Memorial Day Reflection on a Catholic Understanding of Freedom

Why are human beings willing to fight and die for freedom? As Americans, this Memorial Day we will remember those who died in the service of our country. But as Catholic Americans, we should also reflect on the meaning of true freedom and thank God for the Church, which proclaims the way to the fullness of that freedom. One reason why we are willing to fight and die for freedom is because the need for freedom is imprinted into our very nature. This is why we fight for it for others.

KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - Why are human beings willing to fight and die for freedom? As Americans, this Memorial Day we will remember those who died in the service of our country and freedom. But as Catholic Americans, we should also reflect on the meaning of true freedom and thank God for the Church, which proclaims the way to the fullness of that freedom.

The Church teaches us that to understand freedom we need to consider the nature and purpose of our humanity. "Through our physical bodies, we sum up the elements of the material world and bring them to their highest perfection and freely raise their voice in praise to the creator" (cf. Gaudium et spes 14).

We are more than the material world. Once we accept that we are a unity of body and soul created in the image of God and endowed with reason and free will, we can better appreciate the Church's teaching on freedom.   

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. God willed that man should be 'left in his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him" (1730).

The perfection of any created thing is to be able to fully act according to what it is, to its nature. In this respect, the thing gives glory to its creator. On the other hand, when, for any reason, a thing cannot fully act according to its nature, we correctly view it as lacking in a good. When a person cannot fully act according to their human nature, this lacking in a good can take on a moral dimension and result in the loss of freedom.

Again, the Catholic Catechism is so very helpful for our understanding: "The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to 'the slavery of sin.' Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts" (CCC 1733-34 ).

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So the Church teaches us that human beings, by virtue of their reason and free will, are unique among all other created things in that they can freely choose to act in ways that are not in accord with their nature, that is, they can turn away from God and reject their own perfection. However, turning away from God is not true freedom, it is an abuse of freedom. Instead of freeing us, it enslaves us.

All this may sound a bit abstract or theological, but a lot of it is common sense. I find two examples particularly helpful. The first one involves a train. It helps me see how freedom depends on our adherence to the truth about our nature. The second example involves a piano, and it shows me how discipline and virtue foster freedom.

It is the nature of a train to run on tracks. As long as the train remains on the tracks, it is able to carry people or needed materials across the country. If, one day, the train viewed its tracks as restricting its freedom and decided to jump its tracks, it would crash and become stuck. Likewise, acting according to our nature liberates and frees us. Acting against our nature results in a kind of slavery. 

It may feel free to sit down at a piano whenever we want and start banging on the keys however we want. But if we submit to a regiment of music lessons and daily practice, then our ability to play the piano will slowly improve. In the beginning we learn the scales and how to read music. In time, we are able to pick up any piece of music and play it. One day, we may even become a virtuoso. Thus, banging on the keys is not freedom in a meaningful sense, while acquiring virtue through discipline truly frees us to "Be all that we can be."

In his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, Blessed John Paul II says that freedom destroys itself when it is not based on objective truth. He says, since freedom is inherently relational, if the self is understood in terms of absolute autonomy, as it is in secular society, then people will eventually reject each other as each person seeks to have their interests prevail. Thus, society becomes a mass of competing individuals without mutual bonds.

Such a society does not become more free, John Paul II tells us; it becomes less free as vice, corruption, brutality, and oppression inevitably increase. And this is exactly what I see when our leaders pit people against each other (white and black, rich and poor, men and women, heterosexual and homosexual, Christian and Muslim), when they redefine religious freedom and marriage, when they abuse their power, or when they become involved in one scandal after another.

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I believe that some of our leaders have trivialized the meaning of freedom to such an extent that they have made a mockery out Memorial Day. Yet, for those who value true freedom, setting aside this day to honor the men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom will always hold great meaning.

Now, I believe we can try to answer our original question. One reason why we human beings are willing to fight and die for freedom is because the need for freedom is imprinted onto our very nature. By virtue of our ability to reason and our free will, we are impelled to seek truth, especially religious truth. Our Creator instilled this drive within us, so that we would seek Him, for He is truth. And having found truth, we are obligated to live it to the best of our ability.

But we cannot satisfy this obligation unless we are free from coercion. Consequently, it is the obligation of the state to ensure that its citizens are free to exercise their religious freedom. However, if the state fails in its obligation, or is attacked by another state, then, at some point, human beings will rightly and necessarily fight and die for true freedom.

This Memorial Day Catholics rightly honor our fallen brothers and sisters, those who have died so that we may continue to choose freedom. But we should also remember our Church, who has defended the dignity and freedom of the human person for over two-thousand years.
 
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Michael Terheyden was born into a Catholic family, but that is not why he is a Catholic. He is a Catholic because he believes that truth is real, that it is beautiful and good, and that the fullness of truth is in the Catholic Church. However, he knows that God's grace operating throughout his life is the main reason he is a Catholic. He is greatly blessed to share his faith and his life with his beautiful wife, Dorothy. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.

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