Module Overview:

In this module, you will learn the gift of freedom. Man and woman, by their very nature are
free, God’s gift to them.

Learning Competencies: At the end of this module, you can:

Distinguish authentic freedom from what it is NOT;
Chose/decide what is right from wrong; and
Pray for the grace to have the strength to do what is correct and lawful.

Instructional Materials:
Pacana, H. et al. (2019). Our Journey -Morality (2nd Edition). Datu Mampaalong St., Malaybalay City
8700, Philippines: San Isidro Diocesan Press (SID Press).
Noel P. Miranda and Philip S. Javier III, “Called to Follow Christ in True Freedom” (Sibs Publishing House,
Inc., Quezon City).
Ramirex, Ph.D. et al. (2015). Good Character Matters. (Vibal Group, Inc., Quezon City). Page 29

Pre-assessment

Directions: Below are the statements about freedom. Which ones do you agree or disagree with? Put a
check (✓) mark before the items that you agree with and (X) before those that you disagree with.

_____ 1. We are free to exercise our will and to choose particular things.
_____ 2. We are free to alter our bodily features.
_____ 3. Man has the freedom of expression.
_____ 4. Freedom comes with responsibility.
_____ 5. There are ethical considerations that come with the exercise of freedom.
_____ 6. Both freedom and responsibility are important if the mass media are to function properly in
society.
_____ 7. There is no human freedom in war.
_____ 8. Parents can control our freedom to go out with friends.
_____ 9. Anyone is free to advertise any product online as long as the

INTRODUCTION
The Freedom Meter
Imagine that you are a world-famous inventor. For many years, you have been able to
contribute immensely to the improvement of many people’s lives. Today, however, you are visited by a
strange man named Mr. Dy with an equally strange request: he asks you to build a Freedom Meter, a
machine that evaluates the degree of freedom of individuals and communities!
You decide to accept the challenge. To accomplish your task, however, you need to do some
serious planning by filling out the chart below with specific, definite criteria for evaluating the level of
freedom of individuals and communities.
CRITERIA FOR FREEDOM
What conditions (things, experiences, values) should be ABSENT so that you can be truly free?
What conditions should be PRESENT so that you can be truly free?

As an individual
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

As a community
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

.
Put your Freedom Meter on a test run by trying it on yourself. Reflect on and evaluate your own
experience of freedom. On the lines below, explain why you think you have a high or low degree of
freedom.

INTERACTION

WHAT IS FREEDOM?
The Catechism for Catholic Church describes freedom as the power (rooted in reason and will)
to act or not to act and so to perform deliberate acts of one’s own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts
when directed toward God, the sovereign good. Further, freedom characterizes properly human acts
(that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience, can be morally evaluated). It makes
the human being responsible for acts of which he is the voluntary agent. His deliberate acts properly
belong to Him (CCC 1744-1745).

AUTHENTIC FREEDOM
When we speak of freedom, we mean the authentic freedom.

Authentic freedom is not “doing what I want”.

Authentic freedom is not a license or right to say and do anything.
Authentic freedom is not my own individual private possession (CFC 694).

Authentic freedom is to “do the good”.

Authentic freedom is a shared freedom with others in the community.
Authentic freedom involves freedom from everything that opposes our true becoming with others in the
community (CFC 696).
AM I FREE?
Each of us is already free, not of our own making but as given by God to us as gift, by virtue of
our being children of God in Jesus Christ. But this gift was lost. Human being was corrupted and slaved
to sin. The real obstacle to freedom is sin. Jesus Christ, the God made- man, at a proper time, came to
rescue and liberated us from this sinful situation and continually liberating us until we arrive in our
longed- for dream homeland, the definitive glory in heaven, the fullness of freedom.
When Jesus liberates us it does not mean that he does it without us. This means that Jesus
liberates us but involves us in our daily exercise of our freedom already won by Him. Thus, the choice is
to always follow His precepts and commands which must be seen in our action towards the attainment
of the common good. When we say “common good”, it implies that we have to respect the freedom of
others. In the case we discussed above, this means, “I am not free to break the property of others, I am
not free to tell lies to evade punishment and save myself but destroy others, I am not free to choose TV
programs that will not answer to the call to be fully human as God intends me to be.”

