Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [1]

IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

TH12I E RESPONDING TO GOD’S CALL BY BECOMING FULLY HUMAN

Part II:Where Are We Now?

Chapter 4: Human Freedom in the Context of Prudence and Temperance -

Paglilimi at PamumuhayngSapat

Objective:

After this lesson, the student is able to identify freedom as the capacity to make important choices
in life and appropriate it to one’s personal relationships "with its virtues of prudence and
temperance (paglilimi at pamumuhay ng sapat) as the capacity to transcend oneself towards
becoming who we are in the light of the fundamental option towards goodness.

Introduction

The first three chapters of our course deal with trying to answer the question, “What kind
of persons do we want to be?” We are first presented with the Christian Vision of the Human
Person and we are confronted with the reality that “medaling maging tao, mahirap magpakatao
(it is easy to become man/woman but it is hard to become human.) We reflected on our own
experiences of happiest and unhappiest moments and realized that they are part of being and
becoming fully human. In the second chapter we are presented with the reality that we are made
in the image and likeness of God and therefore we are basically good. We are encouraged to
consistently practice being virtuous to be able to reflect the face of God which is kagandahang-
loob. We cannot share what we do not have so we have to recognize first our own kagandahang-
loob. We have our models in the persons of Vincent de Paul and other saints as well as biblical
characters like Jesus himself and Paul of Tarsius. We recognize their struggles as well as triumphs
in becoming virtuous. There is no reason therefore for us not to become one. In the third chapter,
we see that we can be grateful to God by being hospitable to our neighbor especially the
strangers.

In this chapter which is also the beginning of Part II (Where are we now?), we shall be
dealing with looking at ourselves on where we are in terms of freedom. We shall clarify its true
meaning and how we are acting or not acting on it in our everyday lives. How do these action and
inaction affect our relationship with our very selves, with others and with God?

SEE

Name : ___________________________________________
Time : ___________________________________________
Date : ___________________________________________

Individual Reflection

Questions for Reflection:

I. When was the time you felt most free?

a. What was the specific situation when you needed to decide for a specific action?

b. What are the factors that you considered in deciding?

c. How did you feel upon deciding?

d. How did you feel when you finally arrived at your decision?

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 Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [2]
IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
e. How did you feel when you finally acted out on your decision?

f. What was the effect of your decision to you and to the significant others in your life?

2. When was the time when you felt most unfree?

a. What restricted you in deciding/acting out your decision?

b. How did you feel about it?

c. How did it affect you and your relationship with the people involved in the
situation?

d. Looking back, what could you have done to experience freedom?

B. Big Group Sharing

C. Class Processing

From these experiences that you have shared, how would you define freedom?

D I S C E RN

Vatican II’s Gaudium et Spes #17 stipulates that,

“It is only in freedom that man can turn himself towards what is good.
Most people prize freedom very highly and strive eagerly for it. In this,
they are right. Yet they often cherish it improperly as if it gave them right
to do anything they like, even when it is evil. But that which is truly
freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of God in man. For God
willed that man should “be made subject to their own free choice”
(Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 15:14). Man’s dignity requires him to act out of
conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from
within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external
constraint. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to
the passions, he presses forward towards his goal by freely choosing
what is good, and by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for
himself the means suited to this end.”

For many, freedom is simply “doing what I want.” Vatican II, however, reminds us of a
more authentic understanding of freedom. According to it, freedom is an exceptional sign of the
image of God in us, ng ating pagiging kamukha ng Diyos (having a similar face with God) as has
been discussed in chapter 3. It is only in freedom that we can turn ourselves towards what is
good. Our dignity as persons to whom God gives His/Her love requires that we act out of
conscious and free choice, moved and drawn in a personal way from within. As persons related to
God, we are not to be moved by blind impulses or limited by mere external constraint. It is only
in freedom that humans can turn themselves towards what is good. According to the Catechism of
the Catholic Church, authentic freedom is not the right to say or do anything but the right to do
good.

Freedom of self-determination, which is sometimes called fundamental posture or

orientation toward the ultimate good of human life is in our power and is our responsibility
(pananagutan). Freedom is realized therefore in both our choices as well as in our self-
disposition.

We can only be self-disposed if we realize that we are really free to be ourselves. The real
freedom of the world is what God most intensely desires and is its greatest good.
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 Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [3]
IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
Freedom is from God and for God. On its deepest level, it is the capacity and
responsibility to be in loving relationship with God. It is the gift of love, the capacity for love and
it finds its only true fulfillment in love.

