The Founder of the Visitation Sisters, Bishop St. Francis de Sales, held deep theological positions on the concept of freedom.

We will manifest  his thinking during the “Fortnight for Freedom”  through Fr. Eunan McDonnell’s book, The Concept of Freedom in the Writings of St. Francis de Sales.

Much of the contemporary debates on freedom revolve around the issues of rights (e.g., the individual’s right to choose) but what if we changed the register  of the discussion from rights to love? What change would this effect  and what implications would it have for contemporary moral discussion?” (1)

This posture from the author, Fr McDonnell, will help to amplify the thoughts of St. Francis de Sales on the relationship of love and freedom. Because, as Father McDonnell writes, “ The axis upon which a Salesian understanding of freedom turns is the relationship between love and freedom.” (2)

According to the author, “St. Francis de Sales raises a new question: Can human freedom be viewed from the perspective of the love of God, rather than through the lens of original sin?” (3)

And he also deduces, “ It is in this intrinsic relationship between freedom and the good, accentuated by love, which becomes the hermeneutical key that unlocks a Salesian understanding of freedom.  Two important consequences regarding a Salesian understanding of freedom materialize from this:

  1. God’s love precedes our freedom, and indeed, our freedom issues from the hands of divine goodness
  2. The gift of freedom contains an invitation to respond, in a like manner, with love to the Giver of the gift.” (4)

REFLECTION:

How do I experience the relationship between love and freedom in my own life?

Footnotes/References:

  1. The Concept of Freedom in the Writings of St. Francis de Sales, General Conclusion, page 433
  2. The Concept of Freedom in the Writings of St. Francis de Sales, General Conclusion, page 427
  3. The Concept of Freedom in the Writings of St. Francis de Sales, General Conclusion, page 427
  4. The Concept of Freedom in the Writings of St. Francis de Sales, General Conclusion, page 428