Nov 9 Sat
Does God want me to be free?
“All creatures have been created out of nothing by God and for God: both men, who are rational creatures, although we so often act unreasonably, and the irrational beings who roam the surface of the earth, or burrow in its inmost recesses, or sail the azure skies - some soaring so high that they come face to face with the sun. But in all this wonderful variety, it is only we men (I am not referring now to the angels) who can unite ourselves to the Creator by using our freedom. We are in a position to give him, or deny him, the glory that is his due as the Author of everything that exists."
This possibility makes up the light and shadow of human freedom. Our Lord invites us, and urges us to choose the good, so tenderly does he love us! ‘See, today I set before you a choice between life and death, good and evil. If you pay heed to the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live... Choose life, that you may live.’
God's plans always take into account, and respect, our freedom. “God has left us free, which is a great good and the source of many evils, but it is also the source of holiness and love."
Freedom is the source of love since only free beings can love and be happy. There is no love where there is coercion; we don't speak about fidelity unless there is a voluntary decision to fulfill specific commitments.
But since our freedom is limited, we have the possibility of rebelling against God, saying "No" to his demands. Yet God has wished to run the risk of our freedom. He so greatly values this gift that, to conserve it for our benefit, He accepts the risk of our offending him.
“Ask yourself now (I too am examining my conscience) whether you are holding firmly and unshakably to your choice of Life. When you hear the most lovable voice of God urging you on to holiness, do you freely answer ‘Yes’? Let us turn our gaze once more to Jesus, as He speaks to the people in the towns and countryside of Palestine. He doesn't want to force himself upon us. If you choose to be perfect..., he says to the rich young man. The young man refused to take the hint, and the Gospel goes on to say: he went away sad. That is why I have sometimes called him the "sad lad". He lost his happiness because he refused to hand over his freedom to God."
“The only freedom that can assail the faith is a misinterpreted freedom, an aimless freedom, one without objective principles, one that is lawless and irresponsible. In a word, immorality. Unfortunately, this is what some people are advocating, and their claim does indeed is a threat to the faith."
Pic: Apse of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.
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