+ Truth and Freedom,'.

-''L

In the Gospel Reading, Jesus is telling us the trilth that Jesus Him-self, \'Vill

free us from sin and death. Christ's words,"the truth will set y°u free", set truth

as both the condition for authentic freedom and a warning agaiinst"every kind of

illusionary freedom, every freedom that fails to enter into the whole truth about

man and the wor ld"."Lovers of true freedom are those who come to decisions on

their ownjudgment and in the light of truth, and govern their activities wi th a sense

of responsibiliw striving after what is true and right."The pillars of this freedom

ai-e"the truth aboutjesus the Savio the truths about the Church, and the truth

about man and his dignity"( CFC 694).

CCC IHOstates : God created human a rational being, conferring on himlher

the diwity of a person who can initiate and control hislher own actions."God
willed that human should be'left in the hand of hislher own counsel', so that hel

the might of hislher own accord seek hislher Creator and freely attains hislher

full and blessed perfection by cleaving to Him. 99

Freedom is the powe 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 responsibili ty... Human

freedom is a fbrce for growth and maturity in truth and goodness ; it attains its

perfection when directed toward God. our beatitude ( CCC 1 T3l).

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It makes us responsible for our acts and to progress in Virtues and knowledg-

of whal. Is good and right, because'the more a person does what is good the Treer
helshe becomes. Authentic freedom is doing what is good andjust, It is not the

r ight Lo say or do zmyLhing we want.

Accol-ding Lo Michael Pennock, freedom can be divided into two main qpes

into) · 11{i, I JtT rd o7 n and exlwn, cctjreedo'nl.

Internal fi-cedam is the freedom to be all we can possibly be, a state offullilled

being, than a way of acting. It means freedom from such things as isola tion, sul fering,

and dea Lh. In short, from all that prevents us from being fully alive. This freedom

is not found in the possession of any external obj ect, so too, the hindrances to

inner freedom come ultimately from within ourselves, in our free choice not to

be tl-ue to 1 ove.
External freedom is the freedom to do all we can possibly do. This is what most

people think of when they hear the word freedom. External freedom, in a Chhstian

context is a means to an end. We attain internal freedom by responding to God's

love in our daily ac tions.

Therefore, the exercise of freedom · does not mean having the right to say or

do everything.-Man's freedom is limited, jt is not absolute.

+ Threats to Freedom

There are two kinds of threats to heedom, external threats and intel-nal

threats.
External threats are forces in society which directly or indirectly endangei-

oLIr quest for innei-fi · eedom. This includes such things as oppression, inj ustice,

corrup tion. pr-ej udice, and the like. The Fathers of the 2nd Vatican CoLincil

state :"whatever insults human dignity, such as sub-human conditions, arbitraq

imprisonment... Disgraceful working conditions where men are treated as mere

tools for profit... All these things and others are of their like are infamies indedd...

Moreov e they are a upreme dishonor to the Creator"( COnsthAtzon i?z tlze Cliurcli

in the. Mod€}-n World # 2.

Internal threats, as the term implies, come from within ourselves.

1.
I ₩ orance is a threat to freedom because in ignorance, »ve can hurt ourselves

as well as others. Of course, we are not responsible for that of which we are

ignorant, but we are responsible not to remain ignorant to the extent we are

able to do. We must constan Lly work toward an eyen greater understanding

of ourselves and our relationship to Gacl.

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2. passio?? · s or emotions are those inner forces that aff ect us both spiritually

and physically IL】 moving us to act in a certain way. These passions, such as

joy love, fea and sorrow are in themselves good but they become elit onh ·
\'vhen directed toward an evil action that dehumanizes us.

3. Habits are form of secon d nature to us, they are things we do spontaneously ·

effbrtlessly, and without thinking. Habits are neither moral or immoral

\jvhen a habit is g°od, we say it is a virtue ; but if they are directed toward

immoral ac tions, they are called vices ( Cfirtslan MoralztJ and You).

How should we exercise Resp°nsible Freedom?

cftc 700 states : As Christians, we come to know what is morallv good in

the light of the gospel and human experience."For faith throws a new light

on everything, and this new light regarding our iTrorallife works through our
conscience, the most secret core and sanctuary of a man where he is alone

with God, whose'voice echoes in his depths. It impels us to ¢o good and avoid

evil. It also indicates how we are to love God and others. In our daily though ts,

words, and deeds.

THE CHURCH SAYS...

Only in freedom can a person direct himselflherself'tow ard gaodnw.

The people of our time prize freedom very highly and strir e eagerly for

it. In this they are right. Yet they often cherish it improperl \ · ai jf'jt ga \ · e

them leave to do anything they like, even when it is evit. Bul that w hich

is truly freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of Gc) d in human.

For God willed that a person should"be Jeft in the hand of hislhei-g \ Y n
counsel"so that helshe might of hislher o1 · vn accol-d seek hislher Creator

and freely attain hislher full and blessed perfection by clea ving to Him.

Aperson's dignity therefore requires himlher to act oul of conscious and

free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from \ · vi thin, anel not b\-

blind impulses in himselflherself or by mere external constl-aint. A pei-son

gains such dignity when, ridding himselflherself of all slav erv to the pas-

si ons, helshe presses forw ard towards hislher goal fi · eeh'choosing w hat

is good and by hislher diligence and skill effectively secu1-e fol-hilnself,'

herself the means suited to this end.

cf. GS 17

The more one does w hat is good, the fi-eei-one becomes. Thei-e is nd
true freedom except in the 861-v ice of w hat is good 1nd. Just. The chuice to

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CCC1733

But it is too easy to confuse human freedom with simply"doing what I

want. authentic freecom is notthe right to say and do anything,but to

"do the good"(LF CCC 1 740). It is not my own individual private possession

but a shared freedom with others in community. It is not found in prdudice

deceit or ignorance, but in truth, Christ's words,"The truth will set you flee"

(}.. 832), set truth as both the condition for authentic freedom and a wam-

ing against every fredom that fails to enter into the whole with about man

and the world (RH 12).

LJ

CFC 694