Christ is where true freedom is

Make no mistake about it. Only in Christ can we find true freedom. Everything else can only give us apparent freedom that can only put us in bondage, if not destroy us.

The reason for this is that Christ, as the pattern of our humanity, is the fullness of everything objectively true, good, and beautiful for us. He provides us with the power to do what is good for us, since freedom is mainly about freedom to do what is good.

And since freedom is not only about freedom to do what is good but also freedom from whatever evil can hound and tie us down, Christ also fits that requirement because as our redeemer, Christ liberates us from all evil.

We need to understand this truth of our faith well, because nowadays it is very easy to be confused about where to find freedom and how freedom should be. That’s because all sorts of ideas promoted by all kinds of ideologies have been flooding the world.

Nowadays, freedom is mainly understood as the power to do whatever you would like to do. It is purely a subjective freedom, based only on one’s conception of it or on the consensus of a certain group.

There is also the erroneous idea that freedom is anything that gives one pleasure, convenience, advantage, etc. Again this freedom is self-oriented, not others-oriented which is how it should be, since freedom is a matter of loving, and loving is self-giving, not self-serving.

Because of these confusing ideas, the sacrifices involved in loving the way Christ has loved us turn off many people who cannot accept the freedom offered to us by Christ. After all, Christ said if we want to follow him, we have to deny ourselves and carry the cross.

We need to promote the real freedom that is offered to us by Christ. We have to preach about it and explain it thoroughly, using arguments adapted to the different mentalities and cultures of people.

Our problem in this regard is usually that of being ineffective in our preaching because we use complex or subtle arguments, examples, etc., that are above people’s heads. This is not to mention that many times people find inconsistency in what we preach and what we do. We do not walk the talk.

But I am sure that if we manage to convince people, using both human and supernatural means, we can actually get in contact with Christ who is always alive and is in touch with us, then we can see this authentic freedom.

We have to know how to reassure people that with Christ and the freedom that he gives us, we can actually handle all kinds of situations, either humanly good or bad, and use them to attain our eternal goal.

This is the freedom that broadens our mind, expands our heart so as to accommodate everyone the way he is without forgetting how he ought to be, as well as everything else in life.

It is a matter of assuming the very mind and heart of Christ who literally gives himself to us, especially in the Eucharist, so we can have this authentic freedom, and not the many fake forms of freedom.

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