Have you ever seen a bird trapped or stuck in some form of netting? It will struggle and struggle with all its might, desperate to break free. If it succeeds, triumphantly spreading its wings and soaring away, it’s hard not to share in the bird’s joy as an observer.

In many ways, each of us is like a bird struggling to free itself. St John of the Cross – one of the most prolific Church writers – uses the following analogy in reference to the various attachments we have which hinder us from finding true, lasting freedom:

“It makes little difference whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord. Even if it is tied by thread, the bird will be held bound just as surely as if it were tied by cord; that is, it will be impeded from flying as long as it does not break the thread. Admittedly the thread is easier to break, but no matter how easily this may be done, the bird will not fly away without first doing so.”^[1]

The season of Lent starts this week, often accompanied by many eager resolutions to ‘give up’ some of life’s pleasures – chocolate, fast food or social media perhaps. But I encourage you during Lent to instead consider what small attachments you might have that are holding you back from God. What are the things you feel you simply cannot live without? What have you become emotionally dependent on? Maybe it’s your morning coffee, or your favourite sporting team’s jersey. Perhaps it’s your Sunday morning sleep-in or your daily late-night snack.

Such attachments are indeed small. But our bond with these habits can be extremely difficult to break sometimes. It requires hard work, commitment and patience. In striving to break our attachments to material goods or physical pleasures, we can find encouragement in the words of Jesus:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Further Reading

Ascent of Mt. Carmel (St John of the Cross)
Act Against Your Attachments (Bishop Robert Barron – Word on Fire)

Image: Lightstock
Words: Matthew Biddle

^[1] St John of the Cross. ‘Ascent of Mt. Carmel’, Chapter 11, n. 4(2). Available at https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ascent-of-mt-carmel-12494.