LESSON 2 WE ARE CALLED TO BE FREE

Path 4 The Meaning of Human Freedom

Opening Prayer:

O Lord, our God, we thank You for the gift of

freedom. We beg for the grace of conversion so
that, like St. Paul, we may exercise the gift
according to Your love. Help us to live inspired by
Your Spirit, and not yield to the craving of the
flesh. Direct our minds and hearts always, so that
we may choose freely to pursue the good through
which we become the authentic persons You
created us to be.

CONTEXT
ICON
Feel free to do anything inside the
classroom. You may laugh, talk, dance,
sing, etc.

1. Look back at what you did a few minutes ago.

2. Did you enjoy what you did? Explain your answer.
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3. Did you enjoy the atmosphere in class? Why? Why not?

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4. Did you experience freedom? What made you feel as you did?
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ICON –
EXPOSITION

SACRED SCRIPTURE: Acts 9:1-22 The Conversion of Saul (Paul)

Freedom is a gift given to us by God in creating us rational

beings. By our authentic exercise of freedom, we choose what is good.
St. Paul’s conversion to Christ is truly a deep experience of authentic
freedom. Read his story.

WHAT’S THE WORD? THAT’S

THAT’STHE
THEWORD!
WORD!

1. The birthplace of St. Paul

2. Paul’s famous teacher
3. Near this place, Paul was converted
4. Paul’s name prior to his conversion
5. To these people, Paul will preach
Jesus as the Messiah

Paul, a great apostle was a Pharisee. He was born in Tarsus as a Roman citizen and
named Saul. He was one of those who watched the martyrdom of St. Stephen. After the death of
the holy deacon, the Jews raised a violent persecution against the church in Jerusalem. Saul was
a leader in the persecution of Christians, going from house to house to arrest both men and
women and sending them to prison.
But God was delighted to show in Saul His patience and forgiveness, moved by the
prayers of St. Stephen and others. It was approximately at the end of Saul’s journey to
Damascus, when, about noon, that he and his companions were suddenly surrounded by a great

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light, brighter even than the sun. They all saw its brightness; they were astonished and they fell
to the ground. Saul heard a voice, which to him was clear and distinct; but his companions did
not understand. The voice addressed him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul
answered: “Who are You, Lord?” The voice declared, “Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are
persecuting.”
From then on, Paul became a true convert. Indeed, his radical conversion was truly an
experience of freedom. From being a persecutor, he became the great apostle of the Gentiles.
A persecutor of the Christians, a sinner, Paul was converted because of his encounter with the
Risen Christ. God’s plan for Paul is very clear in the Acts of the Apostles. But the Lord said
to Him [Ananias], “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before
the Gentiles, kings, and Israelites, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my
name” (Acts 9:15-16). “Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this
purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me] and what you
will be shown. I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you,
to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to
God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have
consecrated by faith in Me” (Acts 26:16-18). “A true convert expresses this, not in a bare form
of words, nor with faint leisurely desires, nor with any exception lurking in the deepest of his
heart. It is a total sacrifice of himself, and an admirable victory over the world with its frowns
and charms, over the devils with their snares and threats, and over himself and all inclinations
of self-love but devoting himself totally to God.”

CHURCH TEACHING: Pastoral Constitution in the Modern World (Gaudium et

Spes 17)
Only in freedom can man direct himself toward goodness. Our contemporaries
make much of this freedom and pursue it eagerly; and rightly so, to be sure. Often,
however, they foster it perversely as a license for doing whatever pleases them, even if it is
evil.
For its part, authentic freedom is an exceptional sign of divine image within man.
For God has willed that man be left “in the hand of his own counsel” so that he can seek
his creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through loyalty
to Him.

What we have read from the Scriptures about Paul’s conversion, speaks of our
capacity to commit ourselves to Christ and what is good. Yet, many would speak of freedom
nowadays as simply “doing what I want.” They frequently relate freedom as a license to do
anything they want; even if it is evil. They cheat, steal, despise others, corrupt, kill, and
involve sexual abuse because they think of freedom as doing what I want, unmindful of
others and the consequences of their actions. This is a distorted view of what freedom is. Our
national catechism speaks of authentic exercise of freedom not as “the right to say and do
anything” but to “do the good.” “It is not my own individual private possession, but a
shared freedom with others in the community.” The well-being of others must always be
taken into account. Otherwise, we cannot experience true freedom. But if we choose to
pursue what is good, this leads to experience authentic freedom as well as helping others to
do so.

