Foundations of Catholic Morality

“...I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life.�

- Duet 30:19

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Natural Law Freedom The Morality of Human Acts Conscience Virtue Sin Conclusion

Natural Law The law of our being.

- Daniel Sullivan; “An Introductory to Philosophy”

Natural Law 

The natural law is based on the structure of reality itself. It is therefore the same for all men and all times, an unchanging rule or pattern which is there for us to discover, and by means of which we can rationally guide ourselves to our goal (our purpose).

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We are made for a purpose. We have an end. We are made with freedom and a set of built in rules we call natural law that help us to achieve this end. 

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Our final purpose for which were made is to see God “face to face” (beatitude).

However we have many purposes in between our final end and now that all help us to get there.

The natural law is the rule of conduct which is prescribed to us by the Creator in the constitution of the nature with which He has endowed us. 

What are those things that are a part of us by the very fact of us being human?

Natural Law  The rule, then, which God has prescribed for our conduct, is found in our nature itself.  Those actions which conform with its tendencies and lead to our destined end are thereby constituted right and morally good;  Those at variance with our nature are wrong and immoral.

 When people make appeal to fair play, demand square treatment, apply the golden rule, they are spontaneously invoking the natural law.  It is the “law written on our hearts.”

- St. Paul  “Do good; avoid evil.”

Freedom For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

- Gal 5:1

Man is Rational ď ˜

1730 God

created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. ...

ď ˜ Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.

License vs Freedom License • • • • • • • •

freedom to indulge compulsions to indulge freedom to sin do what feels good sees law as the tyrant law feels imposed breaks the law any choice is a good choice negates love

Freedom • • • •

freedom from compulsion freedom from sin do what is good sees sin as the tyrant

• law is written on the heart

• fulfills the law • choice between good and evil • affords love

...There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin."

1733

An analogy for Authentic Freedom  Imagine a train that is on a set of tracks that run from San Francisco to New York. This train has the freedom to travel across the entire country from one end to the other.  But one day the train says to himself that he is tired of being on the tracks and wants to go to Houston so he uses the “freedom” that he has to choose to leave the tracks and sets out for Houston.  The only problem is he is a train and he is made for tracks. The minute he goes against how he was made and jumps off the tracks he loses all true freedom and now cannot move or go anywhere.  True freedom comes when we obey the laws of our nature and live in accordance with the purpose(s) in which we were made for.

The Morality of Human Acts Freedom makes man a moral subject.

- CCC 1749

Object, Intention, & Circumstances 

1750

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The morality of human acts depends on: the object chosen; the end in view or the intention; the circumstances of the action.

The object chosen is a good toward which the will deliberately directs itself. It is the matter of a human act.

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1751

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1753

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1754

A good intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The end does not justify the means. Thus the condemnation of an innocent person cannot be justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation. On the other hand, an added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes an act evil that, in and of itself, can be good (such as almsgiving).

The circumstances, ...contribute to increasing or diminishing the moral goodness or evil of human acts (for example, the amount of a theft). They can also diminish or increase the agent's responsibility (such as acting out of a fear of death).

Circumstances of themselves cannot change the moral quality of acts themselves; they can make neither good nor right an action that is in itself evil.

Good Acts and Evil Acts 

A morally good act requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together. An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself 1755

 such as praying and fasting "in order to be seen by men"

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It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or emergency, etc.) which supply their context.  There are acts which, in and of themselves, independently of 1756

circumstances and intentions, are always gravely illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.

Conscience ...When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.

- CCC 1777

Small Still Voice "Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey.....

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1776

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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: 

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Return to your conscience, question it.... Turn inward, brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.

- St. Augustine

Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters."

1782

The Formation of the Conscience Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened....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.

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1783

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1784

The education of the conscience is a lifelong task....The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.

Erroneous Judgment A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.

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1790

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1791

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Vincible ignorance occurs when a man

"takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.“ In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.

1792 If

the ignorance is invincible, ... the evil committed by the person cannot be imputed to him. It remains no less an evil, a privation, a disorder. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience.

Virtue "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

- Phil 4:8.

The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God. - St. Gregory of Nyssa

Effort ...A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good.

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1803

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1804

Human virtues ... make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good.

 The moral virtues are acquired by human effort.

They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; ...

Cardinal Virtues 

Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal";...

1805

Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it....

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1806

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1807

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1808

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1809

Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor....

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good...

Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods....

The Theological Virtues 

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The theological virtues ...are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. ...

1813

Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself....

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1814

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1817 Hope

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1822

is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit....

Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

"If I . . . have not charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing." Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity."

1826

Sin Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity.

- CCC 1849

Mortal and Venial Sin 

1854

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1855

Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. ...

Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.

 Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it. 

For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin 1857

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whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."

Mortal and Venial Sin 

Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace.

1861

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If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back.

However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.

 ...do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them...

What then is our hope? Above all, confession.

- St. Augustine

“I have Greatly Sinned”  To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

- John 1:8-9

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"God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.“ - St. Augustine 1847

Conclusion Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet 4:8

Conclusion     

God has made us with a set of rules that correspond to us being human. This is the “Natural Law”.

One of the primary components of this “Law” is the fact that man is rational and can exercise freedom in making choices.

When man chooses to use his freedom in accordance with the laws with which the Creator has endowed him with and performs morally good acts he then is able to have true freedom.

He acts in such a way that is “true” to his very nature. So that morality is meant to free man to be what he was made to be “a son of God” created in the “image of the Father”.

Morality is not a burdensome set of rules meant to enslave man but on the contrary it is meant to teach him how to live in true freedom and so be authentically free.

For freedom Christ has set us free.

- Gal 5:1

... I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

- John 10:10