Thoughts
With the 4th of July not too far in our rear-view mirror, this is a good time to reflect on two aspects of freedom:
(1) Slavery. God created us with free will. Freedom is not, however, choice without restraint, as giving into every whim is actually slavery. We can be slaves to food, alcohol, drugs, pornography, sensuality, gambling, work, sloth, television, sports, etc. We can also be slaves to old hurts, grudges, prejudices, bad relationships, etc.
(2) Surrender. Freedom is expressed through the voluntarily surrender of one’s will for a good. Freedom is to study or work when we would rather socialize. It is to give in to our spouse’s way of doing things. Freedom is exhibiting great patience and forgiveness toward a child or an aging parent. It is submitting with a smile to unreasonable requests from a boss.  The greatest exercise of freedom is to surrender our free will back to God, trusting in His great love and care for us.
Challenge
First, identify those things that are holding you in any type of bondage – spiritual, mental, emotional or physical. Seek to free yourself from these through prayer, practical means and help from others. Second, identify where you are too focused on “you” in your life. Seek to surrender yourself to God and the people whom He has placed in your life. Be patient with and forgiving of yourself; this isn’t easy.
Go Deeper
+ The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Man’s Freedom
+ Bishop Samuel J Aquila: Freedom is to choose Jesus Christ
+ Check out these videos: Dr. Sri – Catholic Understanding of Freedom, CatholicVote – Charity & Responsibility, Fr. John Bartunek – Struggling with Foregiveness, Cardinal Dolan on Religious Freedom
+ Pray a novena to Mary as the “Undoer of Knots”
+ Pope Francis: Forgiveness is the ‘joy of God’
+ Check out these CDs: Anger and Forgiveness, The Healing Power of Confession, Freedom through Forgiveness, The Hidden Power of Forgiveness
+ Prayer for Emotional Healing
+ Escaping the bondage of pornography
+ Kenneth Baker, SJ: The Need for Sacrifice
+ USCCB: Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship
+ Helping Children to understand that Sacrifice = Love