Temptation, Sin, & Conscience

• Through the Sacraments, “the faithful receive the grace of Christ & the gifts of the Holy Spirit which give them the capability of living a new life as children of God in Christ.” (357)

• Each one of us is made “in the image and likeness of God”! – God doesn’t reject anyone! He wants each of us - both our bodies and our souls – in Heaven! (358)

• God wants us to participate in His very life and shows us the way to true, eternal happiness – the Beatitudes….(359)

• ….Christ’s grace “also is operative in every person who, following a correct conscience, seeks and loves the true and the good and avoids evil.” (359)

• “The beatitudes….reveal the ultimate goal of human activity which is eternal happiness.” (360)

• “The beatitudes respond to the innate desire for happiness that God has placed in the human heart in order to draw us to himself.” (361)

• Eternal “happiness surpasses human capabilities….This promised happiness confronts us with decisive moral choices concerning earthly goods and urges us to love God above all things.” (362)

• “Freedom is the power given by God to act or not to act, to do this or to do that….“The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes [A very countercultural notion!].“Freedom attains its proper perfection when it is directed toward God….“The choice of evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to the slavery of sin.” (363)

• “Freedom makes people responsible for their actions” (364)

• “The right to the exercise of freedom…is inseparable from…[our] dignity as a human person.” (365)

• “Our freedom is weakened because of original sin. This weakness is intensified because of successive sins. Christ, however, set us free…. With his grace, the Holy Spirit leads us to spiritual freedom to make us free co-workers with him in the Church & in the world.” (366)

• "The morality of human acts depends on three sources:

the object chosen...;

the intention of the subject...; &

the circumstances of the act, which include its

consequences.”(367)

(368)

The ENDS do NOT Justify the Means• “There are some acts which, in and of

themselves, are always illicit by reason of their object (for example, blasphemy, homicide, adultery). Choosing such actsentails a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil which can never be justified by appealing to the good effects which could possibly result from them.” (369)

“A conscience is that still

small voice that

peoplewon't

listen to.” (J. Cricket)

“Moral conscience…is a judgment of reason

which…enjoins him to do good & avoid evil

…. When attentive to moral conscience, the

prudent person can hear the voice of God”

(372)

“The dignity of a human person requires the

uprightness of a moral conscience” (373)

“An upright & true moral conscience is formed by education & by assimilating the Word of God & the teaching of the Church. It is supported by the gifts of the Holy Spirit & helped by the advice of wise people. Prayer & an examination of conscience can also greatly assist” (374)

375. What norms must conscience always follow?

“There are three general norms:

1) one may never do evil so that good may result from it;

2) the so-called Golden Rule, ‘Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them’ (Matthew 7:12);

3) charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience,

even though this does not mean accepting as good something that is objectively evil. ”

What about people who do hideous things & claim to be following their conscience?: “376. Can a moral

conscience make erroneous judgments?

“A person must always obey the certain judgment of his own conscience

but he could make erroneous judgments for reasons that may not always exempt him from personal guilt.

However, an evil act committed through involuntary ignorance is not imputable to the person,

even though the act remains objectively evil.

One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience.”

Let me pause here: Living as God wants us

to live is NOT some sort of go-it-alone “survivor” project!

God’s Grace, communicated to us by the Sacraments, Virtues (Cardinal & Theological), the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit can assist us.

• “Accepting God’s mercy “requires that we admit our faults & confess our sins.” (391)

• “Sin is “a word, an act, or a desire contrary to the eternal Law” (Saint Augustine). It is an offense against God in disobedience to his love. It wounds human nature and injures human solidarity. Christ in his passion fully revealed the seriousness of sin and overcame it with his mercy.” (392)

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14504a.htm

“Temptation is…an incitement to sin….Temptation is not in itself sin….as long as there is no consent of the will, there is no sin….Attack is not synonymous with surrender….

“Temptations are to be combated by the avoidance, where possible,

of the occasions that give rise to them, by recourse to prayer, and by fostering within oneself

a spirit of humble distrust of one's own powers and of unbounded confidence in God….

“those whom God calls to special heights of sanctity are just those who may expect to have to wrestle bravely with temptations more numerous and fearsome than fall to the lot of the average mortal.”

• “There are a great many kinds of sins.” (393)

• “A distinction is made between mortal & venial sin.” (394)

• “One commits a mortal sin when there are simultaneously present: grave matter,

full knowledge,& deliberate consent.

This sin destroys charity in us,deprives us of sanctifying grace, &, if unrepented, leads us

to the eternal death of hell.

It can be forgiven in the ordinary way by means of the sacraments of Baptism & Penance or Reconciliation.” (395)

• “One commits a venial sin…when the matter involved is less serious or, even if it is grave, when full knowledge or complete consent are absent.” (396)

We are creatures of habit: “Sin creates a proclivity to sin” (397)

(398)

“399. Do we have any responsibility for sins committed by others? We...have...a responsibility when we culpably cooperate”

“The moral law is a work of divine Wisdom. It prescribes the ways & the rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude & it forbids the ways that turn away from God.” (415)

“The natural law which is prescribed by the Creator on the heart of every person consists in a participation in the wisdom & goodness of God. It expresses that original moral sense which enables one to discern by reason the good & the bad. It is universal & immutable” (416)

(417)

“The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. It expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason….Its moral prescriptions …are summed up in the Ten Commandments” (415)

“while being holy, spiritual, & good, the Old Law was still im-perfect because in itself it did not give the strength & the grace of the Spirit for its observance.” (416)

“The New Law or the Law of the Gospel…is the fullness and completion of the divine law….

It is summed up in the commandment to love God and neighbor and to love one another as Christ loved us…

the grace of the Holy Spirit…makes possible such love.

It is ‘the law of freedom’ (Galatians 1:25) because it inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity.” (420)

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&x-yt-ts=1421914688&v=MDCbJ4vnMNg&x-yt-cl=84503534

“The New Law is found in the entire life and preaching of Christ and in the moral catechesis of the apostles. The Sermon on the Mount is its principal expression.” (421)

• “The Church is the community in which the Christian receives the Word of God, the teachings of the ‘Law of Christ’ (Galatians 6:2), and the grace of the sacraments. Christians are united to the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ in such a way that their moral life is an act of spiritual worship; and they learn the example of holiness from the Virgin Mary and the lives of the Saints.” (429)

• “It is the duty of the Magisterium…to preach the faith….This…extends…to the specific precepts of the natural law because their observance is necessary for salvation” (430)

• "The five precepts of the Church"

= "the indispensable minimum“ (431)

• “attend Mass on Sundays & other holy days of obligation &…refrain from work & activities which

could impede the sanctification of those days....

“confess one’s sins, receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation at least once each year....

“receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter Season....

“abstain from eating meat &…observe the days of fasting established by the Church....

“help…provide for the material needs of the Church” (432)

• A Christian’s moral life is indispensable from proclaiming the Gospel, because we “draw others to faith in the true God, build up the Church, inform the world with the spirit of the Gospel, & hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God.” (433)