All along human history, man has encountered different forms of enslavement against which he or she struggled for self liberation. Man’s struggles for liberation have not been easy always. This has been due to the bonds of enslavements which have proved too strong and deep for him to break, or even because man; due to inexplicable and often complex reasons beyond his control, has seemed to love the “sweet” constraints that enslave him or her! Whether too strong to do away or too “sweet” to let go, these bonds gradually strangle man until they kill his or her freedom. This is true for an individual as well as for a community; liberation has been possible only for those who wish to be free, or to be freed in circumstances beyond their control by knowing whom to turn to in order to be liberated. All in all, human history proves that where man had the truth on his or her side, he or she has faired well in his or her search to set himself or herself free especially when dealing with external enslavement. It is alarming however to note that when it comes to self liberation, which is dealing with the bonds of self enslavement from within, the modern man scores very low. He or she masters the outside world more than he or she does with self mastery. If we go by the picture of modern man as being painted by our psychologists, man continues, consciously or unconsciously, to perceive himself or herself as emotionally “enslaved” from within. Man feels that he or she can do much better! He or she would like to free himself or herself from his or her own negative emotions such as depressions based on mere imagination, unnecessary moral disgust, exaggerated frustration, too much hatred, unpredictable melancholy, and inexplicable remorse just to mention a few. These are some of the many negative emotions in which our modern man is entangled and whose bonds he or she must shed off in order to walk freely and live to his or her full capacity and according both to his divine and social call. Unfortunately, man continues to feel sad and depressed, harming his or her body and the whole functioning of the brain which at times lead to suicidal tendencies or questioning the purpose of his or her existence. Because he or she easily feels offended by most of what he or she sees around, he or she often feels morally disgusted. A disgusted individual often blames it on others instead of examining himself or herself for the cause; hence the feelings of being obstructed, internally or externally from his or her goals, then he or she becomes frustrated. Frustration causes lots of personal deficiencies such as lack of self confidence and worth. Our modern situation can even be worse, driving one mad with disorderly mood of non-specific depression commonly referred to as melancholia, with feelings closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment capable of arresting man into life imprisonment from where he or she can be liberated by his or her Creator only. From the Christian point of view, the situation of modern man as described above comes from his or her very nature because humans are a mystery of flesh and spirit. In all this however God remains our liberator. He liberates us directly, when it becomes necessary for our overall good, as it happened with many sick persons whom Jesus cured miraculously! Cfr. Mk 7:31-37. And miracles still happen. He liberates us indirectly, by the power that he has given us to study the human body and mind, know its illnesses and treat them. Therefore, the best way to deal with our struggle with internal liberation is to look beyond ourselves to the Creator of all things. God created nature of which we form part and is still interested in it. He is in control of the powers both known and unknown to us. God as our creator is certainly on our side and wills our safety, our liberation, and our salvation. He is therefore the liberator of man. He frees our flesh from illness and intervenes to cure our spirit. He cures us from mental illnesses and frees us from the power of the devil and sin through the work of the Holy Spirit, making us strong before temptations and inclinations to evil. While our faith should help us to relate to God as our liberator, our human mind may wonder and ask such questions as ‘when and how does God; man’s liberator, really act in our individual’s history in a concrete way? These are questions to which only God has the answer. However, the most important thing for men and women of faith is to be aware and fully certain that God loves us and wants what’s good for us. It is also important for us to be humble and turn to God with simplicity in our daily prayer so that he may free us from all illness, that he may free us from ourselves so that our life may be lived according to the purpose of our creation and as a song of praise to his holy name. Ends
