The Cuban priest Alberto Reyes Pías, from Esmeralda in the diocese of Camagüey, published a reflection on freedom and the Beatitudes this Sunday in celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints, using the Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12 as a starting point.
The text, published on Facebook, suggests reading that excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount as a discourse on freedom, and begins with a distinction that the pastor considers essential: the difference between free will and true freedom.
“Freedom is the ability to choose the greater good at every moment”, Reyes stated, and added that “freedom is always linked to good, because it is the choice of good that liberates us, not only from external constraints but also from our own limitations, our whims, and our arrogance.”
For the priest, true freedom does not exist, nor is it a definitive goal: "It is a journey that lasts a lifetime," with progress, setbacks, and twists, always oriented towards the choice of good.
From that perspective, Reyes explained the meaning of the Beatitudes: they are always the consequences of choosing good.
"What is an end in itself is the good, and if choosing the good means renouncing certain goods, if being faithful to the good leads to suffering or persecution, so be it," he stated.
Later, he expanded on the concept: "Being blessed means no longer giving power to comfort, to the avoidance of discomfort, to the fear of the consequences of defending justice; it is denying power to anger and to the closed-mindedness of others, to lies and hypocrisy, to the desire to impose our will, to the fear of persecution for being faithful to the Gospel."
Reyes acknowledged the challenge of the text he commented on: "It is one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture, but it is perhaps the most difficult, because it is the pinnacle of the ideal that every Christian is invited to reach."
His reflection concluded with a question that the priest himself called "uncomfortable": "To whom or to what am I giving power over my life?" presented as the key to determining whether someone will be blessed or not.
This meditation is part of the weekly columns that Reyes has been maintaining on Facebook since 2020 under the title "I've Been Thinking," in which he shares sustained critiques of the government.
The priest, one of the strongest Catholic voices against the dictatorship, has earned the respect and admiration of the people, as well as the aversion of the regime.
Throughout 2026, he has been summoned and interrogated by State Security on several occasions, has received warning documents, has been under the threat of prosecution for alleged "promotion of hatred," and was prevented from traveling to Miami in July.
Despite that pressure, he continues his public activities. The previous week, he described Cuba as "a country in ruins" that needs a change of system.
On Saturday, he described the performance of the Cuban delegation at the UN as a “shameful incident”. “When the priority is to shout louder than the adversary, it is impossible to hear the suffering of a people,” he said.
In September, he reflected on forgiveness, called for hope, and described the Church as a "difficult neighbor" of the regime.
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