Growing in Christian Freedom and
Responsibility
FREE WILL
” And the Lord God Commanded the man
saying, ‘of every tree of the garden you may
freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day
that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” Genesis
2:16-17
God created us free to choose: to love or not to
love, to obey or not to obey. If we could only
love and obey, would we really free?
“God desires from all his creatures the service
of love—service that springs from appreciation
of His character. He takes no pleasure in a
forced obedience; and to all He grants freedom
of will, that they may render Him voluntary
service.
Freedom
“Freedom is doing not
what we want to do but
what we ought to do.”
Mary, Model of the Church
 Mary was free to either reject or
accept God’s offer!
 But her faith in God was complete, and
so, she accepted the grace to become
the Mother of the Savior.
Freedom
 To be free means to make choices in
our actions and the way we manage
our lives.
 This freedom means we are free to
choose whether we want to be for God
or to be against Him.
 Is a quality that helps us express
ourselves and develop our humanity.
Freedom and Responsibility
Exercising Freedom Responsibly
• Set restrictions on external freedom
while working to attain goals.
• Before saying or doing anything,
consider its possible effects on others.
• Free ourselves from ignorance so we
can direct ourselves toward goodness.
• Bring out the best in ourselves.
• Manage our time wisely.
• Develop courage, perseverance and
self-discipline.
• Listen to our conscience.
• distinguish an action whether it is good
Concrete Limitations of Freedom
The Limits to Freedom
 Freedom is limited by the effects our
actions will have on other people.
 When our actions cause harm to
others, we are not free to do them!
 Doing what we want is not freedom
but abuse of freedom.
The Catholic Christian and the Elements of
His /Her Action
SUBJECT- The subject of the action is the
person who does the act.
OBJECT- The object of the action is the
deed performed by the “subject”
The OBJECT of one’s action may be good or
bad.
-One finds two important good deeds:
praying and fasting. However, as
presented, it appears that the good-deeds
of praying and fasting become less good
when performed by hypocrites.
-Matthew 6
Jesus indirectly defines the good and evil
deeds
-Mark Chapter 10
-Good teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?
• Jesus answered, “No one is good but
God alone.”
• One must follow the ten
commandments (with these, one can
or evil.)
The good deeds may lead to eternal life,
the opposing action s (i.e. killing, adultery,
stealing,, etc.) would lead to perdition.
 From the ten commandments
(1st letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians)
• Injustice
• Fornication
• Idolatry
• Adultery
• Prostitution
• Practice of Homosexuality
• Stealing
• Greed
• Drinking too much liquor
• Slandering
The intention of the person may alter the
goodness of the deed performed.
Good Deed +Evil Intention /= Good Action
A good deed should always go hand in hand
with a good intention.
Good Deed + Good Intention = Good Action
An evil action can never justified by a good
intention.
Evil Deed + Good Intention /= Good Action
The circumstances underlying the action may
lessen the responsibility of a person
Action + Circumstance 1 Circumstance 2 =
lesser/greater responsibility
CIRCUMSTANCES
TIME
GENDER
State of being of the person
The Catholic Christian And
The Human Action, Freedom and Responsibility
Human Action, Freedom and Responsibility
Luke Chapter 10
The Parable of Good Samaritan
Jesus said, “A man fell victim to robbers as he
went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They
stripped and beat him and went off leaving
him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the
opposite side.
Likewise, a Levite came to the place, and when
he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight. He
approached the victim, poured oil and wine
over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he
lifted him up on his own animal, took him to
an inn and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and
gave them to the innkeeper with the
instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend
more than what I have given you, I shall repay
you on my way back.
Which of these three, in your opinion, was
neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He
answered, “The one who treated him with
mercy,” Jesus said to him “GO AND DO
LIKEWISE.”
The Temple Priest
• To offer sacrifices in the temple
• To instruct people about the law of
Moses
• To teach people concerning the Jewish
tradition
The Levite
• A person from the tribe of Levi
• “overseeing the work of the house of
God” as administrators, doorkeepers
and musicians.
• They attend to the priest or have the
general care for the sanctuary.
The Samaritan
• Part of the 12 tribes of Jacob but
become enemy of Judeans
• To teach people concerning the Jewish
tradition
One’s innate freedom, makes everyone to
decide “to act” or “not to act” in favor of the
other.
 Freedom
 Freedom is not absolute
 Freedom entails responsibility
 Follow the Will of the Father
The highest form of freedom is to do the WILL
of the Father and that is to act the favor of the
betterment of the other for love and service