Below are translated notes on the key points of Formar Personas Libres, a Spanish booklet written by Fr. Julio Dieguez, the newly appointed Regional Vicar of Opus Dei in the Philippines. The later title is Sin que él sepa cómo: Crecer en libertad, found in Amazon here. He speaks about it in Spanish in Youtube here. The English version is He Knows Not How: Growing in Freedom which is in Amazon here. He spoke about it in PAREF's Jesus-Centered Conference here.
At the bottom of this article, you can find other articles of Fr. Julio.
1. Well-formed person:
when he does what he wants, he does what is good because his will is identified with Jesus Christ.
autonomously affirms the good, because he recognizes it as good
To be truly free, your choices have to come from correct judgment of reality
2. The problem of "weak-willed" persons
Wants to improve and looks for help, but can't
Root: What he values (sees as worth the effort); because he can give a lot of effort for other things he values
Underneath weak will - a erroneous judgement about the true value of goods which gives a full life
His thinking towards action (practical reason) is influenced by his passions more than his reason
3. The cause of freedom is reason -- St. Thomas.
The will always follows a judgement of reason. We always choose what we think is good for us
To strengthen reason, you need virtues, good choices. Thus the tremendous importance of good relationships, family, friends who show how virtues are lived. Joy of these people have an important role in being good examples: a sign of well-established virtue. Thus the importance that activities are attractive, not only because they are fun but because they are authentic and sincere.
4. The problem of voluntarism: a lack of reasoning.
The voluntarist only depends on willpower. He does not use his intelligence to see the attractiveness of what is good.
To overcome voluntarism:
Give reasons
Reflect on these reasons
Base your actions on these reasons
Don't replace reasons with a rule
A strong will requires a reason that is based on firm principles: the virtues.
To stimulate the use of reason in governing our actions means to grasp the goal of our actions.
5. Virtues: the strength of freedom
What is formative are the virtues, which are acquired by repeating good choices. This means that what is formative are one's own decisions or choices -- not the decision of others. One forms oneself.
The role of the formator is to help each one to form himself well in the struggle to acquire virtues, by corresponding to the grace of God.
Since virtue is a perfection of freedom, formation is a formation in freedom and for freedom. There is no other true formation.
Virtuous person loves the good passionately
6. To form virtue means to form prudence
The objective is not to accumulate rules or criteria but forming prudence: the capacity to reason out on one’s own and reach the right conclusion.
In the beginning rules and criteria help, but as one develops one needs fewer rules
7. The four keys to formation
Initiative. St. Josemaria – help the soul to want –he voluntarily chooses—to do the will of God. Don’t command, advise.
Not to help passively, but to pray, think so as to propose, open horizons, help to discover, suggest
The goal of formation is not when he chooses to do good; but only when he does it because he wants to—chooses it freely. He wants to do good because it is good.
To concretize fight, there has to be a dialogue:
o Propose and ask
o Listen and assess
o Ask: what is his idea; what struggle is good; what he thinks God expects from him; what he would like to do,
o Then propose: “I think this might be good, what do you think?”; “Think about it, bring it to your prayer and then let’s talk about it.
Convictions.
Formation is more a matter of convictions than of decisions: not tell them what we have decided but to transmit convictions.
Formation is more than exhorting but a matter of helping to understand.
o More difficult but more beautiful
o Demands thinking deeply; not using prefabricated formulas
Transmit key ideas (ideas madres) from which he draws the conclusions
Indispensable: Help people to think
o Encourage questions on the whys
o Teach how to pose the question and find the solutions
Avoid the impression that it is not necessary to understand and that you only have to trust
Take advantage of mistakes. If we prevent people from making mistakes, then we also prevent them from doing right; we don’t form their prudence
Be positive. Show the beauty of the good; learn to give deep reasons which are the most attractive
3. Perspective. St. Josemaria: take time into account
Fight is centered on virtues and not on acts: acquiring a second nature
Devote time to explains the why
Make them see the sense of the fight in terms of the goal
4. Affection. First in importance and has to be in all the steps. You can only form if you love.
Summary:
Only one’s own decisions are formative
Not only that they know, but they think; important now, because people don’t accept authority
Truth cannot be imposed; The force has to be in the arguments; For this, reading good literature
Examples form more than concepts; Show good films
We will only influence people who trust us; one has to earn this: they see that we know what we are talking about; not just someone in a position
Respect freedom
Know how to listen, value their point of view; speak respectfully
Affection is the first source of authority and credibility
Help them feel a great freedom
Help to remove obstacles that impede acting with interior freedom—that they feel at ease and unrestrained (con soltura)
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