July 4 is a celebration of free­dom when the United States cel­ebrates its freedom from British rule. Just as our Philippine Inde­pendence Day (freedom day) we celebrate on June 12.
From Our Daily Bread, I quote: “Freedom is dangerous in the hands of those who don’t know how to use it. That’s why criminals are confined in prisons with barbed wire, steel bars, and concrete barriers. Or consider a campfire that is allowed to spread in a dry forest. It quickly becomes a blazing inferno. Unchecked freedom can create chaos...

“The proper use of freedom is ‘faith working through love’ to serve one another. When we rely on the Spirit and expend our en­ergies on loving God and help­ing others, the destructive works of the flesh will be restrained by God. So let’s always use our liber­ty to build up, not to tear down.

“Like a raging fire, freedom without limits is dangerous. But when controlled, it is a blessing to all.” -by Dennis de Haan.
“Christ came to give us liberty By dying in our place; Now with new free­dom we are bound
To share His love and grace –D. De Haan

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Freedom doesn’t give us the right to do what we please, but to do what pleases God. And July 1 is Canada Day, the 142nd day of celebrating Canada’s freedom. Happy Canada Day! (Read Canadian History – Ca­nadians celebrating from sea to shining sea ...!)
In the mass on TV this day, Father Jack Lynch, s.f.m. Homily was dedicated to this day. He said: “how come we Canadians have so much, with a multicultural di­versity and with all the world, but why in some countries all over the world, such as in Pakistan suffer­ing with the Taliban and poverty.

“But Jesus reached out to others – even to other religions, to women, to the poor, even to sinners; to walk in the shoes of others, live for them, and to have relationship to God and to others. So as Canadians, to let Canada grow for those who have given them their lives for this coun­try!”...

From the book The Power of Miracles True stories of God’s Presence by Joan Wester Ander­son “Ed and Anne Gove and their 9- yr-old son were on their way back to their home in Westford, Massa­chusetts, from a satisfying vaca­tion in Florida. They had enjoyed the time off but were now begin­ning to turn their thoughts back to reality. “Ed is a mechanic, and although I’ve had some nurse’s training, I now manage a salon,” Anne says. “I was thinking about the people who had taken charge for me – had everything gone all right for them? Ed was probably wondering the same thing.”

“Then their son pointed at something ahead. “Look!” he shouted. On the shoulders of the road sat a car in flames. What was even more incredible was that no one had stopped to investigate or help. What if someone was in the car? “Dear God,” Anne prayed quietly, “we need your help.” Ed pulled over behind the car, as she had known he would. Ed was not the kind of man to pass some­one in trouble. The two of them tumbled out and ran toward the vehicle. Wildly, Anne waved at cars passing by. A few pulled over, but no one got out to help. The flames were almost covering the car by now.

“Anne!” Ed called. “There’s someone in the front seat. But the flames are so thick, I’m afraid the gas tank is going to explode any minute.”
Ed. Putting her face as close as she could to the driver’s side. She shouted, “Is there anyone in there with you?”
“There wsa a pause. Had the driver died already? Then, almost in a sob, came the answer. “Jesus, Jesus is here.”
“Oh, Ed,” Anne’s eyes filled with tears. “We have to try to save her. I just can’t stand here and watch her burn to death.”
“Ed nodded grimly. The victim sounded young. If he and Anne were able to pull her out, and she died anyway, at least her family would know that someone had been there for her. He started to pray as he reached inside, dodg­ing the flames. The woman was apparently lying on the floor in the front of the car, stuck between metal parts and shattered glass. And the fire was so hot! How was he going to do this?
“Anne kept praying – Ed could hear her as he wrenched and pried pieces away from the girl, jumping back every few minutes to dodge the flames.
“God, let us get her out be­fore the car explodes,” Anne em­plored. During the times when Ed would move aside, Anne would reach in to help pull. At one point, Ed singed his own clothes, would they have to give up?
“No, all of a sudden, the wom­an was released and Ed lifted her as gently as he could, up and out onto the grass as far away from the car as possible. A moment later the car exploded, blowing the trunk lid off. The woman was unconscious and badly injured. But Anne believed that if medical help came soon, she might re­cover. The woman’s eyes flickered and Anne leaned close to her.
“Was anyone else with you?” she asked again.
“Jesus was there,” the woman murmured before lapsing again into unconsciousness.
“The young woman lived ... “But that sudden surge of grace and energy, they know, could have only came from the other Passenger in the car.”

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What a beautiful story, isn’t it? The power of miracles, Jesus will always be there for you!