As Americans, this Memorial Day we will remember those who died in the service of our country. But as Catholic Americans, we should also reflect on the meaning of true freedom and thank God for the Church which proclaims the way to the fullness of that freedom. I honor those in my family and yours who paid the ultimate price for the freedom that I have enjoyed as an American. However, I believe that some today have trivialized the meaning of freedom or distorted it beyond recognition. True freedom is much deeper than being able to do what we want. Freedom directs us toward truth and choosing the truth perfects our exercise of freedom.
Again, the Catholic Catechism is so very helpful for our understanding:
"The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin." Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts." (CCC #1731-1734)
Once we understand that we are a unity of body and soul, created in the image of God and endowed with reason and free will, we are ready to taste of the Church's teaching on freedom. Paragraph 1730 of the Catechism is short, but its breadth is enormous. It states that "God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. God willed that man should be 'left in his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him."
In order to help us understand the significance of the abuse of freedom, Dr. Scott Hahn gives us a general example using a train. It is the nature of a train to run on tracks. As long as the train remains on the tracks, it is able to carry people or needed materials across the country. If, one day, the train viewed its tracks as restricting its freedom and decided to jump its tracks, what would happen? Therefore, acting according to our nature liberates and frees us. Acting against our nature results in a kind of slavery because we are no longer free to "Be all that we can be."
This Memorial Day we rightly honor our fallen brothers and sisters, those who have died so that we may continue to choose freedom. We also remember our Church, who has defended the dignity and freedom of the human person for over two-thousand years.
God bless,