Moral Conscience
- CCC 1776 "Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. ... For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. ... His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.
- Do good, avoid evil. Incline to virtue. Live according to the natural law.
- Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act.
- We make decisions based upon the law inscribed in our heart, our interior sense of right and wrong.
- Conscience is not a decision of right and wrong → we don’t decide what is good or evil.
- The Decalogue.
- CCC 1779 It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection:
- “Return to your conscience, question it. ... Turn inward, brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.”
- The interior sanctuary where the human person meets God and can hear his voice.
- What is your interior life like?
- The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9)
- “[Conscience] is a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.”
- Makes the human person responsible.
- How to form your conscience
- The Ten Commandments
Formation of Conscience
- CCC 1783 Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.
- The education of the conscience is a lifelong task.
- In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice
- Meditate on the Lord’s Cross, aided by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Church.
Following your Conscience
- One may never do evil so that good may result from it.
- The Golden Rule, do unto others what you would have them do to you.
- Respect your neighbor and their conscience → don’t lead them to sin.
Erroneous Judgment
- Always obey the certain judgment of conscience → judgements can either be in accord with reason or contrary to it and erroneous.
- Vincible (responsible for erroneous judgment) vs. Invincible ignorance (not responsible for erroneous judgement)