FREEDOM GROUNDED IN TRUTH

CFC 698 beautifully emphasizes freedom as a gift from God when it says, “Christ has freed us by
giving to everyone the power to conquer sin and to recover the meaning of our freedom and so attain
the good and accomplish our calling as children of God. Freedom to attain the good simply means to act
as Jesus did. To act and behave as adopted sons and daughters of God and reflect His image in our being
and doing as Jesus has modeled for us.”
Freedom is not only a gift but also a call. The gift of freedom is won for us by Jesus Christ but we
are left with the responsibility to grow and attain authentic freedom . . . the freedom of the children of
God, sharing in the life of Christ, our liberator and through His Spirit. It is found in authentic love (CFC
697). Our call to authentic freedom is associated to our freedom as relational. This is fostered when
people respect the freedom and dignity of each other. Conversely, it is threatened when some
individuals simply “do what they want to do” without regard for the good of the other members of the
community.
This idea is better understood through these examples:
When we converse and listen to our parents at home, we gain the freedom of a strong relationship.
When we pick pieces of paper and trash in the street, classroom, school surroundings, or barangay we
gain the freedom to enjoy a clean and environment.
When we obey traffic rules and street signals, we are protected from dangers and accidents.
When we avoid bullying our classmates, our classroom is freed from discrimination and prejudice from
others.
By listening to our teacher’s discussion, everybody is able to understand the message of the lesson.
By respecting each other’s individual differences, we live in a free and harmonious society.

The Church teachings have always been our clear reference when we speak of moral guidance
in living up our faith and in growing authentic freedom in our discipleship. Authentic freedom is a shared
capacity with others in the community for choosing - not anything at all - but what is the good, in order
to become our true selves. It involves both:
Freedom from whatever opposes our true self becoming with others in the community, and
Freedom for growing as full persons before God and our fellow human persons, in authentic love. (CFC
720)
Freedom of the children of God means the freedom we share by the power of Christ’s Spirit within us,
that liberates us from the enslavement of sin, the law, and death, for a life of loving service of our fellow
men (cf CFC 722)
We must out Jesus as the basis or foundation of our action. Without a personal relationship to
Christ Our Lord - begun, nourished, developed and sustained through prayer and sacrament - we have
no power to live as “children of God”.

Now, you are ready to do some exercises!

Activity 1: MY FREEDOM RESPONSE MY FREEDOM CHART

One of your friends tells you, “Keeping Jesus’ commandments make us less free. We can’t do as we
please. How can following Christ set us free?” Write a simple response based on our discussion about
how Jesus is the perfect example and source of true freedom.

INTEGRATION

Let’s now see what you have learned on this module.

Directions: Make a plan on how to grow in authentic freedom (use the example below). Try to
implement it by checking before sleeping what was accomplished on that day. Do it for a week then
evaluate yourself:
MY FREEDOM CHART
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

Example:
Freedom from watching TV after 8 p.m.

Freedom for studying from 8 to 9 p.m.

Freedom from joining my barkadas loitering in plaza or mall.

Freedom for staying at home to help in the farm or do household work.

Freedom from wearing dresses inappropriate for the Church.

Freedom for using Sunday as a day of prayer.

Freedom from cheating, gossiping, backbiting

Freedom from saying bad words to others

What have you discovered in practicing your authentic freedom?

Reflection Guide: MY FREEDOM PRAYER
Write a short prayer asking Jesus for the grace to grow in true freedom. Make this your morning prayer
this coming week.

INTERVENTION

Christian Witness:
St. Josephine’s Bakhita life is a story of slavery to freedom. Through St. Josephine’s life, we see the truth
of freedom which lies in deeper recognition of God that does not change nor depend through trying
times.

ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA

Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of
Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage,
she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Historians believe that sometime in February 1877, Josephine was kidnapped by Arab slave
traders. Although she was just a child, she was forced to walk barefoot over 600 miles to a slave market
in El Obeid. She was bought and sold at least twice during the grueling journey.
For the next 12 years she would be bought, sold and given away over a dozen times. She spent so much
time in captivity that she forgot her original name.
As a slave, her experiences varied from fair treatment to cruel. Her first owner, a wealthy Arab,
gave her to his daughters as a maid. The assignment was easy until she offended her owner's son,
possibly for the crime of breaking a vase. As punishment, she was beaten so severely she was
incapacitated for a month. After that, she was sold.
One of her owners was a Turkish general who gave her to his wife and mother-in-law who both beat her
daily. Josephine wrote that as soon as one wound would heal, they would inflict another.
She told about how the general's wife ordered her to be scarred. As her mistress watched, ready
with a whip, another woman drew patterns on her skin with flour, then cut into her flesh with a blade.
She rubbed the wounds with salt to make the scars permanent. She would suffer a total of 114 scars
from this abuse.
In 1883, the Turkish general sold her to the Italian Vice Consul, Callisto Legani. He was a much kinder
master and he did not beat her. When it was time for him to return to Italy, she begged to be taken with
him, and he agreed.
After a long and dangerous journey across Sudan, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean, they arrived in
Italy. She was given away to another family as a gift and she served them as a nanny.
Her new family also had dealings in Sudan had when her mistress decided to travel to Sudan without
Josephine, she placed her in the custody of the Canossian Sisters in Venice.
While she was in the custody of the sisters, she came to learn about God. According to Josephine, she
had always known about God, who created all things, but she did not know who He was. The sisters
answered her questions. She was deeply moved by her time with the sisters and discerned a call to
follow Christ.
When her mistress returned from Sudan, Josephine refused to leave. Her mistress spent three days
trying to persuade her to leave the sisters, but Josephine remained steadfast. This caused the superior
of the institute for baptismal candidates among the sisters to complain to Italian authorities on
Josephine's behalf.
The case went to court, and the court found that slavery had been outlawed in Sudan before Josephine
was born, so she could not be lawfully made slave. She was declared free.
For the first time in her life, Josephine was free and could choose what to do with her life. She chose to
remain with the Canossian Sisters.
She was baptized on January 9, 1890 and took the name Josephine Margaret and Fortunata. (Fortunata
is the Latin translation for her Arabic name, Bakhita). She also received the sacraments of her first holy
communion and confirmation on the same day. These three sacraments are the sacraments of initiation
into the Church and were always given together in the early Church. The Archbishop who gave her the
sacraments was none other than Giusseppe Sarto, the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, who would later
become Pope Pius X.
Josephine became a novice with the Canossian Daughters of Charity religious order on December 7,
1893, and took her final vows on December 8, 1896. She was eventually assigned to a convent in Schio,
Vicenza.
For the next 42 years of her life, she worked as a cook and a doorkeeper at the convent. She also
traveled and visited other convents telling her story to other sisters and preparing them for work in
Africa.
She was known for her gentle voice and smile. She was gentle and charismatic, and was often referred
to lovingly as the "little brown sister" or honorably as the "black mother."
When speaking of her enslavement, she often professed she would thank her kidnappers. For had she
not been kidnapped, she might never have come to know Jesus Christ and entered His Church.
During World War II, the people of the village of Schio regarded her as their protector. And although
bombs fell on their village, not one citizen died.
In her later years, she began to suffer physical pain and was forced to use a wheelchair. But she always
remained cheerful. If anyone asked her how she was, she would reply, "As the master desires."
On the evening of February 8, 1947, Josephine spoke her last words, "Our Lady, Our Lady!" She then
died. Her body lay on display for three days afterwards.
In 1958, the process of canonization began for Josephine under Pope John XXIII. On December 1st, 1978,
Pope John Paul II declared her venerable. Sadly, the news of her beatification in 1992 was censored in
Sudan. But just nine months later, Pope John Paul II visited Sudan and honored her publicly. He
canonized her on October 1, 2000.
Saint Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of Sudan and human trafficking survivor. Her feast day is
celebrated on February 8.

Post-Assessment:
Directions: In the blank before each number, write true if the statement is correct. If false, UNDERLINE
the word/s that makes the statement false, and indicate the correct answer in the blank.

_____________ 1. Freedom is not only a gift but also a just.

_____________ 2. All people are definitely free.
_____________ 3. The Catechism for Filipino Catholic describes freedom as the power to act or not to
act and so to perform deliberate acts of one’s own.
_____________ 4. Saint Josephine Bakhita was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000.
_____________ 5. Authentic freedom is a shared freedom with others in the community.
Answer Key:

Post-Assessment:
1. Call
2. True
3. Catholic Church
4. True
5. True