What is true freedom?
Catechism Meditation:
Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. ―No. 1731
REFLECTION: As Americans, we love our freedom — or, at least, what we like to consider “freedom.” For our society, freedom often means being able to do pretty much whatever we want, so long as it’s not hurting anyone else. As Catholic Americans, we ought to have a radically different view of “freedom.” The Catholic tradition has long recognized and defended the concept of free will. But our Catholic tradition would not necessarily recognize our society’s notion of freedom as true freedom.
For Catholics, true freedom comes from abiding in Jesus’ Word and knowing His truth. St. John’s Gospel says, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8:32), but do we really understand what that means? Freedom means that man is able to make the choice for good, rather than the enslavement to choose only those things that hurts us. True freedom enables us to do God’s will—full of self-control.
True freedom rests in being able to do what one should do, not in doing what one is forbidden (1 Sam 15:23). Freedom is the ability to fulfill the purpose for which God has created you entirely. When we exercise our true freedom, rather than the license of the world, we are able to choose life as God offers. In the process we grow in holiness, and become more fully human as our Father in Heaven had in mind. To be human is to be free, and to be free is to be closer to God.
PRAYER. Lord, I come before you today with a heart full of hope and a mind filled with expectation. I know that you are with me every step of the way, guiding my path and leading me toward a life of true freedom.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“Freedom does not mean that right to do whatever we please, but rather to do as we ought. The right to do whatever we please reduces freedom to a physical power and forgets that freedom is a moral power.” ― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen