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The greatest gift God has given to humanity is free will. Aside from his Son Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, of course. Our right to make our own choices is an inalienable right enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. God’s gift comes with one condition. And that is – choose, but know that you are responsible for that choice. Not your mom or dad, neighbor or friend – but you.
So why are people so obsessed with making choices for others? “Carrying their own cross” and forcing others to live the way they think they should. What do I say? Read on to find out.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I am part of Ricky T’s management team. We decided to request, film and edit the portion of his “Just Your Turn” Groovy soca monarch competition video featuring Catholic priest Father Albert. We chose him not only because of his extremely high profile, but also because of the way he presents the Gospel. His approach is not only approachable, but also relatable. It’s tough love combined with wisdom, down-to-earth examples and tangible goals.
Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. Three simple words with so much meaning. If we all treated others the way we would want to be treated – the world would be a better place. At the heart of his sermon, Father Albert called on all of us to do the same. Love one another, treat others with respect – stop gossiping, being hypocritical, being jealous or spreading hatred towards one another. Yes, he may have thrown in a few witty words to make his point, but he was speaking the words of the Lord.
“Just Your Turn” might not be the song you’d want to sing about domestic violence and partner abuse. But it works. It speaks in no uncertain terms about a woman’s right to choose her partner and relationship. You may not be comfortable with this. After all, we’re all supposed to wait until we’re married to have sex. But for those who don’t – guess who has the right to judge and condemn them? Not me, and not you. You want proof – John 8:7 “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Likewise, all of you who chose to condemn the women who wore thongs during the Lucien Carnival. You marveled and judged their shamelessness! How dare they parade, twirl and show off. They were consenting adults who paid, how dare they do this and demand that we be respectful in the days and weeks ahead? Well, how about this, how dare you?
As editor of HTS News4orce at the time and host and producer of HTS’s carnival show Mass Mania, I will not film or broadcast footage of women engaging in behavior you find abhorrent. All it gets is complaints about how boring our coverage is. Photographers show you what you want to see. If you really don’t want it on your screen, turn them off. The same goes for the content of the parade. Don’t come. Exercise your right to choose not to watch, just as they exercise their right to behave as they see fit.
The same is true of Father Albert. If you like your priest to sit in the presbytery and pray, and only come out when he has to say Mass – he’s not for you. But understand this. The parish priest of Good Shepherd Church in Barbonno is doing what he feels he is called to do. He gets people excited to listen to Catholic sermons. Parishioners flock to the church and online to hear him preach. Calypso songstress Solange calls him “Father Truth” and has been taking his story to the Calypso Finale. When has a Catholic priest ever attracted so much attention and interest in Catholicism, the Bible, or the Word of God?
When he appeared at Groovy Soca Monarch and the audience erupted in pure joy, that was you. They may not be your model Christians, but they felt and saw recognition, love and respect for him. Then tell me, as a Catholic, how you judged that.
If we all did everything the same way – what a boring and dull life it would be. I can’t tell you how to live your life, nor do I want to. I leave you to God, just as Father Albert always asks us to – leave him to God. Do the same for everyone, including a priest who attends the talk, so women know they have the right to choose their partner on their own terms, without the threat of violence from anyone. Leave some space for the women on the wall of Bum Bum, too. At least they choose to live in the light. Father Albert often reminds us that everything we do in the dark. God is always watching. He doesn’t need your help to grade anyone. Or are you so perfect that you don’t need a grade?
I grew up in a Catholic family and the church was my religious home. I am also a carnival goer and have been going to carnivals since I was 12 years old. I consider myself to be a spiritual being first and foremost, which means my faith is strong and rooted in my experiences. I am not going to blindly follow any religion. But I will do my best to make the right choices and hopefully at the end of my life, God will look after me. That should be all of our focus. Leave me to God too.
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