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 The second paragraph of the Church teaching above speaks of an essential and
inalienable characteristic of the human person which makes him the image of God. When we
choose and pursue what is good, we become truly free. Like Paul, a true convert, it is
possible to be freed from anything that enslaves us. Let us think of the things which we often
do, like hurting others and ourselves. Freedom enables us to choose between good and evil.
Unlike animals bound by their instincts, we have the capacity to direct ourselves toward
what is good or evil. Conversion is possible through Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit
who enables us to change from evil to what is good for others and for ourselves.
Let us further read on how we can truly make ourselves free and how we can
experience authentic freedom, a freedom for Christ, as the Church teaches:
Authentic freedom, therefore, involves first of all freedom from everything that opposes our true
self-becoming with others in community. Such, for example, are interior obstacles like ignorance,
our disordered passions, fears, personality defects, bad habits, prejudices or psychological
disturbances, and exterior forces, such as violent force or even the threat of violence. These
impediments to authentic freedom are commonly traced to three sources: Biological, which
include inherited handicaps and defects as well as external substances like drugs; psychological
or interior compulsions, including those originating in the unconscious; and social pressures.
Such as the many economic, political, and cultural obstacles which impede the right to freedom.
All these factors diminish our freedom and thus, moral imputability and our responsibility. But
the greatest single obstacle to authentic freedom is SIN. But this freedom from is directed
towards a second freedom, the more important “freedom for.” Beyond being liberated from all
obstacles to authentic freedom is the freedom for growing as full persons and children of God,
sharing in the life of Christ our liberator through his Spirit. It is the freedom found in authentic
love, (CFC 696-697).

Freedom from is a deliverance from anything and everything that hinders us

from doing the good and developing the true self as we grow with others in the
community. It is freedom from selfish inclinations or blind prejudices. It seeks what is
truly good. These obstacles can be either interior or exterior. Examples of interior
obstacles include, among others, ignorance, disordered passions, fears, guilt, personality
defects, bad habits, prejudices, emotional disturbances, etc. Exterior obstacles, on the
other hand, refer to violence or threats of violence, economic instability, social pressure,
political or cultural influences, etc. But the greatest single obstacle to freedom is SIN.

Freedom for is the power to work towards a fulfillment to which our nature is
ordered and to which Christ invites us, namely, full life in the Kingdom. This makes our
shift possible from freeing ourselves from anything enslaving us now, to a life of sharing
in Jesus Christ. After being freed from anything and everything that hinders our true self-
becoming, we are directed toward freedom for growing as full persons and children of
God, sharing the divine life in Christ through the Spirit which is both a task and a
process.

Authentic freedom, then, is exercised when we choose to do good. We need to be

freed from any obstacle that may hinder our authentic self-becoming, and for that we need
the healing grace of Christ our Lord. Like Paul, what areas in your life need conversion?

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 ICON –
INTEGRATION

Plot
Plotthe
thedates
dateswhen
whenyou: you:
Correct someone to a
Correct someone to a bad bad
deed
deedororaabad
badhabit;
habit;
Put
Put a check onthese
a check on thesedays.
days.
do an act of freedom
do an act of freedom thatthat
extends
extendshelp
helptotoothers;
others;
Put
Put a star on thesedays.
a star on these days.
pray for someone’s liberty
pray for someone’s liberty
from
fromaabad
badhabit;
habit;
Put
Put a heart onthese
a heart on thesedates.
dates.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day Day Day Day 14

11 12 13

Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day Day Day Day 21

18 19 20

Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day Day Day Day 28

25 26 27

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 Day 29 Day 30 Day 31

FREEDOM CALENDAR
(You can do your own calendar)

DAY ACTIVITIES
(Specify below what you have done for each day.)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29

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SUMMARY

Freedom is authentically exercised in choosing and pursuing what is

morally good. In essence, it is the power to choose to act by someone who is
created in God’s image and likeness. We are rational beings created with
intellect and free will and thus, responsible for our own free acts. Through our
free actions, we gradually shape our own life and can become the person we
are called to be in following Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Authentic freedom is fully realized in Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is the

grace and power of Christ’s Spirit within us that liberates us from sin so that
we may live a life of loving service to our fellowmen.

VOCABULARY

Freedom from – anything and everything that hinders our true self-becoming

Freedom for – a fulfillment within us that Christ invites us to be and to become in the kingdom.

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