Episode 17. Living With A Broken Heart: Others' Free Will
Episode 17. Living With A Broken Heart: Others' Free Will
Show Notes
"For He bore witness to the truth, but He refused to impose the truth by force on those who spoke against it."
~ Dignitatis Humanae, St. Pope Paul VI & the Second Vatican Council
One of the most difficult and heartbreaking experiences for us as people of faith is watching someone that we love wander from the Church or make choices that are harmful to themselves or others. So much fear, disappointment, and anxiety is created by these situations in our lives. We deeply love our children, our spouses, our friends, and we so desperately desire for them to know the joy, peace, and freedom that we have found in Jesus, yet they must be allowed to exercise their own free will.
How do we live out the spiritual work of mercy to "admonish the sinner" and still honor the free will of those whom we love? How can we propose the Gospel without imposing it upon others? How do love and truth come together in a real, complex human relationship?
In this episode, Pat & Father Nathan discuss the crucial, and often difficult, tension of evangelizing while giving our loved ones the gift of healthy boundaries and their own personal agency - the freedom given to them by God.
If you love someone who seems to be far from Christ, this episode is for you!
Show Notes
Then he said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
Luke 15:11-13
It is one of the major tenets of Catholic doctrine that man's response to God in faith must be free: no one therefore is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will. This doctrine is contained in the word of God and it was constantly proclaimed by the Fathers of the Church. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act… It is therefore completely in accord with the nature of faith that in matters religious every manner of coercion on the part of men should be excluded…
For He bore witness to the truth, but He refused to impose the truth by force on those who spoke against it.Dignitatis Humanae §10 & §11, St. Pope Paul VI & the Second Vatican Council
The Light of the World
1851-1854
William Holman Hunt
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”
Challenge By Choice
Bring a particular loved one to the Lord in prayer
Think of someone that you have difficulty accepting as they are
Bring them to the Lord in intentional prayer
Imagine sitting in front of God with them, and ask God to introduce you to that person
Pray for God’s blessing up on that person; not to change them, but merely for God’s blessing to be on them
Pay attention to how you feel after this prayer - in your body, your mind, and your spirit
If it’s helpful, journal about this experience of prayer