YOUCAT*: Freedom is the God-given power to be able to act of one’s own accord; a person who is free no longer acts under the influence of someone else. [1730-1733, 1743-1744]
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” —Jeremiah 1:5
God had a plan for us before we are born. We are born with freedom or free will. Free will is the gift from God that allows us to choose to be close to Him or not. It is the basis for our moral responsibility. This doesn’t mean we can do whatever want; our freedom should be used to do good. The more we do what is good, the freer we become.
“The person who abandons himself totally in God’s hands does not become God’s puppet, a boring ‘yes man’; he does not lose his freedom. Only the person who entrusts himself totally to God finds true freedom, the great, creative immensity of the freedom of good. The person who turns to God does not become smaller but greater, for through God and with God he becomes great, he becomes divine, he becomes truly himself.” —Pope Benedict XVI
#YearofFaith Challenge: Spend some time really thinking about how faith helps you to live a moral life.
*Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church
Lisa Gomes is the director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry