CLE 3rd Monthly Test

Topics:
- Exercising Christian Conscience p. 76
- Understanding the True Value of Law p.95

Lesson 1: Exercising Christian Conscience

“Good books, good friends, and a sleepy conscience - that is the good life!” -Mark Twain (The
adventure of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn)

Through our Conscience

- we are able to discern the concrete good act from the concrete evil act we must
avoid to become truly free as persons in community.
- We have the capacity to search for, discover, and judge what is morally good by
interpreting and applying moral laws, which uphold basic human values.
- As Christians, our conscience should be guided and formed by the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed in Sacred Scripture and faithfully taught by our
Christian community, the Church.

Conscience
- is a blessing and a gift from God, Who desires our true freedom and happiness.
- moral judgments about our actions.
- an inner voice telling us at the right moment, “Do this. Do no do that”(CFC 701)
- TINIG NG BUDHI, which guides us in our moral living
- Conscience is the function of our human reason through which
- we discern and judge the moral goodness or evilness of a particular act
- with the feeling we ought to do what is good and avoid what is evil.
- All persons have a conscience.
- Have both subjective and objective dimensions as well as social dimension
- guided by fundamental human values grounded in laws that govern our social
relationships. Since our conscience is our moral reasoning power as members of
our community, there is a need for objective moral norms. Conscience, with the
guidance of moral norms speaks to us to do what is good.
- As we grow older, our conscience mature
- Our conscience is influenced by intellectual and emotional (affective) aspects.

● Because of our past experiences and choices, many of our moral judgments are
almost automatic that seemingly involve little or no deliberation at all.
● From experience, we also realize that we have a moral obligation to listen to our tinig
ng budhi or conscience.
 ● Whenever we fail to do good or shun the evil in our concrete circumstances, we feel
guilty. Whenever we say, “Nakonsensiya ako,” we usually feel guilty about
something we have done or failed to do.

FALSE PERCEPTION OF CONSCIENCE

1. Conscience is individualistic
- For some people, following one’s conscience is simply doing things his or
her own way without considering the good of others. For these people, the
most important value is oneself, even at the expense of fundamental human
values like truth, justice, and life.
- The individualistic notion of conscience collapses before the truth that we are all
relational beings. We become truly free as persons in community only by fulfilling
our moral obligations towards one another.

2. Conscience is God’s Voice Within Us

- God can never be confined to any individual’s conscience because from
experience we know that our conscience can sometimes be a serious error.
This means that, sometimes, our conscience can mistakenly judge something
objectively evil to be good or something objectively good to be evil.

3. Conscience is Our Feeling of Guilt

- We must not equate our guilty feelings with conscience. To do so is reduce
conscience to a feeling that results from our personal temperament, upbringing,
or maturity and not from an actual objective moral judgment. It limits our
conscience to “judgments” simply based on the good or guilty feeling
following a particular moral act.

4. Media’s Depiction of Conscience as an external Reality is Accurate

- Films and advertisements usually depict human conscience in very
entertaining, but misleading ways.

● Amidst all these confusing and often conflicting notions, we must turn to the wisdom of
human experience and the teachings of the Church to understand what
conscience is and how it operates.

CONSCIENCE MORALLY OBLIGES US

The Subjective Dimension of Human Conscience

- is the person’s norm of judging moral good or evil. Conscience being subjective
means that an individual’s conscience is simply his or hers and no one else’s
The Objective Dimension of Human Conscience

- our conscience, while intimately ours, is formed by the universal values and
norms we learn from others. We understand the fundamental human values and
objective norms that guide our conscience in making moral judgments through our
interaction with others.
- conscience obliges us to choose what is good not only for ourselves but also for
others. Thus, our conscience always has a social dimension.

Follow Your Conscience

When the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they
are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of
the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting
thoughts accuse or even defend them on the day when… God will judge people’s hidden works
through Christ Jesus. (Rom.2:14-16)

Having created us as rational beings, God endowed us with the capacity to discern, what is
truly good and what should be done in the best light and given the limitations of our
reason, freedom, and all other faculties. Hence, our dignity as human persons lies in
following our well-formed conscience. When we reject the call of our conscience, we would
end up doing what is wrong or evil.

REMEMBER:
“Some, by rejecting conscience , have made a shipwreck of their faith.” 1 Tim 1:19)

Forming A Christian Conscience

- Our conscience is not automatically formed. Babies are not born with the same
capacity to make moral judgments as a maturing adolescent. (CFC 704)
- Our conscience gradually develops, and it is influenced by our family, friends,
religious practices, catechesis, and media. It is our moral responsibility as human
persons to develop a moral conscience that accurately judges moral goodness or evil
according to what is objectively good or evil.

