Freedom + Penance

What are the human yearnings that reveals the desire for happiness

(GETCIGS)

• Communicate goodness - desire to communicate only what is good and do what is right

• Direct emotions - express and recognise emotions to help them say what they think or believe

• Discover truth - use intellect to search for the answer to questions about meaning of love, purpose of life and what being good means - capable of discovering God

• Discover conscience - desire freedom of conscience and try to live as their conscience tells them, in an effort to do what is right

• Achieve personal integration - desire all parts of themselves to function in harmony - body, emotions, intellect, soul, conscience and sexuality

• Experience God - people reflect on the creation of life, what happens after death and destiny and discover God

• Develop a healthy sexuality - people try to develop healthy sexuality through striving for greater self knowledge, trying to resist temptations, obey God, develop virtues and praying

the two aspects of personal freedom

• freedom for the pursuit of meaning, purpose, happiness, vocation and all good things - an internal ability to make choices and to freely pursue human yearnings to find happiness and meaning

• freedom from pressures of discrimination or oppression - external ability to act in the world freely

definition of personal freedom

Freedom of the self to make one's own choices in the pursuit of meaning and happiness and to act in the world according to your own prerogative

Freedom within society

 

A freedom from oppression or unjust restrictions placed on people in society

What is the connection between freedom and responsibility?

Humans are social creatures and because of this one person’s actions can never be made independently of others. This means with freedom must come responsibility.  Since each person is rational and can understand the consequences of their choices and also the freedom to choose those actions, they need to be accountable and responsible for their actions

CCC 1731

“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 and Religion

The pursuit of happiness by creating a closer relationship with God through certain lifestyle choices

What are some of the different perspectives on freedom?

• Enlightenment understanding

• Negative freedom

• Classical Philosophical Understanding

• determinism

• Christian understanding

Enlightenment understanding of freedom

The state of having the abilities to pursue one’s own desires, ambitions.

negative freedom

freedom from: The state of having little or no legal or physical restraints upon one’s actions.

Classical philosophical understanding of freedom

free will: The power, rooted in reason & will, to act or not to act

Determinism understanding of freedom

The idea that human actions are dictated by and can be predicted from the laws of nature

Human beings therefore are subject to the same laws that govern the rest of the world (gravity, law of motion, quantum indeterminacy, etc.), which means that Freedom is a myth, a false experience that provides a sense of meaning and purpose but has no real truth or validity.

Christian understanding understanding of freedom

The self-determination to live a meaningful life, as directed by God, by fulfilling your vocation

freedom in this sense means listening to God through the deepest desires in your heart, discerning your vocation, and dedicating yourself to a life of purpose and meaning.

Isiah Berlin’s two concepts of freedom

Positive freedom: freedom to control and direct one’s own life

Negative freedom: freedom from external interferences that prevent you from doing what you want when you want

addiction shows a lack of positive freedom with negative freedom

Contemporary secular perspective of freedom

• Freedom from restraints- to do what you want as long as it doesn't impinge on other's freedom

• Individualistic - pursuit of pleasure (hedonism) as a goal encouraging consumerist and materialist ideologies

the three rites of reconciliation

First Rite (what most churches offer): personal and private reconciliation every Saturday

Second rite: exist for a community to confess, occurs in the Liturgy of the Word which incudes readings, community prayers and examination of conscience - individuals then attend confessionals privately and absolution. At the end the community gathers and is dismissed collectively

third rite: reserved for times of emergency or war where individuals cannot attend private confessions and are given general absolution

key elements of the sacraments of penance

Contrition - feeling sorry for one’s sins, examine conscience for mortal sins, a resolution to avoid sinning again

Confession- telling the priest their sins

▪ The matter of the sacrament is the sins committed by the penitent after Baptism.

▪ The form of the sacrament are the words of the priest saying: “I absolve you from your sins.”

Satisfaction - penance, making reparation for the sin through actions or prayers prescribed by the priest

Absolution - Catholics believe God forgives the person (penitent) through the priest (acting in the person of Jesus).

CCC 1424

 “by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent 'pardon and peace'"

Purpose and grace received from reconciliation

• restores a person to the state of grace they had at their baptism

• removal of guilt, clears conscience

• restores relationship with God and the Church (others)

• allows person to follow their vocation through developing a deeper relationship with God

History of reconciliation

• sacrament of penance on the day of his resurrection when he gave the apostles the power to forgive sins

John 20:30

"Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven; and whose sins you shall retain they are retained."(John 20:23).

CCC 1444

"in imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church"

CCC 1874

“To choose deliberately — that is, both knowing it and willing it — something gravely contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is impossible. Unrepented, it brings eternal death.”