Action, Desire and Choice

According to the Scriptures, in creating the world out of love in order to be its lover, God
made a partner, not a puppet. Meaningful talk about freedom is rooted in the experience of
ourselves as real agents. If we were not capable of real action, if we were completely determined
in our activity by forces over which we have no control, then it would not make sense to speak of
freedom. What we do matters. If our actions were of no real consequence for ourselves and for
the world, it would make no sense to speak of freedom.

As partners, we experience ourselves as agents. This means that our action is

characterized by intentionality and self-conscious choice. As students, you have the choice
whether to study or not, to go to the malls or play computer games during vacant periods, to cheat
or not to cheat during quizzes or examinations and so on. Choosing to study and to be honest are
matters of intention and choice. It is an experience of freedom.

Intentional agency is the basic experience of freedom. On its simplest level, it

presupposes real options and the ability to choose from among many what it is that one decides to
do. But we do not have unlimited options. We are all brought up in a particular history, culture
and genetic make-up that influence our character and personality. These predispose us to certain
kinds of interests and patterns of behavior. They do not, however, determine in advance precisely
what each of us will do in a given situation. Within such parameters, there is a wide range in
which we can determine what we want to do and how we desire to live.

Making choices in our everyday lives is an experience of freedom. Some choices matter
more than others. Students like the freedom to choose their professors, the freedom to choose
their own schedules, the freedom to choose their own hairstyle and the freedom to choose which
questions they would answer on an exam. Most would like to exercise freedom on what to wear,
what to eat, where to go, etc. but these have little impact on the world or on ourselves as persons.
What matters most is our freedom to choose what course/degree to take up in college, the
freedom to choose religion, country, home, profession, vocation, friends, state of life and partner
in life. These are more basic to life and human dignity and have more lasting impact yet we seem
not to ponder much about these.

Fundamental Option

The most important exercise of freedom that is making the most important decision in
life does not have to do merely with a particular thing or course of action. It has to do with our
very selves. Freedom is the capacity to choose who we are going to become as persons. It is a
decision we take up based on a certain outlook on the meaning and value of life. For Christians, it
is the desire to become an authentic disciple of Jesus of Nazareth in response to his loving God
yet again, we do not look much on the person of Jesus but on the many idols the media presents
to us.

This response is a task because life is not only a gift but also a task. We are also subjects,
responsible agents, persons who are challenged to say something, to do something and to become
someone.

(Here, I remember a former student in another school who is known for being naughty. I
would always remind him to behave during prayers in class, in gatherings, etc. One time, he and
his friends went to a restaurant at the Mall of Asia, and in the couch, he found the latest model of
a very popular cell phone brand. His first reaction was to blurt out, “Ang gandang cellphone!
Isosoli ko ‘to!” (What a beautiful cellphone! I will return this to the owner!) But his friends

reaction was “Pare, sa tanang buhay mo, ngayon ka lang makakapulot ng ganyang kagandang
cellphone. Huwag mo na ibalik.” (Friend, it is not everyday that you can find a cellphone such as
that! Better keep it." But his reply was “Pare, sa tanang buhay ko rin, ngayon lang ako
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 Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [4]
IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
makakagawa ng maganda sa kapwa ko.” (Friend, but it is only once that i can do something good
for my neighbor.)

Most of us, if put in the same situation would think twice on what to do. Others would
heed the advice of friends.)

There is a tendency for us to be overwhelmed that we try to run away from it or wait for
others to tell us what to do so that we have others to blame if ever. At times, we simply resign to a
fatalistic determinism and say, “Hayaan mo na” (Let it be) or a fatalistic "Bahala na." (So be it.)
Freedom may be scary and unsettling at times but we do have real choices to make about our
lives. We cannot avoid them or else we would become stagnant or stunted in our growth as
humans.

The values we choose to live by, how we deal with those aspects of ourselves and the
world which we cannot change, the profession which we choose to dedicate most of our time and
energy to, how we choose to treat our family and friends and respond to the needs of those around
us have a profoundly formative influence, both upon ourselves and others. Each of us is
becoming a certain person in a process of self-actualization which takes place in the concrete
choices we make throughout life. Experience teaches that human action has an enduring,
cumulative effect. The capacity for good and evil, for loving and hating grows in action. Our
freedom itself is always on the line. Through our actions we are always becoming more or less
human, more or less free to be in the life-giving relationships of love with others and with God
for which we were created.

Many theologians point out that in the important choices of life, taken together as a
whole, each of us makes what might be called a fundamental option which forms the deepest core
of our personal identity. It expresses our basic attitude toward self, others and God. It is clear that
for real human growth in freedom, attention to the basic direction and underlying attitude which
is taking place in our life is much more important than any particular choice or action in itself.
Beyond the level of choice among options, human freedom is the capacity and responsibility for
self-determination.

