Tuesday, June 24
Liturgical Color: White
Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St.
John the Baptist. When an angel foretold
John's birth to his father Zechariah, he
doubted the angel. For doubting the power of
God, Zechariah was unable to speak until
after his son's birth.
Day 192 - Does freedom mean being able to choose evil? // Is man responsible for everything he does?
But doesn't "freedom" consist of being able to choose evil as well?
Evil is only apparently worth striving for, and deciding in favor of evil only apparently makes us free. Evil does not make us happy but rather deprives us of what is truly good; it chains us to something futile and in the end destroys our freedom entirely.
We see this in addiction: Here a person sells his freedom to something that appears good to him. In reality he becomes a slave. Man is freest when he is always able to say Yes to the good; when no addiction, no compulsion, no habit prevents him from choosing and doing what is right and good. A decision in favor of the good is always a decision leading toward God.
Is man responsible for everything he does?
Man is responsible for everything he does consciously and voluntarily.
No one can be held (fully) responsible for something he did under coercion, out of fear, ignorance, under the influence of drugs or the power of bad habits. The more a person knows about the good and practices the good, the more he moves away from the slavery of sin (Rom 6:17; 1 Cor 7:22). God desires that such free persons should (be able to) take responsibility for themselves, for their environment, and for the whole earth. But all of God's merciful love is also for those who are not free; every day he offers them an opportunity to allow themselves to be set free for freedom. (YOUCAT questions 287, 288)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1730-1737) and other references here.