Opening Prayer

O Lord, every soul wants to be free, but lies and chains try to tie us
down. What can we do?
Spirit of God, tell it to us in the soft whisper of your Word. We are
forgiven, we are loved. Sin and death defeated; we are free by Your
most precious blood. Show us what it means then to be free. What
shall we do?
Show me Lord, that in You, we are free to give, to serve, and to love
more.
O Lord, we thank you for the gift of freedom. We beg for the grace of
conversion so that like You, we may exercise this gift according to Your
love. 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.
O Jesus, give us courage and clarity. Bring us hope and peace. Restore
the lost and the lonely.
Amen.
Are you/we truly free?
Man’s Freedom amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
What Does it Hinder Us?
• Challenges such as heightened restrictions, limited
access to humanitarian efforts, and persecutions
which may or may not hinder us in exercising our
authentic freedom during these global health crises.

- But man always finds ways on how to

help and do good even though there are a
lot of obstacles as freedom is not
something as “doing what we want” but
doing something for the common good.
How is Freedom an important aspect of
our lives?
Luke 6: 1-5
While Jesus was going through a fields of grain

on a Sabbath, His disciples were picking the heads

of grain, rubbing them in their hands and eating

them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are doing what

is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you not read

what David did when he and those [who were]

with him were hungry? [How] he went into the

house of God, took the bread of offering, which

only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and

shared to his companions.” Then He said to them,

“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Scriptural Reading on the
Debates about the Sabbath
• Jesus showed how He exercised His freedom wisely.
• The truths about freedom from Jesus’ example.
- It is LIMITED
- A FORCE OF TRUTH AND GOODNESS
- Directed TOWARDS GOD
- Bears RESPONSIBILITY
What is Freedom?
• Latin: Libertas – Free
- Libertatem - condition of a free man
• French: Liberte - freedom; free will
What is Freedom?
• Divine Origin – It is being of God, for God, and
with God.
• Personal and Universal – Not limited within
ourselves but is diverse. (CCC# 1740)
Limitations of Freedom
• Freedom has limits and is not doing
what we want to do but what we ought
to do. Thus, knowing our freedom is an
obligation in knowing our own limits.
Limitations of Freedom
• Fundamental Rights – Freedom is limited by the
effects our actions will have on other people.
When our actions cause harm to others,
whether physically, emotionally, socially, or
spiritually, we are not free to do them.
• Our Status in Life– Doing what we want is not
freedom but abuse of freedom.
Limitations of Freedom
• Internal and External Factors– Our praxis of
freedom are prevented by disordered passions,
fears, doubts, ignorance, or negative dispositions
or habits.
• Christian Freedom and Liberation– Liberation as
a form of true freedom means “first and
foremost liberation from the radical slavery of
sin.” Hence, to be truly free, man must get rid of
all obstacles including SIN.
Jesus, Our Perfect Example
Towards Authentic Freedom
• Seek out the TRUTH - Christians are called to
plant the seeds of truth in everything and
whatever we will do and decide upon. Hence,
our daily actions where the truth is sought
and should be found.
• Take the bull by the horn - Naming what
makes us unfree helps us recognize the
problems or issues and act on it accordingly.
• Doing good at all costs - One’s use of freedom
requires us to use it for the common good.
Any act must be accompanied by a qualifier -
that of good/goodness, for it to be Christian.
Integration
• God created us free and related and we
exercise our freedom in relation, doing
good, and responsible to others. We
celebrate this relatedness, goodness, and
responsibility in the Eucharist as adopted
children of the Father, redeemed by Christ
and indwelled in by the Spirit.
In summary:
• The actions of Jesus tells us that freedom is
not a license to do what we want to do.
• Freedom is absolute since it has
limitations.
• Freedom entails responsibility.
• Christians are called to follow
wholeheartedly Jesus’ ways and actions
towards authentic freedom.
• With or without a pandemic, man’s
freedom to do something extraordinary for
the common good will never be
diminished.
How does Sin Hinder our Vocation towards “True
Freedom”?
In Life, How is Freedom both a Gift and a
Responsibility?
 Do man-made rules, protocols, or even laws limit our freedom
from doing what is good and as being a responsible citizen who
follows it wholeheartedly? Why or why not?