INNER FREEDOM

The word ‘FREEDOM’ simply means ‘to be free from slavery.’ In today’s world we want to be free without anyone stopping us. People have understood the word ‘freedom’ differently. Freedom means to do what one likes: to be free from all the responsibilities, to be away from all the rules and regulations.

Freedom can be divided into two: outer freedom and inner freedom. The outer freedom is the freedom from the external slavery. This is the freedom that Indians got on August 15^th 1947. But the inner freedom is the freedom from the internal slavery. Let us not forget the fact that we are slave to our own selves. Inner freedom means to be free from within. Only when we are free from within, we can exercise our freedom. “Don’t search for peace on earth with your heart of violence”. It’s true, only with inner freedom we can enjoy the outer freedom, because a person is free when he is both internally and externally free. The person, who has inner freedom, will be happy and cheerful. He will be a man of prayer, man of spirituality and thus a man of God.

Although we have inner and outer freedom we have no right to have authority over the other person. And we should not think that we could do anything we like. Though we are free we should have some rules and regulations to practice our freedom in the community. Rules and responsibilities are the tools to exercise our freedom well. Freedom and responsibilities are the two sides of the same coin. For example, if we pour the drinking water on the table, it is simply wasted, but if we pour the same water onto the glass which is on the table, it will quench some one’s thirst. In the same way we should pour our freedom in the glass of rules and responsibilities.

The real freedom means ‘to love God and do what God inspires.’ It is the free act of conscience. It is a state where a person is capable of being happy in spite of all the tribulations and problems of the external world. It is the state of being free from all the guilt feelings. Finally it is an act of the Spirit, because “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17).

Wish all the Indians, happy Independence Day

Pictures source: http://thejoshuacollective.com/2011/03/

                       http://jennaloveschrader.blogspot.in/

ST. JOHN Mary VIANNEY: A BRIDGE BUILDER

St. John Mary Vianney, the saint of Ars, is a man of God, a man of prayer and a man for others. There are now a plethora of tasks, activities and movements in which priests are expected to immerse themselves. But the challenges and demands made on priests today should not frighten or confuse them. The new emphasis and requisites only tend to integrate priests with their people, whereas the older theologies highlighted their separateness. They have not only to celebrate the sacred mysteries but also try in their life to epitomise the Word they preach and the sacrifice they make present. To bring about such metamorphosis in priestly life, it demands a profound and radical self-giving. Here St. John Mary Vianney comes to our rescue.

St. Vianney, a heroic model and a persuasive teacher of the practice of piety, virtue and penance, is seen always as a model for priests. Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical, Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia says, Vianney is “wonderful in his pastoral zeal, in his devotion to prayer and in the ardor of his penance to the honors of the saints of heaven, now, one hundred years after his death, offers him with maternal joy to all the clergy as an outstanding model of priestly asceticism, of piety, especially in the form of devotion to the Eucharist, and, finally, of pastoral zeal.” Therefore, he is a model of clerics. “a priest who was outstanding in a unique way in voluntary affliction of his body; his only motives were the love of God and the desire for the salvation of the souls of his neighbors, and this led him to abstain almost completely from food and from sleep, to carry out the harshest kinds of penances, and to deny himself with great strength of soul.” Pope further says that it is very difficult in present scenario to be like him. This task brings us challenge before us.

Over enthusiastic biographers held that Ars was a den of iniquity and a cesspool of immorality. But it may not have been so notoriously immoral. However, to the average citizens, God was not important and the church played no active role in their lives. On the eve of Vianney’s departure for Ars, Fr. Courbon, the Vicar General told him, “There is no love of God in that parish. Go and put some love into it.” And he did just that by his prayer and penance. His bargain with God was, “Grant me the conversion of my parish. I consent to suffer whatever you want for the rest of my life.” Like a true prophet he called his people to repentance; through him, the spirit of penance spread through the land like fire over dry stubble. He was there up to fifteen hours a day reconciling sinners. He penetrated the impenetrable hearts, converted the most corrupted souls, won favour with God and man through his self-giving and simplicity of life, too simple a life, in fact, to express in human words. For instance, his daily meal consisted of a bowl of boiled potatoes and he rested only for 3 hours.

It is sometimes said that we are living in the age of “the lonely crowd” in “concrete jungles,” an age in which the separation and gulf among the hearts and minds of people often find tragic expressions. As an ambassador of Christ the priest must appeal to all people to be reconciled with God and with one another. To those who are lost in the loneliness and isolation of sin he must effectively speak Christ’s word of forgiveness. A priest is a man who builds bridges (pontifex) and breaks down barriers. In fact, the priest himself must be a bridge i.e., a genuine living link between God and people through prayer and selfless service. “Oh! How great is the Priesthood! It can be properly understood only in Heaven... if one were to understand it on this earth one would die, not of fright but of love!” (Pope Benedict XVI in his General Audience on 4th August 2009).

St. Vianney’s very life is a reminder that the aim of all revolution must be reconciliation. If like their patron, priests make the Eucharist the centre of their life and allow it to mold and shape them, they too can attain the power of total giving of self which is needed to live up to the image and profile of a pastoral priest. Then every priest can become a real pontifex, who brings reconciliation in the world. Thus, the simple, gentle and pacific Vianney becomes a challenging Vianney for all priests.

“Dear St. John Vianney, because of your love of God you showed great charity towards your neighbour. You could not preach on the Love of God without burning tears of love. During your last years, it seemed as though you could not talk about anything else or live for anything else, but for love. You sacrificed yourself to your neighbour by consoling, absolving and sanctifying them to the limits of your strength. Your charity inspires me to greater love of God, a love which is shown more by acts than by words. Help me to love my neighbour generously as Christ loves them. St John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests. Amen.” 

Fr. Raju Felix Crasta