While freedom certainly entails the ability to change one’s mind or to have a real change
of heart, its goal is not infinite options or endless revisions. It’s not that one keeps on changing
choices because this is a sign of immaturity or great un-freedom but finally making just one
choice , “get it all together,”, to become somebody. As Karl Rahner, a great Catholic theologian
puts it; freedom is the capacity to dispose finally of oneself, to make oneself once and for all. This
must be our aim in life.

It is therefore imperative that we answer the main question for our first three chapters and
that is, “What kind of a person do I want to become?” The very existence of options and the
importance of choosing make us even more aware of this question and other questions like: What
do I really want? What am I hoping to accomplish? Who do I wish finally to become? These are
the questions of desire and they are fundamental to our understanding of freedom. Desire is the
affective side of freedom. Freedom is the capacity to desire and to live out this desire.

Our basic desire for life and fulfillment is what leads us outside of ourselves. Freedom is
the capacity for such self-transcendence, the power to reach out beyond ourselves. We desire to
know about other things and persons and to be in life-giving relationships of love with them. In
these experiences, we can see that our desire is open-ended and unbounded. Learning and loving
always seem to leave us restless and hungry for more. Throughout our lives, the desire which

drives us in our interaction with other people and things is looking for life and love which is full
and lasting. This is what St. Augustine meant when he said, “My heart is restless until it rests in
God.” What we desire most deeply is God. She/He alone is life and love in unsurpassable
fullness.
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 Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [5]
IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
Since we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we are really capable of being
one with God. Nothing else would make us whole and entire. Only God can be the “object” of a
complete, unconditional, final and finally fulfilling choice.

But how do we “choose” God? How do we enter more fully into God’s love? God cannot
be seen and does not appear as one distinct “object” among many others to be chosen and loved.
God’s presence is mediated. The fundamental and abiding medium of our relationship with God
is this world- God’s beloved creation. The only mode of experiencing God, of relating with God,
of accepting God in love or turning from God in selfishness is in terms of this world and our
action in it.

Whenever we really love this world, or any part of it, truly and honestly for what it truly
is; whenever we respect it, hope for it, care for it; whenever we attend to the needs of the least of
our brothers and sisters- we are meeting and loving God, whether we realize it or not. This seems
to be the message of Matthew 25, especially as we ponder on the surprise expressed by the just,
who did the loving, humane, everyday things without experiencing them in a religious way. This
is why Karl Rahner and Piet Schoonenberg stress that the love of God and the love of neighbor
are really one and the same.

In Jesus Christ and in the kingdom that he preached, Christians may see the freedom to
which they are called. None of the apostles preached this more passionately than Paul, who
exhorted the Galatians to hold fast to the freedom which was theirs in Christ, a freedom which
builds community and enables loving and creative service (5:13). He makes it clear that true
freedom is not merely freedom from. It is also the freedom for. Authentic freedom involves
freedom from everything that opposes our true self-becoming (pagpapakatao).It is a freedom for
others, a freedom for service and a freedom for love. It is a freedom to be with and for others- the
freedom which is the heart of true community.

This is what God wills. This is all what God desires. In everything else, God has truly
made us free. God wishes us the real freedom to be loving and to enter into the fullness of life. It
is then up to us to do it as St. Augustine put it: “Love and do what you wish.”

It is clear that our freedom is in itself something which needs to be set free. In some
manner, each of us suffers from the imprisoning effects of sin in the world. All of us are to some
extent caught up in ourselves, unable to reach out freely to others. It is hard to love, especially
when it requires sacrifice and promises no romantic payoff. Disordered affections or addictions
often frustrate or prevent loving relationships. It is not always easy to get in touch with the
deepest desires of our heart, to know what we really want to do or become.

This is a problem not only with most young people or young adults but also with some
adults. They do not seem to know what they want in life. Most of the choices that the media
and/or the bigger world present seem to be all tempting. They seem to be all full of promises.
Others have a bandwagon mentality. They just go with the flow. A concrete example of this is our
oversupply of nurses. Others, if they knew what they desire, are constrained by their parents or
guardians. Lucky are those who were able to stand up for what they desired most.

Freedom does not refer so much to the rights of private, individual human beings, as it
does to the foundation of a living communion of love. It is basically the capacity and
responsibility for human community and divine communion.

For St. Vincent de Paul, exercising prudence in all his decisions and actions is important
in loving and serving the poor. For him, everything must be done with discernment. That's why he
said, "Make haste slowly." According to Webster dictionary, prudence is the ability to govern and
discipline oneself by the use of reason as well as skill and good judgment in the use of resources.

