Posted on 06/25/2008 5:54:25 PM PDT by tcg
True, maximum freedom does not mean saying No. It means saying yes, opening up and conforming one’s will to that of God.
This is the lesson inspired by the example of Saint Maximus, one of the great Fathers of the Eastern Church, whose figure Benedict XVI presented today.
He was named the Confessor for the courage with which he bore witnessed and “confessed” his faith, said the Pope.
Born in Palestine in 580 AD Maximus began a life of monasticism and scriptural studies. From Jerusalem he moved to Constantinople then Africa where he distinguished himself by his steadfast defence of orthodoxy and Jesus’ humanity against those who claimed that in Him there was only divine will.
“A man without will is not true man” and “without a human will” Jesus Christ ‘would not have been a true man” and “could not have experienced the tragedy of being human.” There is no dualism in Jesus when it comes to divine as opposed to human will; instead “there is unity in the person of Christ” so that “the man must not be amputated to explain the Incarnation.”
For Saint Maximus such notions were not ‘philosophical speculation, but reality in Christ’s life,” especially evinced in the “tragedy of Gethsemane” where Jesus said “still, not my will but yours be done.”
Adam, who stands in for humanity, “thought that No was the top of freedom; only someone who says No is truly free, and so says No to God.”
“This tendency carries within Christ’s human nature as well, but goes beyond it because it does not see the maximum of freedom in saying No, but rather in saying Yes and conforming to God’s Will,” where “one’s will is unified with God’s.”
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
The only true law is God’s law... and when it is violated by the mass we are all fubarred.
Truth. True freedom.
Concepts that many secularists will never understand. A very timely writing by the Pope. It relates to many of todays’ problems in society.
“Every value needs a point of reference which is God” so that “we can know where to place all other values in ways that we get their right meaning.”
This is beautiful.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.