Freedom

Homily Given for the Feast of Corpus Christ
Given at St. Patrick's Church in Wareham
On Sunday, June 10th, 2012
By: Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd, STL

Freedom—we American’s often think that we have a monopoly on it

Or at least the best expression of it here in the US.

But although we often use the word,

I am not sure we take the time to think about what it real means

today on this feast of Corpus Christi
a feast which celebrates the ultimate act of freedom,

the ultimate act of love, the total gift of self,

I would like to consider freedom.

You see freedom is really at the core of Christianity,

As St. Paul says, for freedom Christ has set us free.

In the beginning the whole drama of our Faith begins

With God so loving His creation that He respects human freedom

Even when that freedom becomes un-human,

Separating Man from God.

You know it’s funny how often I hear the question,:

“Well, why did God let us do it, why did he let us sin,

when He knew it would result in suffering and death?”

This usually from the same person who thinks it is a horrible imposition

On their freedom to ask them to come to Mass on Sunday’s

Encourage them to keep the commandment’s
and insist that they respect our Faith, even if they don’t practice it.

Freedom is at the heart of creation, it is what set’s mankind apart

From all the other animals.

St. Augustine writes that it is freedom that makes us in the image of God

And how we use it, that makes us in, or mares, His likeness in us!

And it’s important to understand, that Freedom,

a central theme in God’s creation in Genesis

and in Christ’s redemption of creation in the Gospel,

is not a matter of being at liberty to do WHATEVER YOU WANT

     rather it’s the ability to do what we must,

to do that which gives us our dignity, makes us most human,

and makes us unto the likeness of the living God.

At the beginning of the American experiment

the Church was a bit weary of the American expression of freedom.

Particularly what we call the first Amendment,

precisely because many thought it was a misunderstanding of freedom.

The first amendment of course does not establish

separation of Church and State, as many will suggest.

Rather it says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, 

So while the constitution insists that the Congress not establish a Church,

it also guarantees our ability and RIGHT to practice our faith publically,

even when it is not the majority religion or faith.

This was idea was a bit strange to many thinkers in the early 19^th century

As established Christian Church’s had been the norm for 1600 years

since just after the death of the Roman Emperor Constantine.

Before that, religious toleration, which was practiced sporadically

meant practicing your religion alongside others,
essentially mixing all the different religions of the people together

regardless of the compatibility or truth of these religions.

Religious toleration in America,

was seen by many Catholic thinkers as pagan, for this reason,

because it seemed to them that freedom of religion

implicitly suggested that it didn’t matter what faith you were

it didn’t matter if you were

Catholic, Baptist, or Unitarian, Jewish or nothing at all

So long as you didn’t make waves for the State…

As Catholic’s we know that this cannot be true,

Since Jesus Himself says I am the WAY,

making no provision for another way!

There can be only one truth, and “the truth will set you free.”

However, it’s the connection of freedom of religion with speech,

That show’s the true intent of our founders

Speech in the 18^th century was about argument and debate in search of truth.

And so the right to speech doesn’t protect obscenity

but the quest for truth,

The right to free speech was placed next to the right to free practice of religion because both are a search for truth.


From the beginning humans were made free by our creator,
free so that we could freely choose to love God.

This freedom corresponds with our duty,

To know, love, and serve God—and it is this duty

which makes us human, and gives us human dignity!!!

Because of this duty, man can speak of a natural right.
which simply means that no one can morally interfere with

A human’s freedom to do his duty to God or his neighbor in love,
because that duty is at the core of human dignity. 

Freedom of religion, stems not from the unimportance of religion,

from tolerance, the agreement to agree to disagree,

but from our duty to seek the Truth,

and the immorality of compelling someone to accept a “truth”,

which in all honesty, they don’t believe.

You see it makes no sense to talk about “rights”

to things that are not fundamental to our humanity
to things like health care, or education, or even marriage,
as these things can, and in the history of the world,
have been done without.  

But things like Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,

things like love, and the pursuit of truth

these are essential to what it means to be human

Government can and does limit our liberty in many ways,

but morally it shouldn’t limit our freedom

in a way that attacks human dignity, because to do so

places the state at war with not just you or I, but with humanity.

I meditate on freedom, on this feast of Corpus Christi,

Because it is perfect freedom, in the FACE OF,

state and religious tyranny, that we see

when we look at the Blessed Sacrament.

It is the freedom to love, and to do God’s will come what may.

This freedom is at the heart of the our Faith, and must be imitated!

It’s for this reason, that today, in the face of so many

State sponsored attacks on freedom, that we Catholic’s must stand up.

For the state to prohibit an action

that is universally accepted to be wrong
is the states rightful purview,

but for the state to REQUIRE people of faith

to violate their conscience, to do something, support something,

or pay for something that is at best morally ambiguous,

and at worse morally evil—is wrong!

And puts the state on the wrong side of human freedom and human dignity!

We used to acknowledge and respect this in America.

Respecting the right of conscientious objectors not to fight,

And doctors, nurses, and pharmacists not to treat people

In ways they believed immoral,

But for some time more and more of our politicians

Have felt the need to push their beliefs, their religion,

though granted not a religion based on the worship of God,

on others, more and more placing them, and their human dignity,

at odds with the state.

These same politicians use language like freedom of worship,

rather than the constitutional terminology of freedom of religion

to push religious people, who desire to be faithful to the God

who they worship out of the public sphere.

As people of faith, we cannot let that happen.

We render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s,

but our Faith requires that we use our Freedom to put our faith into action.

Over the next few weeks I will be focusing my homilies

On the various attacks on human freedom,

That sadly are happening right here in our country.

It’s important to see, as we think about each one,

how each is really about truth,

about a proposition which if true demands a response in love.

It’s also important to see that in an area where people disagree about truth,

Not because there is no truth but because it’s sometimes hard to find

The Government is in no position to determine truth

Taking away this fundamental duty of the human person

To seek the truth, and put it into action.

This is why we have rights, this is why we have freedoms,

They come from our creator,

and like Christ who offers us His Body and Blood today
and all the martyrs who shed their blood for the truth,

we must defend it today.