Let us begin
by centering ourselves.
Listen to your heart.
And as you do,
take a deep breath in…
and let it out.
Freedom —
a bird in the sky,
a child with a kite,
a cascading waterfall.
I too have known
such moments,
when Spirit lifted me.
Once,
while walking a quiet path
in deep despair,
I came upon a statue
of St. Francis.
I had read his prayer
many times,
and yet that day
it reached me as if
for the first time —
a breath of life
when I could not breathe.
That moment opened me
to a glimpse of freedom
from self —
a freedom born of Spirit
breathing through me.
Since then,
I have known this
deeper freedom:
to rest in Spirit,
to rise above circumstance,
to live as part of the whole.
So let me be —
a wind that lifts,
a hand that steadies,
a flame that warms —
not for me,
but for love.
And now
I invite you
to remember your own moment —
a time when Spirit
touched you anew.
Hold that moment close,
and feel how freedom
breathes in you still.
Together, let us affirm:
I am free in Spirit.
I am limitless.
I am whole.
And in this freedom,
we join voices
with the world in prayer —
that all may know
Spirit’s limitless love,
and that freedom
may be realized
in every heart,
every community,
every nation.
And so it is.