How to Form a Christian Conscience

A proper Christian teaching of conscience asserts that

 - (1) conscience is God’s gift; and
- (2) our conscience is motivated and illuminated by the teachings and example of
Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

● To follow Jesus, we need to discern through Christian conscience the acts by which we
can concretely live out Christ’s commandments to love God and others.

The man with a Withered Hand (Mt 12:9-13; Mk 3:1-6; Lk 6:6-11)

In this passage, we see how the Pharisees presented a moral dilemma to Jesus. Should Jesus
heal the man with a withered hand even if the Sabbath law forbade persons to work on the
Sabbath?

To this dilemma, Jesus responded by proclaiming our fundamental human duty to love
others at all times: “How much more valuable a person is than a sheep. So it is lawful to
do good on the sabbath.”(Mt 12:12)

It was clear that curing the man with a withered hand did not contradict the Sabbath law. In fact,
by healing the man, Jesus upheld the fundamental value protected by the Sabbath law
which is the true worship of God. Indeed, we worship God when we lovingly serve others.

● It is Christ’s teachings that can bring light to what we as Christians must do. His
example enables us to truly embrace goodness and resist evil. By turning to the person
of Christ, not only are we helped to discern what is truly good; we are also empowered
by His indwelling spirit to love God and others.

Toward a Mature Christian Conscience

Conscience Develops in 3 Discernable Stages

1. The Instinctive Level

- This is the stage where most young children are. At this level, an act is
considered good if it is rewarded, and evil if it is punished.

2. The Ethical or Moral Stage

- At this level, a person begins to realize that the goodness or evilness of an act
does not depend on the approval or disapproval of others or on the prospect
of a reward or punishment. They would know if that particular act upholds
universal human values.

3. The Christian or Religious Level

- It is our goal as Christians to reach this level. We aim to have our moral judgment
reflect our deep, personal, and mature faith in Jesus Christ. At this stage,
 individuals begin to see their moral acts as a response of faith to God our
Father, who summons everyone to do what is good and to live the fulness
of a graced life through the Risen Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Ways of Forming Our Mind Ways of Forming Our Hearts

❖ Learning from the experiences and ❖ Spending moments alone in quiet personal
reflections of friends prayer and reflection

❖ Taking time to read and study the Sacred ❖ Attending and participating in the
Scripture Eucharistic liturgy

❖ Listening to parents' advice or engaging in ❖ Joining reflection sessions, prayer groups,

dialogues over important issues with them or youth recollections with friends

❖ Learning in school: listening to others, ❖ Celebrating the sacraments, especially the

asking questions , participating in classroom Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation.
discussion, and doing research

❖ Studying the teachings and the stand of

the Catholic Church on moral issues

❖ Consulting parents, teachers, and

counselors on issues and life situations.

Lesson 2: Understanding the True Value of Law

A good or just law protects and promotes true freedom of a community and its individual
members. Hence we are obliged to understand and obey just laws.

What are the characteristics of just laws?

St. Thomas Aquinas defined a just law as “an ordinance of reason promulgated by the
competent authority for the sake of the common good.”

4 Important Characteristics of Just Law

1. A just law is an ordinance of reason

2. A just law is properly promulgated
 3. A just law must be decreed by the competent authority
4. A just law must be sake of the common good

Different Laws, DIfferent Goals

1. Natural Laws
- Most universal law grounded on our human nature and understandable
through human reason
- - right and obligation that arise from our basic dignity as a person and which we
can discern by using our intellect.
- “The law of our Human nature”
- It does not mean "the law of nature," which includes scientific laws (ex. law of
gravity), but rather "the law of our human nature."
- God is the author which flows from our human nature

Examples:

- What you do not wish others to do to you, do not do to them (Golden Rule)
- Parental duties and duties corresponding to out state of life (being single, religious, or
being married) must be fulfilled
- Lawful authority, including parents must be obeyed
- Maintain your health and well-being
- Live in harmony with others
- Leave to everyone and give to everyone what is his or hers
- Contracts must be honored

➢ Self-Preservation
- The instinctual drive to preserve one's own life and well-being is often considered
a fundamental aspect of natural law. This principle underlies behaviors such as
seeking food, shelter, and safety.

- Maintain your health and well-being.

- Right to live.

➢ Procreation
- The natural inclination towards procreation and the continuation of the species is
another example of natural law. This principle encompasses not only the biological urge
to reproduce but also the nurturing and protection of offspring.

➢ Justice
- The concept of justice, including notions of fairness, equality, and the protection of rights,
is often considered a fundamental principle of natural law. This principle suggests that
certain actions are inherently just or unjust, regardless of human laws or
conventions.

