Sharing: Time Talent Treasure
INDEPENDENCE——-FREEDOM
Webster’s Definition: “Freedom: the quality or state of being free: as a) the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b) liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another. ‘Independence’– the quality or state of being or released usually from something onerous”
Catholic Definition: “Freedom: is the power, 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 responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order.” *
As we celebrate this wonderful holiday, let us be thankful that we live in a country whose citizens defined, fought, and continue to die to protect its people and give them the right to have this freedom and independence. From Jesus we learn that freedom is not the right to do anything we want, whenever we want to satisfy only our own desires, even if we don’t hurt anyone in the process. Rather, freedom has a deeper meaning. Freedom is the choice TO DO WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO. Jesus is not the “onerous” one defined by Webster, the one we need to be released from; the One who restricts, coerces, or constrains us. Rather, the freer we are, the closer we will move toward Him. “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1)
Stewardship Questions: Kathy Reilly 781-444-0862 e-mail: kreilly15@yahoo.com * CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
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Stewardship: A Way of Life
Sharing: Time Talent Treasure
INDEPENDENCE——-FREEDOM
Webster’s Definition: “Freedom: the quality or state of being free: as a) the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b) liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another. ‘Independence’– the quality or state of being or released usually from something onerous”
Catholic Definition: “Freedom: is the power, 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 responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order.” *
As we celebrate this wonderful holiday, let us be thankful that we live in a country whose citizens defined, fought, and continue to die to protect its people and give them the right to have this freedom and independence. From Jesus we learn that freedom is not the right to do anything we want, whenever we want to satisfy only our own desires, even if we don’t hurt anyone in the process. Rather, freedom has a deeper meaning. Freedom is the choice TO DO WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO. Jesus is not the “onerous” one defined by Webster, the one we need to be released from; the One who restricts, coerces, or constrains us. Rather, the freer we are, the closer we will move toward Him. “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1)
Stewardship Questions: Kathy Reilly 781-444-0862 e-mail: kreilly15@yahoo.com * CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH