GUIDANCE FOR OUR FREEDOM

The Law & The Church

Guidance to our Freedom

God created you in His images & likeness,

and He give us a very important gift: GIFT OF FREEDOM

But as our Creator, God did not crated us, and then abandoned us to do whatever we want NO Way! He loves his creation, way too much,

to do that!

Remember God ultimately wants you and every person, he has ever created, to be with Him forever in Heaven.

So God gave us directions to Heaven

Law of Love

Today we are going to learn about God’s Law The Road map to happiness & holiness

Since God created you, He knows what’s best for you. Like every parent, he wants you to be happy and since He created you, he knows exactly what

would make you happy

So God gave us directions to Heaven He wrote it up in a map, and he wrote it in

somewhere we never lost it. In our Hearts!!!

NATURAL LAW

Remember God is a merciful Father who loves each & every person He gives each and every person a personal

map to happiness with Him in Heaven

NATURAL LAW is this map to happiness, and it reflects the DIGNITY with which He made you!

These Laws will help you to become, what He created you to be.

Let see some examples of the important of laws and rules

Why do We Need Rules?

Let’s say you & your friends decided to play soccer: But this time you are going to try something new, something different…

And you decided to play without any rule: NO rules, not a single one, no boundaries, and doesn’t matter

what goal you try to kick the ball in through. Also you can use your hands, when ever you want and there is

not positions

The whistle blew, and before you even play a couple of minutes you found out, what bad idea it was Everyone was picking the ball, running all over And since there is no other bound, they were running behind the

goal & running from the side This is a good example why we need rules to play soccer

Working of a Common Goal

While paying according to the rules everyone can work for the common Goal

There is certain behavior that is expected

By having boundaries, it gives us contain and certainty in certain areas divided by position

This make the our participation in the game of soccer fun

And it applies in other areas of our daily life, too.

NATURAL LAW

In Life we also need rules or laws to help us reach Our Final Goal Of Heaven

This Rules are not just randomly chosen or made up just to have rules to follow up, No!

These laws are given for us by God, our Heavenly Father because He know us, and He knows what it is best for us.

The most basic of these laws are called: NATURAL LAW because it is written in our very Human Nature

This is what God created us to be…

All human kind, (doesn’t matter what race, culture, language, or time) have these laws written in their hearts.

THE NATURAL LAW

Natural Law, Human Natures. get it?

May be because the word “Natural”, you may think of fields, plants, flowers, or animals,

But they don’t follow the “Natural Law” They follow the “Laws of Nature”

These are 2 different things:

Some examples of the “Laws of Nature” is that a plant needs water & light to grow, bears need to hibernated, birds lay eggs, etc..

These are “Laws of Nature”, Not “Natural Law”

The Natural Law

God gave men “Natural Law” because He gave men Reason & Free Will

REASON AND FREE WILL: Reason & Free will make us different from all the rest of the animals, who live here on earth.

God has great expectation and higher standard of behavior from you

A higher expectation that it does, (say) from your cat, who doesn’t have a reason & free will.

The Natural Law Reason & Free Will

Think of “Natural Law” as a bonus price That goes with Reason & Free Will

And God put it in your very Nature: in your human nature, when you were created.

NATURAL LAW is unchangeable applies to every person ever created doesn’t matter where you are or who you are or what you are doing

What other beings, did God create with both an intellect & a will? The angels have both intellect & a free will; just like

humans.

God’s Laws Apply to All People

God’s Laws apply to all people throughout all the time, and never ever change You can always count on them,

All people, (whether God has preach to them, or not), can recognize the “Laws of God” written in their very heart, through the gift of reason.

Using your reason to know these laws, gives you an understanding of good & evil, and

right & wrong

And by understanding what is good & evil, and right & wrong, You can make good judgment to choose Eternal

Life

These Laws Written on All Hearts

Let see an example of Natural Law. At school your friend brings a new toy; you like it, and you think: “he won’t miss it” and you put it in

your back pack.

This is stealing, and stealing is always wrong with your REASON you can know this is wrong Because in justice, that toy don’t belong to you; it

belongs to your friend

You feel guilty because you know you have brake a Rule. A “Law” that is written in your heart!

Again, everyone has these Laws written on their hearts, since the day God created them.

“Natural Law Written on All Hearts”

Natural Law written on All Hearts

NATURAL LAW written on all hearts, it is a very part of our Human Nature And because of the Dignity of the

Humanity

These laws exist to take care & protect each of us; just think about it: would you like to be cheated? would you like to be stole? Or would you like to be killed?

God gives a good base with the Natural Law written in our hearts,

……but He did not stop there!

God knew we needed more help

God is very wise, and after the Fall of Adam & Eve, when sin entered the world…

He knew we needed more help, if we were going to make it to our final destination of Heaven.

Some of the consequences of Original sin was Darkened intellect And weakened will Our reason is submitted to error, our flesh to

passions, & our will is weaken

After the 1st sin, it became more difficult for man to use his reason, to read the Natural Law written in our hearts.

God Made It Clear

God needed give us further help He had to be a little more obvious about what is

good, and what would lead us to eternal life And he have to be very clear about His

expectations

So God wrote out, how we should act toward Him and toward othersGod wrote the 10 Commandments on tables of stone

Although we still have Natural Law written in our hearts…

…by giving us the 10 Commandments God make sure there was not any misunderstanding of what exactly what He expect.

10 Commandments To introduce you to the 10 Commandments, I will

introduce you to the Story of Moses & the Israelites from Exodus

It is important to know the Story of Moses from the Exodus…

because it can apply to all people, no matter when they were born. The Israelites were God’s chosen people. He had made a

covenant with them, that He will be their God if they would be His people

However, the Israelites people were enslave by the Egyptians,

God saw they needed to be free, so they could worship Him, so He sent them Moses

Now Moses had a tough job. He has to go to Pharaoh & ask him to free the Israelites,

but Who want to give up all those slaves? Pharaoh gave a loud “NO” to Moses

10 Commandments

Therefore, God had Moses to perform 10 miracles:

called 10 plagues, to prove to Pharaoh that God was serious.

He wanted the Israelites free, so they could worship Him, the One True God.

After the 10 plagues, Pharaoh had had enough;

he free the Israelites & they marched out of Egypt triumphantly.

10 PLAGUES

10 Commandments

You may think, this would be the end of the story The Israelites were free & they worship

their True God, and they lived a virtues & holy life

NO! unfortunately that was not quiet the end of the story,

When Moses brought the Israelites into the desert, to journey to the promise land,

He discovered something even worst than the Slavery of Egypt

Something Worst than the Slavery of Egypt

Israelites were slave by their sin. Yes! They were free from the Egyptians, but they were not free from their own

bad habits & vices.

Their reason or intellect was darken, and their will so weak, that they couldn’t read the Natural

Law in their own heart.

Their Natural Law, (The Map of Eternal Life) was still written on their hearts, but because of their sins, it was

difficult for the Israelites to read.

God gave the 10 Commandments

Moses when up to the Mountain and talked this situation over with God, and God had the solution!

God wrote on stone tables the 10 Commandments These 10 Commandments were revealed as a part of

Natural Law, written on the heart They are essential to the Dignity of Man.

If man is going to have real freedom, from sin, God wanted to be very Clear on the way to

freedom. If the Natural Law is the road map to happiness, 10 Commandments are the road signs, very obvious

& very important.

The 10 Commandments

1) I am you Lord, your God, you shall not have any other stranger god before me.

2) You should not take of the name of the Lord, your God in vain.

3) Remember to keep Holy the Lord’s day.4) Honor you Father & Mother.5) You shall not kill.6) You shall not commit adultery.7) You shall not steal.8) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.9) You should not covet your neighbor wife.10)You shall not covet your neighbor goods..

10 Commandments for our Sake.

The 10 Commandments, like the Natural Law, are not some rules that God just made up, because He thought men need it something to do;

No! They are for our own good and our own protection

God loves you, loves me, and He loves every person that he has ever

created in the past and into the future

He didn’t need to give us the 10 Commandments for his sake;

He give the 10 Commandments for our sake.

He knew we needed them, and He is right!

The 10 Commandments Because We Love Him

By following the 10 Commandments, you respond to God’s Love

He is asking you to keep these commandments, not out of fear of punishment, but because you love Him.

The 10 Commandments state what is required in loving God and your

neighbor

Keeping the Commandments Let see an example of some one who is loud &

mean One day when you were standing around with

your friends, this someone walks by You were very tempted to gossip about that

person, with the latest rumor you heard

This would be a sin against the 8th commandment That you shall not bear false witness against

your neighbor

But You think about this, and instead of gossiping,

you decided to talk about what you did in class that day

Following the Commandments

By following the 8th commandment, you just avoided hurting another person, hurting yourself, by becoming free of the sin

of gossiping and most of all you show your love at God,

by following His command

You see how easy that is?

You are using your freedom to respond to the Love God has for you, by loving Him in return, by keeping his commandments.

Following God’s Will The 10 Commandments also make God’s will known

to us We should always wish the desire to follow God’s will

It is the perfect plan for you, and since He loves you and made you, you will find the most happiness in doing His will.

Maybe you want to go out to the world and make heroic & great things for God…

however, right now in your life, God wants you to follow his commands. By following this simple request of following His

commands, you are doing heroic & great things for God, in your every

day life. This is the will of God for you and for all people.

He is Preparing You

By follow the 10 commandments, He is preparing you for the next call he has plan.

Do you remember the story of the rich young man, who came to Jesus and asked him: What he must do to enter to Eternal life?

