AUTHENTIC FREEDOM

FREEDOM OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Freedom in the Old Testament is clearly manifested in the life of the Israelites was their exodus from slavery and suffering in Egypt to a new life of freedom and dignity as God’s people.

As Christians, our authentic freedom to “to do good” ultimately means to “act as Jesus did. it is the Holy Spirit who strengthens us to overcome sin and temptation and empowers us to be of loving service to others.

What is authentic freedom?

What it is not….

Authentic freedom is “not doing what I want”

Authentic freedom is not a license or right to say and do anything.

Authentic freedom is not my own individual private possession. (CFC 694)

What it is . . .

Authentic freedom is “to do good” (CCC 1740)

Authentic freedom is a shared freedom from everything that opposes our true becoming with others in the community (CFC 696).

Certainly freedom does mean the right to do as one pleases—to think, believe, speak, worship (or not worship), move about, gather, and generally act as you choose—but only until your choices start to infringe on another person’s freedom.

Two levels of personal freedom

1. Free choice- this is the freedom we have to choose from among alternatives.

2. Fundamental freedom – the basic option underlying all Particular moral choices. This is the kind of person we are or we become through the moral choices we make.

Freedom for

Authentic freedom ha a purpose:

1. Is for growing as full persons and disciples of Jesus, sharing in Christ’s life through His Spirit.

2. It is the freedom found and expressed in authentic love through a genuine concern and a sincere desire for the good of others.

3. It is the freedom to grow in the likeness of Christ, whose example of loving service was perfectly revealed in paschal mystery.

Freedom is grounded in Truth

Truth it does not mean being honest but it is refers to what Christ has revealed about who we are and what we should do through His life, His teachings and most importantly, his paschal mystery.

b. Exterior threats of freedom

These are forces of realities in our community that influence us to act in a self centered way.

There are two things needed.

1. Discerning and choosing what is truly good amidst all temptations to self-centered behavior.

2. Asking God for the grace to overcome our built weaknesses through prayer, the celebration of the sacraments, and good companions.

Freedom from

a. Interior threats to freedom

These are a threat that comes from within like habits or vices, fears, doubts, disordered desires, prejudices and ignorance.

There are two things that are needed to counter the threats.

1. We need to become more aware of these interior vices, habits, tendencies and weaknesses.

2. We should seek whatever help we need to keep them in check.

Freedom is Relational

Freedom is relational because god made us persons-in-community. Thus it is fostered when people respect the freedom and dignity of each other.

True Freedom is “doing the Good”

True freedom is not our capacity to do anything we want, but our capacity to do what we should as persons-in-community. In short, true freedom is “doing the good’.

b. That we are not free at all.

There are great personalities like Sigmund Freud said that we are not free at all. He’s notion why we are not free because an acts of every individuals are largely determined by their subconscious mind and sexual drive. In fact, the notion is quit correct because a lot of people walk because of their sexual drives and subconscious lifestyle. Like for example snoring, or shouting while sleeping. We cant do things to counter that but this notion is another misconception because true freedom does not takle on drives sexually but in totality of taking good care of the community.

There are two wrong notions of freedom that we should guard our freedom:

Freedom in the New Testament

Jesus Christ is the most perfect sign of Gods call for us to become truly free.

a. That human freedom should be absolute or limitless

• There are different personality’s talks about the limitation of freedom. They said that our freedom is limited hence we are all bound with objective law like rules and obligations. They called it as forms of restraints or limitations of freedom. Thus their view is erroneous because the real notion of freedom is for the good of society – an action coupled with responsibility- our freedom is always directed to goodness

SIGNS OF UNFREEDOM:

1. Writings on walls for fun.

2. Telling lies to protect one self.

3. Inability to choose a good TV program.

4. Conforming to the dictates of the barkadas.

5. Imitating uncritically fashion and looks of popular artists or sport idols.

Freedom is not just making what we want or having more options but it means growing in our capacity to act responsibly. In short, growing in true freedom means not only being able to do more things but also acting with greater responsibility.

Example of FREEDOM:

Doing things or acting not out of fear

Asking for clarifications during class discussions

Reporting incidents without bias of any person or group

Giving objectives, constructive feedback to the teacher for further improvement.

Expressing future plans( career choices)

GROWING IN FREEDOM

"So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free." - John 8:36

FREEDOM – is freedom to act or not to act and so to perform deliberate acts of one’s own. (CFC)