Catholic Document on Free Will

As promised, I continue on yesterday's topic with a primary source on the topic of free will...

"DECLARATION ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
DIGNITATIS HUMANAE
ON THE RIGHT OF THE PERSON AND OF COMMUNITIES
TO SOCIAL AND CIVIL FREEDOM IN MATTERS RELIGIOUS
PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON DECEMBER 7, 1965

1. A sense of the dignity of the human person has been impressing itself more and more deeply on the consciousness of contemporary man,(1) and the demand is increasingly made that men should act on their own judgment, enjoying and making use of a responsible freedom, not driven by coercion but motivated by a sense of duty. The demand is likewise made that constitutional limits should be set to the powers of government, in order that there may be no encroachment on the rightful freedom of the person and of associations. This demand for freedom in human society chiefly regards the quest for the values proper to the human spirit. It regards, in the first place, the free exercise of religion in society. This Vatican Council takes careful note of these desires in the minds of men. It proposes to declare them to be greatly in accord with truth and justice. To this end, it searches into the sacred tradition and doctrine of the Church-the treasury out of which the Church continually brings forth new things that are in harmony with the things that are old..."

CONTINUE READING THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT HERE

Predestination or Free Will?

A reader asks: “As far as God hand picking people for His purposes, do you not believe in free will? Are you prescribing to Calvin's idea of predestination?”

The answer to this question is so important in how we raise our children. One of the first prayers we teach our children is the Our Father. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10)

One of the first Bible stories we teach them is that of Creation and Adam and Eve. It is very clear from that story that, while God desired that we would choose Good, he allowed us the choice between good and evil.

“The Lord God gave man this order: ‘You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die’.”
Genesis 2:16-17

Yet throughout the Bible we are told of his Purpose, that God knew us before we were born, that He has a plan for us.

“You formed my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me;
Wonderful are your works!
My very self you knew;
My bones were not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
Fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes foresaw my actions;
In your book all are written down;
My days were shaped, before one came to be.”
Psalm 139:13-16

I believe a mother’s job is to best prepare her children to seek God’s purpose for them, to help find and develop the special gifts he has given them for this life, and to give them the skills they need to fulfill that.

If we choose God’s will and obey his commandments, we will receive blessings.

“Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dear to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.”
Exodus 19:5

If we attempt to thwart his will, we will be punished, and His Will will be brought about anyway. It is in following God’s will that we are not enslaved by sin but find freedom in a righteous life.

“The Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.”
Proverbs 1:6

There is so much scripture and doctrine on this topic that I believe I must continue this topic in another post!

"Jesus answered them and said, ‘My teaching is not my own but is from the one who sent me. Whoever chooses to do his will shall know whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him.’"
John 7:16-18

Painting Above: "The Tree of Death and Life"
1481. The Archbishop of Saltzburg's missal.
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

A Tale of Two Trees

My little crawler squishes her toes in the lush green grass in the center of four baseball diamonds. I can see three of my children playing Rookie Ball, Long Ball, and Fast Ball, respectively, each on a different field. She points to a plane overhead. “Birrr”, she says, meaning “bird”. She looks down and spies a bumblebee flitting from one wildflower to another. Delighted, she takes off on all fours in pursuit of the bee. I let her get close, then at the last minute jump off my chair to rescue her from her own curiosity.

In His image God made us, and our feelings, attitudes, and actions toward our children imperfectly mirror those He has for us. He lays down rules to help us live fruitful lives – then hopes for our sakes that we will follow them. He sought to protect us from ourselves when he forbade Adam and Eve the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

But the choice was always ours. By creating us with free will, He showed us that He is a God of Undying Hopefulness. The odds of our sinning are against us – St. Paul seemed especially pessimistic on this point – but He wants us to choose the Good , just as we hope for our children.

“Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked,
Nor go the way of sinners,
Nor sit in company with scoffers.
Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy;
God’s law they study day and night.
They are like a tree
Planted near streams of water,
That yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
Whatever they do prospers.”

Psalm 1:1-3

Pictured:
"Early Morning at Cold Spring"
Asher B. Durand, 1850