Let look the story of the Gospel of Matthew: A rich man walks up to Jesus and ask Him, What good deed

he must do to have eternal life. Jesus looks at him with love and answer “Keep the 10

Commandments” The rich man asked which one, and Jesus replied with the basic commandments: you shall

not kill, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father & mother…

The young man replied: “I have kept all these” What else I still luck?”…

and Jesus replied: “… Come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:16)

“The New Law” “Come and follow Me” have you kept this

commandment? Yes? Well then you are prepare for the next challenge

We going to stay with the story of the rich young man, to lead us on into the NEW LAW

The rich young man wanted: To grow in Holiness Desires happiness He kept the commandments And sought out Jesus

Jesus came to give us the NEW LAW. Are not the 10 commandments enough? (you may ask) No, they are not enough; the 10 commandments are only the beginning, a

preparation, a practice for the big event.

THE NEW LAW

The 10 Commandments lead us to the New Love of Christ The 10 commandments prepare our hearts to love and give

ourselves to God The 10 commandments are our foundations

What do the 10 Commandments prepare us for? The 10 Commandments Do Not prepare us for Something, They prepare us for SOMEONE And that Someone is Jesus

Jesus is the greatest gift to each one of us He is the NEW LAW

JESUS THE NEW LAW

The young man was in the right track He had followed all the commandments But he knew it was more And that more, that he saw, was the person of

Jesus He wants to prepare for happiness and

“perfection”

Christ is the NEW LAW; and Jesus came to fulfill the Old Law!!!

The New Law, can be the sum up in the 2 great Commandments1) Love the Lord your God with you whole heart,

with your whole strength 2) And love your neighbor as yourself

New Law Alive in Our Heart

This New Law is eve more demanding, and most challenging that the Old Law, in the 10 Commandments

The New Law is “Following Christ Himself” who is the Way, the Truth and the Life

But wait! Where is the sum tablets? Where are the books that spell out the New Law?

This New Law is not a written Law. It is a Law of Love It is a Living Law And it is alive in your HEART

The Guide God Has Given Us

However, in order to understand it better; let’s review the Guide, God has given us to this point:

1.The 1st guide: Natural Lawa) It is written on year heart, everyone's heartb) It is part of our Human Nature and our dignity as manc) All men have it and it is the same for everyoned) Everyone can know what is right or wrong, through reason

Natural Law

2.Next: the 10 Commandments Still part of the Natural Law, but our reason wasn’t figuring

everything out God revealed these 10 laws to us to helps us out The 10 Commandments apply to all people, at all times and all

places You do not have 10 laws to follow, and your neighbor only 8

laws; all people have the 10 commandments to lead us to happiness

Jesus Challenges Us

3. So, Now all these lead us to the NATURAL LAW The New Law is different Because the New Law is a Person The New Law is Grace

Where can we get a idea, of what the New Law means, in our every day life?

You can find what must be done, in the New Law, in the Sermon of the Mountain: (Matthew 5-7)

Jesus did not leave us wondering In “the Sermon of the Mountain” Jesus

challenges us. to go beyond the Old Law To go beyond the 10 Commandments

The New Law is Grace of The Holy Spirit

Though you have made it with the 10 commandments, that is only the beginning!

But don’t worry because God has provided all that we need. The Old Law of the 10 commandments are commands for

us to follow But the New Law give us the Grace to do what is

demanded

The NEW LAW is the GRACE of The HOLY SPIRIT given to you through your Faith in Christ.

The Sacraments give you GRACE to follow the New Law of Love. God knew that we would need more than the 10

commandments written on stone So he sent His Son to be our example of the New Law of

Love

Grow in Charity & Love our Neighbor

The 10 Commandments, mainly focus on actions What people see!

But God gave us a New Law because He wants to go further He wants us to reform our very heart To have a True conversion So we follow the 10 commandments Out of Love for Him.

Jesus challenges us not only following the commandments, but to go about and beyond

And grow in charity and His love for us So that, we may be PERFECT, as our Heavenly Father is

perfect And Love our Neighbor

God knows this is, where True happiness lies.

Putting into actions the Words of Christ

The New Law is putting into action the words of Christ And growing in Holiness

Growing in Holiness means to grow in Freedom

and becoming more Free, leads to the ability to choose God & eternal happiness

Every Saint, the Church had ever canonized, loved not only the 10 commandments, but he New Law A great example is Pier Giorgio Frassati; He

born in Italy in a very influential family.

PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI

Like the rich young man in the gospel, he also follow the 10 commandments and was looking for more.

He found more in living in the New Law He follow Christ example in his daily life He loves his friends and family, with humility and

weakness. He was a peace maker in his home and was a poor person in spirit, often giving his

money, for the bus tickets for the poor. He was happy & holy and reflected the New Law

of Love Because he loves God’s Law and followed the

example of Christ.

QUICK REVIEW

1) What Law is written in all hearts of all men for all times?

Natural Law

2) What do the 10 Commandments teach you about God and neighbor?

The 10 commandments state what is required in Loving God and you neighbor

3) Which Law give us the GRACE to live it? The New Law, The Law of Jesus

God knows exactly what we Need

God knows exactly what you need to make you happy

Like a map to our eternal happiness,

He is giving us Laws to follow, that will lead us to the happiness of Heaven

He wants us to follow his Laws and Love

So you follow His Laws,because you want to show Him, how much you Love Him.

QUESTIONS ???