Reflection on Freedom

A couple weeks back I gave a reflection on Freedom to the Full Members in Youth Apostles.

Freedom Reflection-12/8/2009 

They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM! ~William Wallace

Catechism References

1730 God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. "God willed that man should be 'left in the hand of his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him."26 Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.27

1739 Freedom and sin. Man's freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. He freely sinned. By refusing God's plan of love, he deceived himself and became a slave to sin. This first alienation engendered a multitude of others. From its outset, human history attests the wretchedness and oppression born of the human heart in consequence of the abuse of freedom.

1742 Freedom and grace. The grace of Christ is not in the slightest way a rival of our freedom when this freedom accords with the sense of the true and the good that God has put in the human heart. On the contrary, as Christian experience attests especially in prayer, the more docile we are to the promptings of grace, the more we grow in inner freedom and confidence during trials, such as those we face in the pressures and constraints of the outer world. By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world:

IN BRIEF

1744 Freedom is the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good.

1745 Freedom characterizes properly human acts. It makes the human being responsible for acts of which he is the voluntary agent. His deliberate acts properly belong to him.

1746 The imputability, or responsibility, for an action can be diminished or nullified by ignorance, duress, fear, and other psychological or social factors.

1747 The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of man. But the exercise of freedom does not entail the putative right to say or do anything.

26 GS 17; Sir 15:14. 27 St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 4, 3: PG 7/1, 983. 28 Cf.
Rom 6:17. 29 Gen 3:13. 30 Cf. Gen 4:10. 31 Cf. 2 Sam 12:7-15. 32 Cf. DH 2 # 7.
33 CDF, instruction, Libertatis conscientia 13. 34 Gal 5:1. 35 Cf. In 8:32. 36 2
Cor 17. 37 Rom 8:21.

William Wallace: There's a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.

Youth Apostle Idea of Freedom

• In Youth Apostles we talk about Freedom in the context of Truth, Freedom, and Care, our ‘Triple-threat Offense’ of “human values that facilitate the reception of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love.”1
• We emphasize in our ministry to youth that “true freedom allows them to be more fully human and not trapped by sin.” 2
• Commitments made in freedom allow us to grow in our faith lives through a tangible and methodical manner of building trust in God and coming to know we are loved. Prayer is one of the more fruitful manners in which we come to know God’s love and it’s incorporated into every one of our commitments.
• We believe that “responsible freedom can only be achieved through discipline and sacrifice.” 3
• We believe that “in the midst of difficult times we need a model of real freedom, and no one better than Our Blessed Mother…Mary was faithful to God. She was prayerful and reflective. Those who want to live in freedom need to prayerfully think before they act, examine their consciences, and recognize possible weaknesses and addictions that can reduce their ability to make free choices.” 4
• “True freedom is achieved when we reflect on God’s will in our life, choose His will, and make a commitment to Him. We must renew this commitment every day of our life through personal discernment and prayer. We are created free so we can freely offer our freedom to Christ in imitation of Our Mother Mary.” 4
• “Youth should be allowed to make some choices…Prudent risk is necessary on the part of those in charge, to promote their healthy growth, however, they need to be guided and protected. Adolescents must be encouraged…empowered to follow through on their great dreams, while still being guided with patience, love, and insight” 5
• “Growth into a state of true freedom is not possible without learning to obey. Those in authority should model their own willingness to be obedient. They need to teach obedience with prudence and love.” 6
• “We must fight the battle of ridding ourselves of slavery to the passions. Our goal is to freely choose what is good, what is God’s will (the Goal of the Spiritual Exercises). Our work is to empower the youth to choose correctly by teaching them that difficult choices require: Personal discipline, willingness to sacrifice, and obedience to God and to the Church. We must help form the moral conscience of young people entrusted to our care. The decisions they make at this stage in life shape their lives. Mary serves as the perfect model of this freedom.” 7

1 Dir. Cor. May ’95 2 CLC handbook 3 Dir. Cor. ’98 4 Dir. Cor. ’94 5 Dir. Cor.
Aug ’95 6 Dir. Cor. ’97 7 Fr. Jack YM Sem. 3Oct’06

My Thoughts

Over the last couple months of my consecration I’ve reflected on and come to understand a little more fully my need to be obedient and disciplined as a manner to gaining my own freedom. I’ve learn to gain more control of my free will through living a specifically defined life-style in a somewhat obedient fashion (I'm a work in progress). Having other consecrated brothers to model that life-style has been very helpful and even more so when they walk with me and show me the ropes. Being able to witness their peace and joy motivates me and helps me through times when prayer, or service, or to love of others as myself is not easy or appealing. I receive help from my brothers to be able to be freed from the slavery of sin. We can fail to be free in the ways that we’re overwhelmed by temptation or struggle in the depths of depression or self hate. Having brothers that share in my life are great help in reminding me of the Love of God. As I begin to make free choices with faith in the mix I begin to trust more and I’m more willing to be a staunch defender.