The Catholic Book Blogger
Like the angels, says St. John of Damascus, we have free will; but it’s a little bit different. For the angel, the choice comes instantaneously. For us, limited by our bodies and attacked by the devil, the choice is never instantaneous: we are faced with a situation, and then decide what to do about it.
Freedom of will is used in several senses: one in connection with God, another in connection with angels, and a third in connection with human beings.
Used in reference to God, it is to be understood as transcending ordinary being.
In reference to angels, it is to be taken in the sense that the choice comes at the same time as the state, and no interval of time at all comes between them: for while the angel has free will by nature, he uses it without any hindrance, having neither the body’s antipathy to overcome nor anyone to attack him.
Again, used in reference to human beings, it is to be taken in the sense that the state is considered to come before the choice in time. For man is free and has free will by nature, but he has also the assault of the devil and the motion of the body to impede him: and thus through the assault and the weight of the body, the choice comes to be later than the state. –St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Christian Faith, 3.14
IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
God has given us time to work out our choices. In the time he gives us, we should call upon the help of the angels to help us make the right decision.
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, send your angels to guide me, so that I may always be found a ready minister of your will.
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