love of Christ.

This teaching comes from the famous 'Perfect Joy' story, where Francis walks with Brother Leo through the bitter cold and lists all the things that are not perfect joy — not fame, not miracles, not converting the world. He tells Leo that if they arrive home exhausted and hungry and their own brothers refuse to let them in, mock them, and turn them into the snow, and they bear it all with patience and love, that is perfect joy. It is one of his boldest teachings on freedom: real autonomy is not being able to do whatever you want, but being so free of your need for others' approval that nothing they do to you can touch your peace. Francis lived this near the end of his life, worn out and often misunderstood even within his own order, and still insisted that the truest freedom was internal.