The wise men who travel, guided first by reason and then by revelation, seek the truth. They are not distracted by what must have been a distasteful and intimidating encounter with the tyrant, Herod the Great nor by the prosaic, even rustic, appearance of the Holy Family. They are intent on worshiping God and responding to his invitation to know and love the truth. In canon law, from the 1983 Code, we read:
Canon 748 §1. All persons are bound to seek the truth in those things which regard God and his Church and by virtue of divine law are bound by the obligation and possess the right of embracing and observing the truth which they have come to know.
§2. No one is ever permitted to coerce persons to embrace the Catholic faith against their conscience.
Regardless of our origin or state of life we have the obligation to search for the truth or, as in the case of cradle Catholics, to appropriate what we have received. This has the corresponding right of religious freedom to embrace the truth we have come to. Nevertheless, no one can be forced to be Catholic including those who have been baptized, as infants, into the faith.
The Church is still coming to terms with the implications of the true religious freedom declared by the Second Vatican Council. It is out of this freedom that we are challenged to continue our own journey of faith, like the Wise men, using human reason as well as divine revelation so as to reach our destination despite the obstacles that may be placed in front of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment