Freedom

We yearn to be free from the sufferings, pains and vicissitudes of life.  The crosses we bear must ultimately give us the strength to shed them

What is true freedom? 

Freedom is what makes man to be man.  Freedom is what distinguishes man from the rest of visible reality—sun, moon, stars, elements, plants and animals.  On the natural level, freedom is man’s greatest gift or quality.

What is freedom?  Freedom is the ability to choose between various goods; it means that man is not determined to one way of acting—the way elements, plants and animals are.  Atheists and believers disagree on many important points, but they agree on the value and importance of freedom.

We all want to be happy and we sense that there is no happiness without love, and no love without freedom.  Love is the gift of self to the other as an act of benevolence, not in order to get something out of it.  That is what we mean by the love of friendship.  Because he is free, man can love and he can make a free gift of himself to the other; animals are not capable of this.

Interior freedom is gained by loving God and one’s neighbor , and by not being inordinately attached to any created thing.  Many people lack this love because they do not have faith and hope.  Faith in God, and his goodness, gives rise to hope, and hope leads to love.

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