- Cheating is bad
- Contracts must be honored
 ➢ Truthfulness
- The principle of truthfulness holds that honesty and sincerity are inherent virtues
and that deception and falsehood are contrary to natural law. This principle
underscores the importance of integrity and transparency in human interactions.
- Lying is not good

➢ Social Order
- Natural law principles often emphasize the importance of social order and
cooperation for the well-being of individuals and communities. This includes
principles such as reciprocity, mutual aid, and respect for authority.
- What you do not wish others to do to you, do not do to them
(The Golden Rule).
- Live in harmony with others.

➢ Human Dignity
- Natural law theory often asserts the inherent dignity and worth of every human
being. This principle suggests that individuals possess certain rights and freedoms
by virtue of their humanity, which should be respected and protected.
- Lawful authority, including parents, must be obeyed.

➢ Common Good
- Natural law principles often prioritize the common good or the well-being of society
as a whole over individual interests. This includes principles such as promoting
peace, harmony, and the flourishing of all members of the community.
- Leave to everyone and give to everyone what is his or hers.

➢ Non-Aggression
- The principle of non-aggression asserts that individuals should refrain from initiating
force or coercion against others, except in cases of self-defense or defense of
others. This principle underlies many ethical frameworks and legal principles.

The natural law expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his
fundamental rights and duties (CCC 1956, 1978). The first principle of the natural law is
“good is to be done and pursued, and evil avoided”.

Divine Law

- According to St. Thomas Aquinas, Divine law is derived from eternal law as it
appears historically to humans, especially through revelation, i.e., when it appears
to human beings as divine commands.
- Divine law is divided into the Old Law and the New Law. The Old and New Laws
roughly correspond to the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
 - When St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the Old Law, he is thinking mainly of the Ten
Commandments.
- When he speaks of the New Law, he is thinking of the teachings of Jesus.

Old Law
- reaches humans through their capacity for fear
- promises earthly rewards (social peace and its benefits)

The Ten Commandments

Study page 106

1.I am the LORD your God. You shall worship - The first three commandments are
the Lord your God and Him only shall you concerned about our duties toward
serve. God, and the last seven are about our
duties toward one another. On closer
inspection, we see that all Ten
Commandments summarize and
express the natural law common to all
cultures and religions. The first three
commandments uphold God’s
transcendence over all creation

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord

your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

4. Honor your father and your mother. The fourth commandment upholds the value
of filial love, while the fifth to the tenth
commandments protect the basic values of
human living: respect for human life,
sexuality, property, and truth. The Decalogue,
therefore, by outlining the path to becoming
authentically free for all persons, is a meeting
point and a source of dialogue for Christians
and non-Christians.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

 8. You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s

goods.

New Law
- reaches humans by the example of divine love
- promises heavenly reward

The Beatitudes
- The Beatitudes are the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
5:1-10). Jesus teaches us that if we live according to the Beatitudes, we will live a happy
Christian life. The Beatitudes fulfill God’s promises made to Abraham and his
descendants and describe the rewards that will be ours as loyal followers of Christ.

➢ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
➢ Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
➢ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
➢ Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
satisfied.
➢ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
➢ Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God.
➢ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
➢ Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.

(Meanings are in page 111)

Church Laws

- Church laws are expressions of Christ's laws of love in the particular

circumstances of Christian living.
What is the origin of Church laws and teachings?
- The first disciples of Christ learned, practiced, and celebrated their faith in Jesus
together as one community. As one family, they supported one another in living out
Jesus' commandments of love. When their community began to grow in number, there
arose difficulties in maintaining the unity of their beliefs and conduct. Hence
church laws were created.

1.You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.
2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
3. You shall receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.

- The term "Church law" has also been used to refer to the moral teachings of the
Church, the body of rules, commandments, and virtues that have been handed
down to us throughout the centuries. This deposit of moral teachings comes from the
Church's faith in Jesus Christ and formation is motivated by our genuine desire to love
God and others.Some examples of Church teachings pertinent to our study of morality
include:

1. The fundamental understanding of who we are, what our final goal is, how we are to get
there, and what constitutes authentic freedom and love;
2. The role of the family in the formation of the youth and the transformation of society;
3. The marriage laws of the Church;
4. The specific teachings of the Church on moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, suicide,
and human sexuality; and
5. The social teachings of the Church about human rights, social justice, and the dignity of
labor.

Civil Law

- Civil laws are human-made decrees that are binding to all citizens of a nation. They
are often particular applications of the natural law and are made by duly elected or
assigned officials for the welfare of society.

Examples:

In Article II, Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, states that "The separation of
Church and State shall be inviolable."
- The principle of the separation of church and state means that the government and
religious institutions should not interfere with each other's affairs and that the state
should not favor one religion over others.
 In Article II, Section 12 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, we read: The State
recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a
basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the
life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in
the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall
receive the support of the Government.

Study page 117 for Summary