Sunday, July 7, 2013

Richard Rohr on Freedom

“Jesus’ notion of the Kingdom is a different understanding of personal freedom than that of most religious and secular leaders today. We think of freedom as not having to do what we don’t want to do, but divine freedom is the capacity to be fully who we already are, to develop our inherent and true nature in God, as much as possible—really wanting to do what we know we have to do. Only God can create that freedom inside of us. A mustard seed, yeast, and light, that grow from within, are some of Jesus’ central metaphors for the Reign of God. Secular freedom only creates individualists, and private freedom, but not a society. It never gets around to the common good, which is a central principle of Catholic social teaching and the Gospel, which demands from you and demands for others. Then you become who you most deeply and truly are, a member of a family, a neighborhood, a society, and a planet. If you are trying to ‘go to heaven’ alone or on your own merits, you are preparing for a place other than heaven”

 — Richard Rohr