May 30 Sat
How can I make the best use of my freedom?
St. Josemaría: “God is a jealous lover. He is not satisfied if we come to meet him with conditions. He longs for us to give ourselves completely, without keeping dark corners in our hearts, where the joy and happiness of grace and the supernatural gifts cannot reach. Perhaps you are thinking, If I say 'yes' to this exclusive Love, might I not lose my freedom?"
“Each one of us has at some time or other experienced that serving Christ our Lord involves suffering and hardship; to deny this would imply that we had not yet found God. A soul in love knows, however, that when such suffering comes, it is only a fleeting impression; the soul soon finds that the yoke is easy and the burden light, because Jesus is carrying it upon his shoulders as he embraced the wood of the Cross when our eternal happiness was at stake."
“But some people do not understand. They rebel against the Creator, in a sad, petty, impotent rebellion, and they blindly repeat the futile complaint recorded in the Psalms: Let us break away from their bondage, rid ourselves of their toils. They shrink from the hardship of fulfilling their daily task with heroic silence and naturalness, without show or complaint. They have not realized that even when God's will seems painful and its demands wounding, it coincides perfectly with our freedom, which is only to be found in God and his plans."
“Such people barricade themselves behind their freedom. ‘My freedom! My freedom!’ they cry. They have their freedom, but they don't use it. They look at it, they set it up, a clay idol for their petty minds to worship. Is this freedom? What use is this treasure to them, if there is no commitment guiding their whole life?"
“Such behavior goes against their very dignity and nobility as human beings. They are left aimless, with no clear path to guide their footsteps on this earth. You and I have met such people. They then let themselves be carried away by childish vanity, by selfish conceit, by sensuality."
“Their freedom turns out to be barren, or produces fruits which, even humanly speaking, are ridiculous. A person who does not choose, with complete freedom, an upright code of conduct, sooner or later ends up being manipulated by others. He will lead a lazy, parasitic existence, at the mercy of what others decide. He will let himself be blown here and there by any wind whatsoever, and it will always be others who make up his mind for him. These are waterless clouds, carried hither and thither by the winds, autumn trees that bear no fruit, doubly dead and rootless, even though they may try to disguise their lack of character, courage, and honesty behind a smokescreen of constant chatter and excuses."
Self-giving is the exercise of our freedom. We give more glory to God by offering him our best talents than by making vain use of them.
“Love is incompatible with boredom or apathy. To love means to renew our dedication every day, with loving deeds of service."
Pic: San Fernando, a man of sincere faith, committed to justice, and selfless service to others, who showed courage even in difficult times.