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Prayers of Freedom: thoughts from Br. Paolo

Submitted by Rosie on Tue, 19/10/2010 - 10:53am
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Prayers of Freedom is only a few days away! If you'd like to join us in Manchester for a weekend of prayer, workshops and community, then all the info you need is here. Make sure you book your place to let us know you are coming!

Br. Paolo sends us some thoughts to get us thinking about the theme....

The theme of freedom is vast; it seems to touch every part of our lives! As we shall not have a very long time together, it would be great if some of you who are coming to “Prayers of Freedom” can already start thinking about what freedom means to you. What questions around freedom would it be good to share in the small discussion groups? Please make suggestions! (Send them to brpaolo@taize.fr) The way I’d like to introduce our reflection on the theme of freedom has got three parts:

  1. “Swimming in the sea, not in a swimming pool” – In our consumer society we are constantly being offered choices between all kinds of products. This kind of “supermarket shelf” choice does not really offer us a freedom that counts. A quote which touches on this: “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use” Søren Kierkegaard. So how will we find the perspective to get through to the wider, deeper questions?

  2. “What are you doing with your freedom?” – The link, both biblical and in experience, between freedom and responsibility. Where do we find motivation for commitment, even when our decision will apparently “weigh” so little (see Bonaro Overstreet’s poem)? How do we avoid taking ourselves too seriously?

  3. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17) – There is not only the freedom that we have, but also the freedom which we long for. As we try to live lives of the gospel, lives of faith, it can often feel that we are on a very narrow path. We receive inner freedom as a gift: in the same way as for happiness, we cannot aim for it directly. But there are some steps that we can work on as a preparation: Giving up comparing ourselves to others. Reconciling the hurts of the past. Not living by reaction. Making a long-term commitment to other people...