Conscience and Morality

1. Conscience and Morality November 3, 2013 St. Therese Parish Confirmation

2. WWJD • JesusalwaysdidwhatwaspleasingtotheFather.AsaChristian,this,too,isourtask,tomake choicesthatcanleadustobecome"perfectjustasyourheavenlyFatheris perfect"(Mt5:8). • Jesus'parableofthenarrowgateclearlypresentsthetwochoicesfacinghumans:

3. Our Faith Isn’t Easy Sometimes • What does the following Scripture passage mean to you? • Enter through thenarrow gate;forthe gateiswide and theroad broad thatleads to destruction,andthosewhoenterthroughitaremany.Hownarrowthegateandconstrictedtheroadthatleadstolife.Andthosewhofinditarefew. (Mt 7:13-14)

4. Morality – What is it? • Thefreedomtochoosebetweengoodandevil,rightandwrong,lifeanddeathis whatmakes humans moral. • Moralityinvolvesputting ourfaithandreligionintopractice. • Themostessentialfactorsinmaking good decisionsaretofollowChristand toputChrist firstinall moralchoices.

5. What makes something Moral? • Three factors determine the morality of any human action: • whether the action itself is inherently good or evil, • the intention of the person doing the action, and • the circumstances of the action.

6. Freedom? • CCC § 1731 • Freedom isthepower,rooted inreasonandwill,toactornottoact,todothisorthat,and sotoperform deliberateactionsonone's ownresponsibility.Byfreewilloneshapes one's ownlife.

7. What might freedom mean to people in the following situations • a high school senior about to turn eighteen years old • a single mom with three children under age seven • a sixty-five-year-old man caring for his wife who suffers from Alzheimer's • a thirteen-year-old whose parents are out of the house on a Saturday afternoon 

8. Conscience – What is it? • Criteriafor judging the morality of human acts • Criteriafor judging the intention andcircumstancesofamoralact • our "most secret core and sanctuary" in the words of the Second Vatican Council • and how it helps us distinguish between sin and virtue

9. What do you think? • As long as my actions don't hurt anyone else, they are morally acceptable. • Mortal sin kills my relationship with God. • All mortal sins must be confessed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. • I believe there is a hell. • God punishes me when I am bad. • Our nation is not morally obliged to share its wealth with any other nation or people.

10. The Meaning of Conscience • Aperson'sconscience must bedevelopedasheorshe grows into adulthood. • This developmentcomeswith anaccumulationofand reflectiononexperience and information. • Adefinitionofadult-levelconsciencecanbethoughtofinthreestages.

11. The Meaning of Conscience • First stage, conscience is a general awareness that there is a difference between right and wrong. • This stage does not make a determination about whether a particular act is right or wrong. • It simply acknowledges that there is a right and wrong.

12. The Meaning of Conscience • The second stage does involve the judgment of a particular action as morally good or bad. • At this stage the person gathers information in order to make the best choice about the action. • For example, Catholics consult Scripture, Church law, and Church Tradition. They also consult family, friends, and other trusted teachers.

13. The Meaning of Conscience • The third stage is the choice itself. • An adult-level conscience internalizes what was learned and makes decisions based on them. • This is the hardest part of conscience development. • A person may know the difference between right and wrong, but can he or she make the right decision?

14. Why do people sin? • "Imade amistake." • Aperson chooses somethingheorshe thoughtwasgood,only tofind outthattheconsequenceswerereallybad. • "I chose a lesser good over a greater good." • A person cheats on a test to get a good grade (the lesser good), giving up his or her honesty (the greater good). • "I choose something that seems good now but will be bad later." • Drinking, drugs, and sex all fit under this type of reasoning. • "I choose to do something bad just because it is bad.” • Revenge, blackmail, gossiping may fit under this category of sinfulness. 

15. What are the Theological Virtues? • Faith • Thisisthevirtue inwhich wesay,"Ibelieve inGodand inallthat God has revealedtome.” • Hope • This is the virtue that responds to our desire for pure and eternal happiness and keeps us from being discouraged during times of loneliness and despair. • Love • This is the greatest of all virtues and is also called charity. • As St. Paul put it, "If I ... do not have love, I ... gain nothing." (1 Cor 13:3)

16. What are the Cardinal Virtues? • Prudence • This is a virtue associated with wisdom or common sense. Prudence is the virtue that guides a good conscience. • Justice • This virtue consists in a person's constant will to treat his or her neighbor fairly. • Fortitude • This virtue is associated with courage to handle the difficulties that arise when one is trying to do good. • Temperance • This moral virtue moderates the attraction of pleasures like food, drink, and sex.

17. Why is it important to know the theological and cardinal virtues? • The human virtues are connected with the theological virtues. • The human virtues have their roots in the theological virtues. • Human virtues can be acquired by our own efforts. • Theological virtues are infused in our souls by God. • We can make the wrong decisions… • Aperson's conscience canerrifitis not properly formedbylistening tothe witness andadvice ofothersandbeing guided bythe authoritativeteachingofthe Church. • We can sin if we don’t make the right decision. • Mortalsinisthe most serious kind ofsin. It destroysour abilityto loveand ourrelationship withGod.Alessserioussinisvenialsin.Whenrepeatedand not repented,venialsincanlead to mortal sin.

18. Our Moral Compass: Jesus, the Commandments, and the Church • The text of St. Matthew runs as follows: • Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. • Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. • Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. • Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. • Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. • Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. • Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. • Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

19. Our Moral Compass: Jesus, the Commandments, and the Church I. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image. II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain III. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day. IV. Honor your father and mother. V. You shall not kill. VI. You shall not commit adultery. VII. You shall not steal VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. IX. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. X. You shall not covet your neighbor's good.

20. Precepts of the Catholic Church • The Precepts of the Catholic Church are a description of the absolute minimum actions required of Catholics regarding the Church. • The Church uses these precepts to remind us that Christian life requires a commitment to prayer and active participation in the liturgy and sacraments. If we fall below this bare-minimum level, we can't rightly consider ourselves to be in full communion with the Catholic Church.

21. Precepts of the Catholic Church • Each of these precepts of the Catholic Church is a requirement. Together with the Ten Commandments, they represent the minimum level of moral living. • Intentional violation of the precepts or the Commandments is a grave matter, meaning a mortal sin.

22. The Precepts CCC § 2041 - 2043 • You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor. • We must "sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord" (Sunday), as well as the principal feast days, known as Catholic holy days of obligation. This requires attending Mass, "and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days."

23. The Precepts CCC § 2041 - 2043 2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year. • We must prepare for the Eucharist by means of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). This sacrament "continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness."

24. The Precepts CCC § 2041 - 2043 3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season. • This "guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy."

25. The Precepts CCC § 2041 - 2043 4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church. • "The fourth precept ensures the times of ascesis (self-discipline) and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.”

26. The Precepts CCC § 2041 - 2043 5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church. • "The fifth precept means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability."

27. Note that these precepts of the Catholic Church are required, unless… • you have a legitimate reason for not meeting them. For example: • If you are sick, tending to a sick child, or camping in the wilderness on Sunday and cannot get to Mass, it is not a grave violation to miss Mass that day. • Children, the elderly, and pregnant or nursing women do not have to fast on normal fast days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday).

28. Think before you act…. God Bless You!! Deacon Steve Theis

29. Sources • http://www.beginningcatholic.com/precepts-of-the-catholic-church.html • Catechism of the Catholic Church • YOUCAT • Chapter 6, “Morality,” Send Out Your Spirit • http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02371a.htm