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 Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [6]
IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
In Filipino, prudence is paglilimi. St. Vincent was always reminding his confreres to be prudent.
Until today, his followers are guided by this reminder in small or big decisions.

Alongside with it is temperance. It is the moderation of actions, thoughts or feelings. As

in prudence, St. Vincent practices what he preaches as has been observed by his confreres and the
Daughters of Charity. He is always observed to be having temperance in eating and drinking.

In our practice of freedom especially in relation to loving God's creation, paglilimi is very
important in the face of so many choices. It is also because the sense of sin seems to have been
lost because of what the media presents. Conformity also seems to be the trend. But if we really
act out of freedom, out of concern for God's creation and our neighbor, even of strangers, then we
would practice prudence and temperance.

In Filipino, temperance is pamumuhay ng sapat. Sapat also means enough or sufficient. If

we live with what is enough for us, then nobody would be in want. The earth's resources are more
than enough for everyone if only it would be distributed equally but others are gripped by greed
that others have practically nothing anymore. While a "privileged few" are wallowing in luxury,
more are living below poverty line and dying of hunger.

Dom Helder Camara, a Brazilian bishop to the poor once said, "Live simply so that others
may simply live." This has been said differently by St. Vincent centuries back, "Your surplus
belongs to the poor."

If we could be prudent enough to be contented with pamumuhay ng sapat, then we can

make a stand which is in stark contrast to the current dominant culture of our time.

SUMMARY

1. Freedom is doing only what is good. It is not doing what we just want to do.

a. It is the only way to turn to what is good.

b. It is an exceptional sign of the image of God in us.

2. Freedom is from God and for God. On its deepest level, it is the capacity and
responsibility to be in loving relationship with God. It is the gift of love, the capacity
for love and it finds its only true fulfillment in love.

3. In creating the world out of love, God made a partner, not a puppet. If our actions are
of no real consequence for ourselves and for the world, it would make no sense to
speak of freedom.

4. The most important exercise of freedom, the most important choice we make in life
does not have to do merely with a particular thing or course of action. It has to do with
our very selves. Freedom is the capacity to choose who we are going to become as
persons. It is a decision we take up based on a certain outlook on the meaning and
value of life. For Christians, it is the desire to become an authentic disciple of Jesus of
Nazareth in response to his loving God.

5. Fundamental option forms the deepest core of our personal identity. It expresses our
basic attitude toward self, others and God. It is clear that for real human growth in
freedom, attention to the basic direction and underlying attitude which is taking place
in our life is much more important than any particular choice or action in itself.
Beyond the level of choice among options, human freedom is the capacity and
responsibility for self-determination.

6. Freedom does not refer so much to the rights of private, individual human beings, as it
does to the foundation of a living communion of love. Freedom is the capacity and
responsibility for human community and divine communion.

7. In our practice of freedom especially in relation to loving God's creation, paglilimi is

very important in the face of so many choices. It is also because sense of sin seems to
Property of the Institute of Religious Education
Unauthorized reproduction and selling is not allowed
Second Semester 2015-2016
 Theology II: Responding to God’s Call By Becoming Fully Human [7]
IRED – ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
have been lost because of what the media presents. Conformity also seems to be the
trend. If we really act out of freedom, out of concern for God's creation and our
neighbor, even for strangers, then we would practice prudence and temperance.

“A C T” Part

Group Sharing:

God made us partners and not puppets that out of freedom we can care for His/His creation.

1. As a group, what can you concretely do to help maintain cleanliness in AdU

particularly in the classrooms?

2. Make a short bond sized poster that would symbolize your group’s commitment.

Name : __________________________________________________
Time : __________________________________________________
Date : __________________________________________________

Assignment: Personal Reflection

1. In what ways have I been prudent in dealing with my family, friends and other significant
people in my life?

2. Looking at my lifestyle, can I say that I am tempered?

3. In what areas of my life do I need to practice prudence and temperance? What do I concretely
intend to do?

4. Make your own title for your reflection.

References:

Maningas, Ismael Ireneo. Filipino Christian Morality. Makati: St. Paul’s Publications,1998.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://afternetworking.com)

Sachs, John R. The Christian Vision of Humanity. Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991.

The Holy Bible.Revised Standard Version. London: Catholic Truth Society, 1986.

Wostyn, Lode. Living like Jesus. Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2004.

Written for IRED by:

Dr. Emmanuel S. de Guzman,
Prof. Gina Udarbe, Prof. Jennifer Villagonzalo

Property of the Institute of Religious Education

Unauthorized reproduction and selling is not allowed
Second Semester 2015-2016