We are beginning the home stretch of the Fortnight for Freedom. Today’s Sunday Pope Quote is from Letter to Families by Bl. John Paul II and is about the word of the hour – “freedom.”
Bl. John Paul II: “We thus come to the very heart of the Gospel truth about freedom. The person realizes himself by the exercise of freedom in truth. Freedom cannot be understood as a license to do absolutely anything: it means a gift of self. Even more: it means an interior discipline of the gift. The idea of gift contains not only the free initiative of the subject, but also the aspect of duty. All this is made real in the ‘communion of persons.’ We find ourselves again at the very heart of each family.”
– Letter to Families, no. 14, emphasis original
2 responses to “Sunday Pope Quote: Bl. John Paul II on freedom”
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Over the July 4th weekend, in Grand Rapids Michigan, my wife and I were married by Fr. Donald E. Lomasiewicz.
I wanted to share this event because it was a celebration of true freedom, the way JPII has defined it. Essentially, covenantal love and commitment is freedom and family is free. My commitment to my wife is freedom for me and her, because we have the assurance of being together and building our lives together.
This commitment is not without struggle: attacks from a culture that says that marriage is not a sacrament, attacks from a culture that says that children are only inconvenient and expensive, financial hardship is almost certain for the next generation, and so on. Despite all of these difficulties, the culture of life that stems from the commitment of marriage is worth it.
I am so glad to have celebrated this sacrament of freedom with my wife. God bless America!
Samuel, congratulations to you and your wife! Thank you for sharing this beautiful statement, and may God bless you with many happy years of marriage.