We were meant to be free

I often reflect on the heroic exodus of my grandparents with their children escaping their native land and seeking their Promised Land, the United States of America.

Their journey fleeing religious and political persecution was one filled with acts against humanity, oppression, inequality and uncertainty.

One of the first signs of communism’s arrival in Cuba was the forced closures of the country’s Catholic churches and the deportation and imprisonment of priests and nuns.

Following the Cuban Revolution, my father, as a child, recalls being able to see into his neighborhood’s church from his family’s flat to witness this sacred space being used as a meeting place for the Communist Party. Any ideology and government that forces the closure of the physical and spiritual doors toward God and eliminates the freedom of worship represents the antithesis of the freedom to experience God’s kingdom.

As I reflect on the life of my grandfather, whom we recently lost, I marvel and am completely humbled by his act of selflessness, perseverance and endless sacrifices from the moment he left – all while trusting Jesus’ calling to “follow me” to his and his family’s destined Promised Land.

His personal story of surviving confinement, the constant threat of execution after he spoke against this regime of evil, the forced separation of his family and children, and slavery were all conditions of the “famine” my family experienced, one that would equate to what Abram and his family experienced in the 12th chapter of Genesis.

Freedom makes us responsible for our actions, allows us the opportunity to choose good over evil, advocate for human dignity and the right to life, and allows us to make choices that lead us to God’s plan. The culmination of each of my family member’s search for the Promised Land ended in becoming American citizens.

For my grandfather, “Pipo,” it was an extraordinarily proud moment in his hard life, even captured in the local paper. My family’s story is one of triumph, seekers after “his kingdom.”

Even more so today, with the impending threat to freedoms within our own country and, certainly, beyond, let our Catholic heritage succeed with each generation, the “seeds.” Let the only “revolution” we encounter today be that of total freedom to follow our faith and choose good over evil as our seeds – our children – continue the legacy striving to protect and preserve the Catholic Church.

This column is dedicated to all those who sacrificed all to find their “Promised Land” and those that daily speak up and stand up to defend, protect and preserve the freedoms of the United State of America.

Ana Batista Borden is a native New Orleanian, wife, mother, architect and Roman Catholic. She and husband Brad juggle their own businesses while finding balance navigating life with little ones in the Catholic faith and as active parishioners at their church. She enjoys walking adventures with her family, wedding cake snowballs and drawing and painting anything that has to do with buildings. Her favorite quote is from Pope Benedict XVI: “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”