Freedom to be...

“Am I free? Am I developing the freedom God gave me?

We are “…living in a society that creates alienation. Many people do not realize this. We are offered many superficial choices, which engender the delusion that we are free. But actually we are pushed around a great deal by the media and by other people’s expectations and demands.

…(W)e are never allowed to be fully ourselves; we do not belong to ourselves. The real personal meaning of our lives is not allowed to emerge. We are dominated by someone else’s ideas, tastes, desires: speak this way, act this way, see these things, do these things, have these things.

…This is our very existence. If we would be truly free, we must choose to be our authentic self, but only for ourselves as the subject of this being. …True freedom lies in being completely open, being a complete “yes” to God and to every manifestation of His love, His life and His beauty.

If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live or what I like to eat or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for, in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully the thing I want to live for. Between these two answers you can determine the identity of any person. The better answer he has, the more of a person he is.

We cannot assent to the message of God if our minds and hearts are enslaved. The highest form of freedom is found in obedience to God. Christian faith frees us from the world’s myths, idolatries and confusions.”

M Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O, Thomas Merton - The Quest for True Freedom

As I was reflecting on the pages of this book, I am reminded that we are all born pure.  But along the life's paths, we get conditioned...to the extent that we simply forget who we truly are - gifts of God...created in the image of God...most importantly, loved by God and radiate the light of Christ...  Let us choose to share the light of Christ with all the people we meet...companions...pilgrims...let us give love freely.